So I've been spending a lot of time with my iPad.
This makes sense, of course, because my iPad serves as my main computing device. At the same time, I've alluded in previous posts to this newfound sense of purpose and clarity with what my "computing device" really needs to do: no longer do I hang out in front of the screen idly checking Twitter and Facebook and email while chatting and streaming a Netflix movie at the same time.
So, what am I doing with all this iPad time?
There's a lot of productive what-have-you happening, of course; I'm getting marginally (only marginally) better at responding to emails, and I'm getting a lot of writing done on the side. But one thing I am finding is that I'm spending more time developing new habits I never had before. Namely, I check the NY Times headlines every day (because the app for it is so clear-cut and newspaper-formatted), and every day instead of aimless Facebook / lost-in-the-ether time, I do the NY Times crossword puzzle.
The NY Times crossword puzzle app, I have to admit, is the reason I wanted an iPad in the first place. I saw a friend post a picture of him using his, and I thought to myself that if doing a crossword were so clean, simple, and non-pencil-involving, I might be able to convince myself to actually do it. After all, you don't even have to seek out a newspaper to purchase. It's right at your fingertips, and with the click of a button, you can check out all of the clues you didn't get the next day.
How many articles have I read in the last few months that allude to crossword puzzles saving the brainpower of mankind?!
And so on weekend mornings, I sit with my muesli and fruit and cold-brewed iced coffee at my kitchen counter, and I do as much of the crossword as I possibly can before giving up and passing the torch on to my roommate or whichever friend(s) happen to be hanging out at our apartment that day. It feels strangely centered, and a little bit old-fashioned, which is funny for obvious reasons.
This simple sense of contentment, however, is countered by the realization that there is nothing remotely resembling proper formatting in any word processing app available for the iPad. I've been wanting to write about this for weeks, but at the end of the day that's all there is to say about it. If you really need to write a functional outline that you want to show people, or you need to use tables in Pages, or you need to do basically anything at all that requires presentation-style formatting, you're totally screwed. Which is funny because this is really meant to serve in place of a computer when you're on business trips and might very well need to use that sort of formatting most.
You win some, you fail some.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Showing posts with label focus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label focus. Show all posts
Monday, July 5, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Meditation in Modernity
If I had to choose my two greatest character flaws, my inability to focus and to follow through on things would be second only to my well-documented shyness. It's this lack of attention span that gives way to my talent for multi-tasking, but I can think of at least five articles I've read in the last month that all call out multi-tasking for what it really is: a certain lack of efficiency in getting things done one at a time.
This was the excuse that I gave myself when I decided to buy an iPad instead of the more pratical (and yes, if we're honest, more expensive) laptop: "You'll only be able †ΓΈ concentrate on one thing at a time, and it will be good for you."
I'm famous for sitting down at the computer and starting to write a sentence, only to remember that I need to add something to a Freshdirect order before I forget. And then, while I'm there, I should check out my favorite food blogs to see if I want to add ingredients for new recipes I'd like to cook. And then I remember I need to check out a digital retailer I'd forgotten to look at at the office, and I download all the songs I discovered on Hype Machine throughout the day and start making a mix CD to herald the oncome of a new season.
Then it's time for bed and I've written a sentence.
This routine - and appropriate variations thereof - has marked my working style for as long as I can remember, which is to say that at any given moment, I'm probably doing three or four things. None of those things, however, will be the thing I actually want to be doing.
I've lapsed in blog posts recently not because I've had little to say; on the contrary, I haven't had the time to say it because I've been involved in doing. I just moved into a new apartment, I just bought a new bike, and I'm settling into new routines. Through all of this, my iPad is a source I turn to for very specific things: when I need to look something up, I fire up the Safari app. When I need to relax, Netflix or a new issue of an iPad magazine app (oh don't worry, I'll get to my opinions on those later!) help lull me to mindlessness or sleep. When my cleaning needs a soundtrack, the Pandora window is open. When I'm baking, I pull up a favorite blog (usually Smitten Kitchen!), prop the iPad on its stand on my kitchen counter, and follow along with the recipe online.
While my instant messenger program can be open alongside other apps, it rarely is (and I can't see the window unless I go directly to the app.) When I want to watch a movie, it's the only thing I can do - if I think of something I wanted to look up in the middle of it, it requires an actual break in the film to do so. It is more trouble for me to stop in the middle of this blog post and open two new windows and flit back and forth than it is to simply finish this blog post.
Brilliantly, amazingly, this strategy seems to work. While it's not much, I have an introduction to and outline for a writing project I've wanted to begin for literally years. I've been returning emails with greater efficiency because I only open the Gmail app specifically to send those emails. I feel like I'm a more thorough reader of articles because I don't read two or three at a time anymore, and in my quest to find apps that help organize and augment my digital life, I'm quick to recognize and delete those that don't.
The weirdest part is that it's translating into the rest of my life. I moved into that new apartment and cleaned it with surprising devotion. Instead of putting it off for weeks, I bought the bike right away and rode it for the first time that afternoon, scheduling my time to ride when I know I'll have a couple of hours. I text my friends when making plans instead of half-assedly IMing them for no reason when I'm putting off multiple chores.
Most importantly, I put the iPad away when I'm not using it because I'm spending a lot of time living my life. It's a pretty big deal for someone who's never been able to concentrate.
This was the excuse that I gave myself when I decided to buy an iPad instead of the more pratical (and yes, if we're honest, more expensive) laptop: "You'll only be able †ΓΈ concentrate on one thing at a time, and it will be good for you."
I'm famous for sitting down at the computer and starting to write a sentence, only to remember that I need to add something to a Freshdirect order before I forget. And then, while I'm there, I should check out my favorite food blogs to see if I want to add ingredients for new recipes I'd like to cook. And then I remember I need to check out a digital retailer I'd forgotten to look at at the office, and I download all the songs I discovered on Hype Machine throughout the day and start making a mix CD to herald the oncome of a new season.
Then it's time for bed and I've written a sentence.
This routine - and appropriate variations thereof - has marked my working style for as long as I can remember, which is to say that at any given moment, I'm probably doing three or four things. None of those things, however, will be the thing I actually want to be doing.
I've lapsed in blog posts recently not because I've had little to say; on the contrary, I haven't had the time to say it because I've been involved in doing. I just moved into a new apartment, I just bought a new bike, and I'm settling into new routines. Through all of this, my iPad is a source I turn to for very specific things: when I need to look something up, I fire up the Safari app. When I need to relax, Netflix or a new issue of an iPad magazine app (oh don't worry, I'll get to my opinions on those later!) help lull me to mindlessness or sleep. When my cleaning needs a soundtrack, the Pandora window is open. When I'm baking, I pull up a favorite blog (usually Smitten Kitchen!), prop the iPad on its stand on my kitchen counter, and follow along with the recipe online.
While my instant messenger program can be open alongside other apps, it rarely is (and I can't see the window unless I go directly to the app.) When I want to watch a movie, it's the only thing I can do - if I think of something I wanted to look up in the middle of it, it requires an actual break in the film to do so. It is more trouble for me to stop in the middle of this blog post and open two new windows and flit back and forth than it is to simply finish this blog post.
Brilliantly, amazingly, this strategy seems to work. While it's not much, I have an introduction to and outline for a writing project I've wanted to begin for literally years. I've been returning emails with greater efficiency because I only open the Gmail app specifically to send those emails. I feel like I'm a more thorough reader of articles because I don't read two or three at a time anymore, and in my quest to find apps that help organize and augment my digital life, I'm quick to recognize and delete those that don't.
The weirdest part is that it's translating into the rest of my life. I moved into that new apartment and cleaned it with surprising devotion. Instead of putting it off for weeks, I bought the bike right away and rode it for the first time that afternoon, scheduling my time to ride when I know I'll have a couple of hours. I text my friends when making plans instead of half-assedly IMing them for no reason when I'm putting off multiple chores.
Most importantly, I put the iPad away when I'm not using it because I'm spending a lot of time living my life. It's a pretty big deal for someone who's never been able to concentrate.
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