If you didn't already know, little over a month ago I became a father for the first time.
It's incredible. And it's forever changed my life in more ways than I could ever have imagined. Especially regarding technology.
I was starting to think that I wasn't actually interested in any of it anymore. Because I started to just not have the urge to do anything, no reading blogs, no writing anything, no programming, nothing.
It was weird, since I don't feel that having a child has added that much stress to my life, and it's not like I'm so busy i have absolutely no free time anymore.
After some thinking, I realised that it's not that I'm not interesting it doing any of those things. I want to write on my blog, I want to keep up with other blogs, and I definitely want to keep programming in my spare time. Among a whole bunch of things I used to do day-to-day on my devices.
The problem is that I now need to optimise the technology I use, and the choices that I make, around a new reality. I don't have no time to do anything, I just have a little less time than before, which makes some tasks more cumbersome.
It adds a new level of friction that I wasn't used to before.
The biggest example is my phone. I currently use an iPhone 15 Pro Max. It's a great phone for watching videos, playing games, and for scrolling through social media. But if you've got a baby in one arm, it's near impossible to anything else one-handed.
The same also applies to my iPad to a lesser extent. I have the 12.9" iPad, so that's also not a one-hand device.
And as for my "real" computers, in my MacBook and gaming PC, these don't just require two hands. They require time. I'm not spending 60 seconds on my Mac writing a post for social media, I'm working on a project, going through my emails, writing a blog post, playing World of Warcraft, etc.
What I'm thinking now, is that instead of just letting my hobbies and digital life fade away, I should just adapt to my new situation.
The two device changes I think I will make in the close future will be to buy a smaller phone that I can use one-handed and do all the usual phone-stuff with. And also to buy a smaller iPad. I don't know if that means iPad Mini or the "normal" iPad. But if I'm already feeling friction with the big iPad, the desire for an "in-between" device will certainly grow. Especially as there will no doubt be things that I enjoy doing on a big phone that I won't be able to do anymore.
As for more decision changes, I'm sure a lot of it will be down to adapting my habits, but I think I also need to be more purposeful of the time I spend on my computers.
In a weird way, I think it will fun optimising my for new life.