Digital Setup #1
In this first post, I'll show you how my laptop setup helps my to be productive, more focused and enjoy it. (and keep it clear for myself)
Disclaimer: To be honest, this wasn't the start of my minimalism journey. This isn't some kind of "here's how to cure your internet addiction". My laptop always was a device to be productive, more official. Also, I've been cutting down the use of "social" media, youtube and so on since 2023 - so you're reading about my journey two years in. I'm still not where I want to be (especially with my smartphone. Will talk about it in another post)
My setup is a 2019 ACER laptop running Linux Mint XFCE. Also I own a Xiaomi Mi10T smartphone running Android (even though I want to switch to /e/OS or LineageOS soon...)
I love the look of my desktop and the interface so much! It's purple, black and pink and the most goth-queer setup I found.
But besides the optics, killing Windows 11 was a good choice even in my minimalist-ish journey.
Here's why:
no po-ups unless I want them
more clarity because now there are only the programs on my device that I use
no AI bloat stuff, just my thoughts and the ideas I type, search and download
privacy and internet safety! Yes, I've had a vpn before and yes I had antivirus, adblockers etc. But I feel with linux it even feels more natural to use adblockers, to run antivirus via terminal... feels like my laptop now encourages me to do that.
I love customization, It makes me happy. (Who would've guessed?)
I've designed my desktop with exactly the few most used programs: LibreOffice (to write my stories and sheets for university), Thunderbird (for emails), Firefox and my two most used messagers. Also, there's a shortcut for a news website and my VPN.
That's all. Yes, I could access tumblr, youtube and the whole mass of distraction through Firefox. I even have a youtube-alternative (Freetube) on my laptop - but since it's not right in front of my eyes, I only use it when I really want to - which isn't very often.
Now, when I turn on my laptop, I feel calm. My brain goes into some kind of focus mode and I check my emails, do stuff for university, write poetry - and when I'm done, I'll shut down my laptop and do other things.
