5 December, 2024

We tend to complicate our lives. Often, without realizing it. That’s especially true when it comes to our digital lives. How often have you, or someone you know, spent an inordinate amount of time jumping between tools? Or, worse, installing several pieces of software or subscribing to multiple services that do pretty much the same thing?

I’m as guilty as anyone of doing that. But I’m trying, Ringo, I’m trying real hard …

Over the last year or two, I’ve undertaken something of a digital declutter. The idea is to remove as much duplication, cruft, and the like from my online and offline computing lives. Surprisingly, there was a lot of it. But the process helped me focus on what I really need to use.

What I really need to use are simple tools. Tools with few features, with a few key functions. Tools that strip things back to basics. Tools that stay out of my way and let me do what I need to do. Which is why, for example, I happily write using the GNOME Text Editor rather than Emacs or LibreOffice Writer. Which is why I edit images using Pinta rather than The GIMP.

Having additional features and functions isn’t a plus in my book when I rarely if ever use those additional features and functions. They just add to the weight of the tools I use when I’m looking for lightness in my software.

What about other software that I might need at some point in the future? I try not to fall into the contingency mindset when it comes to that. If I need a tool — say, a utility to split or merge PDF files — I install it. When I’m done, it’s deleted from my computer until the next time I need it. Out of sight, out of mind. That, in some small way, lowers my mental overhead and reduces the clutter in my application menus.