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Removing Home Internet Is the Most Productive Thing I've Done

theminimalists.com

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Re: Removing Home Internet Is the Most Productive Thing I've Done

#201

Post by makerofthings »

JacobJans wrote: post #79

I haven't dealt with my laptop based computer addiction, but I have solved my cell phone addiction. It's important to understand how much behavior around technology is based on ingrained habits. My goal with dealing with my phone was to "short-circuit" the habitual/addictive behavior. To do this, I did two things. 1. I turned off all automatic notifications on my phone, as well as all background updates of apps/email…

I still have an iPhone, but I'm (by choice) on a contract that has 500Mb of data per month and then a very expensive per Gb cost after that. Being aware of what percentage of my 500Mb I've used makes me very careful about wasting time on the phone. Works well for me and keeps me productive.

Re: Removing Home Internet Is the Most Productive Thing I've Done

#202

Post by sigi45 »

That's what i don't like from theminimalists.

I'm a minimalist but it doesn't mean that i have nothing in my flat. I enjoy watching stuff on netflix or playing computer games.

Being a minimalist and have basically nothing is just another form of 'hi i'm peter and i did something to an unnecessary extreme, please look at me'.

No internet at home no one will do this. Lots of people will try it but will stop doing it and haven't learnt anything from it.

Being a minimalist means having that mindset and evaluating all the time but being content with the status quo. If you have the feeling that you are using the internet too much, reduce it somehow but not by removing it completely.

It is the same with diet: No one will keep there weight when dieting. Change your eating habbits instead.

Re: Removing Home Internet Is the Most Productive Thing I've Done

#203

Post by sigi45 »

elorant wrote: post #154
JacobJans wrote: post #79

I haven't dealt with my laptop based computer addiction, but I have solved my cell phone addiction. It's important to understand how much behavior around technology is based on ingrained habits. My goal with dealing with my phone was to "short-circuit" the habitual/addictive behavior. To do this, I did two things. 1. I turned off all automatic notifications on my phone, as well as all background updates of apps/email…

I solved that problem with a far simpler solution. I don't own a smartphone. I spend eight to ten hours watching a screen at work. Don't want to spend another five doing the same thing in my leisure. I also don't own any tablets, for the same reason, except a Kindle which I use every now and then in commuting. Most people I meet feel surprised when I tell them I don't have a smartphone especially considering that I'm…

Perhaps you are just using your smartphone wrong?

I use it to do:

- Read News article and books on my communte

- Use the flashlight in the morning or evening when it is to dark (when winter i use it every evening when going home from the train to my flat 10 minutes)

- Use it as a phone

- use maps for navigation

- Check out gps stuff when sitting in a plain

- use the sync feature to have an up to date contact list

- get calendar notifications

- use it as an alarm clock

- use it for listing to music (but not that often)

Otherwise it is in my pocket but thats it. Like my keys. I don't use it at home at all.

Re: Removing Home Internet Is the Most Productive Thing I've Done

#205

Post by dagw »

chongli wrote: post #175
dragonwriter wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is just not true. Yes, it is. > . Go visit a vineyard, distillery, or a brewery. People may be trying to improve the quality of the product, but they are not relentlessly trying to increase "user drinking minutes" or any metric like that. Yes, that's exactly what the marketing arms of the firms involved, and the advertising agencies they employ, are trying to do. (There's some actual product-development involv…

That's really only true for big companies like Ab-Inbev. You aren't going to see any of that at your mom and pop vineyard or craft microbrewery. You also don't see much of that pathological, exploitive behaviour in 1 person indie game shops either, however.

You aren't going to see any of that at your mom and pop vineyard or craft microbrewery.

Half the craft microbreweries are owned by Ab-Inbev and the likes.

Re: Removing Home Internet Is the Most Productive Thing I've Done

#206

Post by halokonrad »

RoboTeddy wrote: post #11

I keep my internet off most of the day (via kernel firewall). Have a command that gives me a few minutes of internet so I can look up docs, then shuts everything back down.

If you're on a Mac then i can recommend Dash app for offline docs libraries. For me it's completely different experience to code offline (very enjoyable). More thinking involved - less Google/SO.

Re: Removing Home Internet Is the Most Productive Thing I've Done

#207

Post by elorant »

sigi45 wrote: post #203
elorant wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I solved that problem with a far simpler solution. I don't own a smartphone. I spend eight to ten hours watching a screen at work. Don't want to spend another five doing the same thing in my leisure. I also don't own any tablets, for the same reason, except a Kindle which I use every now and then in commuting. Most people I meet feel surprised when I tell them I don't have a smartphone especially considering that I'm…

Perhaps you are just using your smartphone wrong? I use it to do: - Read News article and books on my communte - Use the flashlight in the morning or evening when it is to dark (when winter i use it every evening when going home from the train to my flat 10 minutes) - Use it as a phone - use maps for navigation - Check out gps stuff when sitting in a plain - use the sync feature to have an up to date contact list - g…

Well I don't need a flashlight, it's never too dark where I live (Greece) regardless of season. As for your other points. Reading: As I said I have a Kindle which is far better than any smartphone for books, and thanks to Instapaper I can read pretty much everything on it. GPS: I don't need it, my car has an embedded one and it works just fine. When I'm not in my car wandering around without knowing where exactly I am is a joy, actually it's one of my hobbies. I get to accidentally find new places all the time. As for a phone per se, I have a dumbphone (Samsung E2600). Alarm: I don't need one, I have a steady sleeping pattern and I wake up automatically.

I'm not saying they're plain useless. I just don't risk getting hooked on them in exchange for a handful of useful services. I can live happily without owning one. If I ever feel that owning a smartphone will make my life better I'd gladly buy one. It's not ideology that stops me from getting one. I just don't want to end up like those guys who meet up for a coffee and spend two thirds of their time watching their smartphones. I don't feel sorry for them, I think they're hooked to the damn thing as I could easily get hooked if I had one. So to relieve me from the temptation of checking it every other minute I simply don't have one. Problem solved. As always, YMMV.

Re: Removing Home Internet Is the Most Productive Thing I've Done

#208

Post by toomanybeersies »

JacobJans wrote: post #79

I haven't dealt with my laptop based computer addiction, but I have solved my cell phone addiction. It's important to understand how much behavior around technology is based on ingrained habits. My goal with dealing with my phone was to "short-circuit" the habitual/addictive behavior. To do this, I did two things. 1. I turned off all automatic notifications on my phone, as well as all background updates of apps/email…

I've have the opposite. I've stopped using my laptop at home. Since I find my phone more annoying to use, I don't use it as much.

Re: Removing Home Internet Is the Most Productive Thing I've Done

#209

Post by ergl »

daxfohl wrote: post #23

Cute. Kind of like a paleo diet. Check back in in 2018, let me know how that's going for you. I mean, I get it, you have to rebalance, which sometimes calls for going overboard. Just don't get too excited about it being the One True Way. 50 years from now?

Just so you know, this was written in 2011.

Re: Removing Home Internet Is the Most Productive Thing I've Done

#210

Post by rjsw »

sigi45 wrote: post #203
elorant wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I solved that problem with a far simpler solution. I don't own a smartphone. I spend eight to ten hours watching a screen at work. Don't want to spend another five doing the same thing in my leisure. I also don't own any tablets, for the same reason, except a Kindle which I use every now and then in commuting. Most people I meet feel surprised when I tell them I don't have a smartphone especially considering that I'm…

Perhaps you are just using your smartphone wrong? I use it to do: - Read News article and books on my communte - Use the flashlight in the morning or evening when it is to dark (when winter i use it every evening when going home from the train to my flat 10 minutes) - Use it as a phone - use maps for navigation - Check out gps stuff when sitting in a plain - use the sync feature to have an up to date contact list - g…

Dumbphones can have flashlight, alarms and mp3/radio too, mine does.
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