Chris Wiegman
For as long as I can remember I’ve favored having only one computer to do everything I need to do. Before starting at WP Engine this even included work for whichever company I was working for at the moment. This desire is a big part of what made me personally comfortable when going back to the Apple ecosystem and has driven a lot of how I interact with computers in general
My work for WP Engine and blogging has changed this equation for the first time. Instead of using one computer for everything I find myself doing my day job work, per company policy, on a company issued Mac as well as most of my writing. While I’ve had no control over the first part of that equation, the latter has been a bit of a surprise (and, for the record, the only blogging I do is on this site which is already hosted by the company I work for).
You see, I only want one device with me at any given time. If I’m working on my laptop I don’t want to have to reach for my phone to change the music, answer a phone call or really anything else. While that still frustrates me greatly during the day (though less so now that my days are spent on Zoom calls), blogging is different.
I’ve struggled at maintaining my focus lately. I can’t tell you how many posts I’ve lost track of once I started as some other app or task grabbed my attention. Using a different computer, where those distractions aren’t possible, has been such a great thing for me as a result.
What else am I missing with how I’ve used technology for years? I’ve long trended towards minimalism with my tech but maybe that’s not the right approach either. Could I be more comfortable and get more done if I change how I use my computers or other tech? Do I even want to?
It’s so easy to get stuck in a bubble of our own creation. While I’m not about to go out and buy new computer hardware just because I can focus better without the distraction of multitasking, I do think this realization is something that I need to pay attention to. Now the only question is how will I make use of that attention?