Hey :)
This has been brewing for a while.
This has been brewing for a while.
One thing I noticed is that I delay opening my laptop as long as I possibly can. Not because I hate it — I actually like technology — but because I know that the second I open it, I’m inviting distraction into my life.
Email. Fizzy. Zoom. Browsers. Tabs. Noise.
So I started wondering:
How do I keep the things I enjoy, without letting them hijack my attention?
You could argue the obvious solution is “just don’t have these things”.
But that’s not realistic for me. I like them. I just don’t like what they do to my focus.
That’s where this gradual shift started — from hi-fi to lo-fi, or maybe better put, from digital to more analogue.
The foundations that were already there
Some of this isn’t new at all.
I’ve been journalling for years, and a big early influence was Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages. The idea is simple: first thing in the morning, three pages of free-form writing. No polish. No audience.
But to do that properly, you can’t wake up and immediately activate yourself with social media or email. You have to protect that space.
That habit — and the discipline around it — has been baked in for a long time now.
A few years later, I added another layer: a remMarkable tablet.
I got it around Christmas 2023, and what I loved immediately was how boring it is.
I got it around Christmas 2023, and what I loved immediately was how boring it is.
No notifications.
No clock.
No apps.
No clock.
No apps.
Just one thing: writing.
That became a default. If I didn’t need a laptop, I didn’t open one.
Spotting distraction and designing around it
More recently, this turned into actively noticing what was annoying me.
For example: I try to delay touching my phone as long as possible in the morning.
Instead, I default to:
- the reMarkable
- or the Kindle
Both let me do one thing at a time. No glowing screen shouting for attention.
And then this same thinking spilled into other areas.
Music, for example.
There’s something about modern tech that tries to do too much. Headphones that need apps. Touch controls. Firmware updates. Features no one asked for.
So I went the opposite way:
- vinyl
- a headphone amp
- wired, analogue headphones
Now my morning looks like this:
- coffee on
- record on
- no internet
- no phone
- no laptop
I don’t need Spotify.
I don’t need to scroll.
As long as I’m up before the house wakes up, it’s distraction-free by default.
Yes — there’s privilege baked into this.
And no — this isn’t a prescription.
And no — this isn’t a prescription.
It’s just an observation about designing an environment that makes focus easier rather than harder.
Lo-fi shows up in more places than you think
This blog is actually part of the same idea.
It’s intentionally low-fi.
There are no comments.
There are no features.
There’s no algorithm.
There’s friction.
There are no features.
There’s no algorithm.
There’s friction.
If you like something, you can’t click a button — you have to reply. By email!
Even photography fits this pattern. A few years ago I bought an instant camera. Then later, a Polaroid.
No editing.
No retakes.
No infinite scroll of images.
You take the photo. You live with it.
Over to you...
I don’t think I’ve fully landed the point here — and that’s kind of the point.
It feels like there is something happening:
- less noise
- fewer inputs
- more enjoyment from fewer things
Not anti-technology.
Just more intentional use of it.
I’m curious if you are experimenting with the same idea — moving towards something a bit more lo-fi, a bit less distracted, a bit more analogue?
🗣️ 👀
Chris.
🗣️ 👀
Chris.