Fleeting device
I’m in the process of simplifying the hell out of my life. It was really simple before. but now i’m going total zen. Clean computer / phone, no apps, no folders full of files etc. Just total reset. And just move all my old files to backup disks if I need it. So I can focus on research without all the baggage. Also be open to new things. Like not think that just because you have full hard-drive with files that they are of any value. The value is if you can grab hold of what comes by you IMO. So many opportunities wosh by just because you are so focused on what you have been focusing on for a while. I was too engrained in all my stuff. So I reset to be more open. Also moving all research and work to github private repos. And just treat my laptop as a fleeting device where I never “perma store”.
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My fleeting mac only has: Apps: Atom, XCode, TextExpander, Safari, Opera. Files: Only research folder that is synced to github private. And only the current active main repo. Usually 2-3 repos. Also synced.
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Everything else is moved to external drives and work repos are synced to private github and deleted locally. The idea being that you can reset your mac from a fresh build in a matter of 30 minutes. Like a fleeting device that you only borrow.
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Why? Everything around us gets hacked. Because their setups are too complex. Too many patches are needed to avoid sinking the ship. The only way to mitigate this problem is to simplify your modus operandi. Simplify until there are only a few things you need to be aware of to avoid breaches. Your future depends on it.
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Imagine your a company that is entrenched in the old ways. it’s not able to keep up with “the times” it’s not fast enough on it’s heels and other younger more forward thinking startups take it’s market share. What this company needs is a organisational reset. Now imagine every person as a company. It’s the same thing. We have processes, liabilities, and the older we get the more things we need have to organise around us. Individual resets are as important for companies as for people. IMO.
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The future is sharing. AirBnB, Uber, co working spaces. We transition in and out of different phases of life more often now. And to do so. We need to be able to reset quick. To be in a position to grab hold of things that seems relevant but you we are too occupied and can’t divert our attention / resources. Look at Tesla. Elon Musk now diverts resources away from his electric truck to Aid work after the hurricanes. The future happens right now. It could be today. Something that will 360 the world in a major major way. What it is is unknown at the time. But most aren’t able to see it as it happens because they are too busy in their ways. For god sakes, un-busy your self. You were busy 3 years ago too. Did what you did then matter today as much as you thought at the time?
In closing:
My resent revelation is a culmination of a few things. Trying to do a fresh install of Mac High Sierra. And all the research it took to figure out where all the apps stored their tidbits and settings. It took 2 days. And also The 2017 Nobel price of economics. About how people value things way more than their actually worth. This is not that relevant for generation “AirBnB”. We don’t own any possessions so it’s yesterdays news. But we do struggle with all the files, all the internet apps, all the projects we don’t have time for etc, all the information leakage. So it’s the same thing. Just different generations. Also people like levels.io which strives to have less than 50 things while being a Digital Nomad in Asia. Should mention Sindre Sorhus as well. And also contemplating the idea of not living forever.
Food for thought: If you do a digital reset, then you can do a analog rest. The former is much harder IMO. because mentally we think we have unlimited bandwidth in the digital realm.
This post was originally written in 2017, but never released for some reason