I Spent Dumb Money On A Single-Purpose Laptop. It Worked.
It works so well I almost can’t stand it.
We were lied to.
We were told that having everything in one device would make our lives better, more seamless and less cluttered. If anything, our lives have become confusing, distracted and more cluttered. When your home, work, and play are all in one space, you can start to go insane (anyone remember 2020???).
Separation is the unsung hero of a healthy life.
The best restaurants don’t have an endless menu.
The best inventions often do just one thing.
Our phones and devices have endless possibilities, and most of them aren’t for our benefit.
It doesn’t have to be like this. By rediscovering the power of a single-purpose device, you adjust your environment, mindset, and devices to work in your favor.
There is a magic to single-purpose items that we are missing out on.
I heard this idea from my beloved Cal Newport. He is a proponent of a single-purpose notebook and extends this concept to other facets of our lives, suggesting that we should have more single-purpose devices.
So I decided to give it a go.
Last summer I dropped big money on a MacBook Pro. I use it for four things:
Music
Videos
Writing
Learning
Really it’s for one thing: my craft and career as these all coincide with what I’m doing in my life at this juncture.
And it’s working. It’s amazing how good this feels.
I’m writing to you on the keyboard that has never once sent a text or an email or been used to log into a social media account. There has been no Netflix or Hulu or even baseball consumed from this device.
Benefits of Single-Use Devices
No Distractions
There are unbelievable benefits to this idea. The biggest one might be the lack of distractions. When you’re not bouncing around you get a ton more done. And this laptop acts as it’s own enforcer of boundaries. And because I invested so much into it and I respect myself enough to stick to my promises, there’s no temptation to break the rules I’ve set.
If I want to use this machine, I can only use it for the above reasons. It’s a built-in failsafe mechanism. Want to get work done? Pull out the laptop. Have a video to edit? Laptop. Want to write but feeling blasé about it? Grab the fancy laptop. Inspiration is dancing on these keys.
And because of that built-in failsafe, I’m focused. I’m ready and excited about what I’m doing because I get to play on my fancy machine! And get something worth sharing out of it.
Strong Intentions
There’s a note that is always open on my desktop:
This reminder was the first thing I did when I fired up my laptop. It reminds me of my “why” on a constant basis. It reminds me of who I’m becoming: a focused individual who has songs, stories, and ideas she wants to share in hopes of making a positive contribution to your life. That little note might not seem like much, but it contains all that and more by clearly defining who I’m not being on this laptop.
And since I want to use this laptop, I’m going to do the work it’s designated for. I’m going to make videos, write articles, and produce music. I want to spend time learning and growing and this enables me to do so. It’s not the only place I can write or record or edit, but it is by far the best place.
Plus, because it’s only used for those things, it provides a clear shutdown/barrier between working and non-working time. (I admit I still don’t have as much consistency around my shutdown ritual as I want, but every little bit helps. And in this case, it helps a lot.)
It Works Better
How many useless files do you have on your computer?
For once, I have none.
My machine is a wild beast and cannot be tamed. It is meant to roam fast and free. And it is both of those things. There’s built-in obsolescence in all technology, but I intend to let this machine run fast and free for as long as it can.
When you have the right tool for a job, the work is not only easier but better. I feel like my writing on this machine is better than on all other devices. I can and do write on my daily-use laptop, but if I want to take my work more seriously, I bring out the laptop dedicated to creation.
The choice is yours
You can make it hard on yourself, or you can make it easier.
Often the simplest machines are best for the job.
No one is mad the iPod only plays music or a book only conveys a story. We’re so overwhelmed with choices on our phones we can’t choose. When reading a book, there isn’t the pull of “Oh, what’s happening over here ?” No. You’re focused on the book. You’re immersed in the story and insights of the author. The effort of putting the book down, getting up and browsing your unread pile of books for another option isn’t worth it. But it’s easy to do on our phones or computers where we know there is an infinite array of options for us.
It might seem foolish to buy a cheap (or, in my ridiculous case, a very expensive) laptop to write. But think about what that investment signals to you:
It shows you take your work seriously
It shows you’re willing to invest hard-earned money into it
It shows that you’re willing to set aside the time to do the work you set out to do
Skip the material indulgences for a month.
Invest it in yourself.
Do the work you’re meant to do.
Watch what happens.
You’ll be impressed with yourself, and that’s what matters most.