2026-03-30 08:00:00
A week ago I wrote about wanting to cut down on phone usage. I kept that idea in my mind throughout the week, and tried to get an idea of what the problem was.
Just to give some raw data, my average screen time for the week before last was around 6 hours per day. This past week it's just under 4 and a half hours per day.
So you could say that's an improvement, and I guess it is. But last week was more about myself noticing trends, and seeing what I could do without any major effect, and just by reminding myself occasionally that scrolling for hours may not be the best use of my time.
I noticed that I have a few occasions where I feel I want to grab my phone:
Essentially, I tend to use my phone to fill gaps in time.
As for what I do on my phone, here is the past week split by category. Including only those which I have spent over 30 mins in the whole week, and only the apps/websites that have reasonable usage
I thought about the idea of using my phone less over the week, and I realised that it's not the phone itself that I want to stop using. Because a phone isn't really just a phone, it's a handheld computer[1]. It can be used for important and useful tasks, such as communication, reading, listening to music, taking photos, etc. You could also say it can be a tool for entertainment, e.g. watching videos, playing games, etc.
The problem I've noticed that I have myself in regards to my phone, is that a lot of the time there's no intention behind how I use it. When I'm at work and I need to wait for something to compile, tests to run, or I'm waiting on a response from an agent[2], my phone—or social media—is the first thing my mind gravitates towards. I'm now wondering how much time I'm wasting simply with these short bursts of usage.
Additionally, I was a bit torn with my commute time. On the 3 days that I travel to the office, I spend just over 3 hours per day commuting. That consists of some walking, but mostly on a ~35 minute train into London, and a ~15 minute tube ride, both ways.
For those train journeys, I don't have a reliable network connection, and I rarely even get a seat. So what I can do on them is already limited. Right now I resort to music, simple games that can fill time, or maybe catching up on RSS or social media.
I don't want to be too harsh on myself and say that I can't use my phone during my commute, or get annoyed that for these days, my usage is higher. But there's definitely ways in which I can use this time better. I'm going to try and explore a few podcasts that interest me, or books that I can read.
Although, I'm going to potentially have a look at a few ebooks to start off with. I already have a lot of physical books that I want to read, and I've started a few of them. But I can never find a way to build a reading habit. Hopefully I can combine a few things together, and both make better use of my commute time, give me something to do on my phone that isn't scrolling social media, and also help build a reading habit.
All in all, it wasn't a week of big revelations, but I do have a next step of where I want to improve. Next week will be another one of trying to slowly start to use my phone in a more intentional way, and also stopping myself when I'm only getting my phone out to waste time.
2026-03-24 08:00:00
I've been reflecting on my favourite films, and I've come up with three:
Those are my three favourite individual films. But like most, there are many film series that I'm also fond of. Mine are:
I would like to note that none of these are guilty pleasures.
I would also like to note that although these are mentioned as my favourite films, their respective book forms and soundtracks are also some of my favourites.
2026-03-23 08:00:00
After realising my average phone screen time was 6 hours a day, I've decided I want to start using it less. Although, I don't have any specific goals in mind just yet.
First I will give myself a week to try and naturally use it less. Which I hope will help me detect where I usually reach for my phone, and also help me identify suitable replacements.
As a start that means X, Instagram, and Mail have been removed from my home screen. I've also added my bank card to my Apple Watch to avoid needing taking my phone out at the train station. And the next thing I want to do is to setup Spotify on my Watch so I can have one less reason to take my phone out of my pocket.
I'll share more updates here as the week progresses. Hopefully by the end of the week I would have both lowered my average screen time, and also identified a few areas that need some attention.
2026-03-15 06:51:23
There is a certain kind of computer review that is really a permission slip. It tells you what you’re allowed to want. It locates you in a taxonomy — student, creative, professional, power user — and assigns you a product. It is helpful. It is responsible. It has very little interest in what you might become.
The MacBook Neo has attracted a lot of these reviews.
This is one of my favourite pieces of writing I've read for a while.
It reminds me of my own experience, when I was a teenager, saving up to get my first Mac. A base model 13" MacBook from around 2005/06. That limited machine opened me up to the world of Apple, development, blogging, and what essentially led to my career as a software engineer.
2026-03-14 23:43:40
Not knowing what to write about is probably one of the most common blogging struggles. Believing you have nothing interesting to say.
This is a great post. It serves as a reminder that just because you have become accustomed to something, doesn't mean it's not interesting.
2026-03-14 08:00:00
I've had a 14" M1 MacBook Pro for over 4 years now, and it's served me well since then. Apart from storage limitations (500 GB), I haven't felt held back by this machine at any point.
However, I can't say I haven't been temped by shiny new things. Every time there's been a new generation of M chip released I wonder what the increase in performance would feel like.
But performance on it's own is unlikely to convince me to upgrade. I usually need three things:
itsThe MacBook Neo certainly fits the last point. It's an interesting device, I like the size, the colours, and that it's super cheap and can be used like a travel laptop. But there's no objective reason for this to be an upgrade. It can just stay as an interesting device.
The MacBook Air is also intriguing. I like the 15" model, as I'd get a slightly bigger screen size, and a thinner chassis. Even if it's fan-less, and not a Pro version of an M chip, I think a base M4 chip would perform better than an M1 Pro, so there's an objective improvement. For something interesting,I like the darker grey colour, and I would really like a thinner laptop. But the screen would be a downgrade, so it doesn't meet the first point.
Once I was at this point, I thought I'd check the MacBook Pro. It's the same model, so it definitely meets the base expectations compared to my current laptop. It's the newer model, so objectively every component is better, especially the chip. But it's the same chassis, same colour, same weight... There's nothing particularly interesting about this laptop.
So without anything breaking, or my use case changing, I don't think there's a suitable upgrade available for me. After 4 years.
If I was being negative, I'd say the Neo was rubbish, the Air has a poor display, and the Pro is boring.
But I think the reality is that the base model 14" MacBook Pro with an M1 Pro chip is simply an incredible device. I wonder if after another 4 years, people will still be happily using M1 chips. I suspect so.
