Fixing My Dummy Brain with a PDA

2021-09-29

Something that has come to my erm...attention as I shift some of my personal computing to an offline device (PDA) is how much I am affected by the always online nature of a smartphone or even a desktop/laptop. When I'm reading or writing or jotting some notes on the PDA as I am now I am staying on task. I'm reading gemini posts with full attention and all the way through. I hadn't realized until forcing myself to do these things again in an offline environment that I was often skimming things I would read, not even finishing them in some cases before I would switch to something else. My own mind pulling me multiple directions. What was that idea I had earlier? I should switch to my notes and type it out. What was that thing I saw a bit ago? I should research that. Even when writing something like a gemlog post or smolZINE I would stop multiple times in the middle of writing because something caught my attention or triggered something I thought I needed to look up right then which leads to other distractions. This is probably obvious to a lot of you but my big dummy brain apparently has been unaware <:-|. Yes, I probably have some level of ADHD if I'm honest.

Sometimes this all over the place way of following wherever a train of thought leads results in discoveries or ideas that are worth it. But I can't help but think a lot of things may be held back by this lack of focus. I guess what I'm wondering is if maybe the compartmentalizing of some of my tasks is better for the way my mind works. Allowing for more focus when doing the things that need focus and allotting certain times and devices to the free for all when that's what I want to do.

Sitting on the patio with my PDA and folding keyboard is my new favorite way to read and write gemini posts and I think it will be my main method going forward. I'm also doing some reading of books on it and you know, it's not bad! The reflective monochrome display is very readable with bright outdoor light. An eInk ereader is certainly better for book reading but the reflective lcd of the PDA blows pretty much all other common modern displays out of the water for sunlight viewing. The PDA being pocket size and more multi-purpose means that I am much more likely to have it with me than an ereader when I have some time and motivation to read however.

A device that combines the best features of PDAs and ereaders would be an ideal kind of device for me. Pocket size, eInk display, stylus, super efficient and low power CPU, plus (and here's the kicker) solid multi-purpose OS with a good app ecosystem. I am not going to be holding my breath for a device like this to come along. Sony actually made this exact device minus the multi-purpose OS and app ecosystem with their 5 inch ereader model PRS-350. That part of the equation that makes the Palm OS devices so useful came from a perfect storm of circumstances where it was the bleeding edge of mobile computing without smartphones being around yet. I don't think we'll see any kind of offline first platform take off in our current timeline but I can dream about what could have been. For now I'll see how well this 20 year old PDA works for me.

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