Efficiency is over-rated

I haven't started using plain text for my day-to-day working because I think it will make me more efficient. I have no aspiration to be maximally efficient. I do want to enjoy myself more and be a bit better organised than I have been.

So I'm not choosing tools for their efficiency. I'm working in plain text because I'm finding that I enjoy it. I like the simplicity of a text editor, of being able to work on my files on whatever device is to hand, and of not being beholden to any software company¹, no matter how benign.

I'm taking this approach in other parts of my life, too. For a long time I had a self-hosted wordpress blog with lots of 'bells & whistles'. These days I'm preferring a hand-coded website in html, and the lovely simplicity of Bear blog. I much prefer my film cameras to my digital, even though some of them were considered out-of-date long before I was born.

These days it is very easy to get caught up in the consumerist treadmill, of 'needing' the latest, shiniest gadgets and software. Using plain text for my daily work is a reminder to me that the treadmill is a trap.

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1. Not strictly true, because the system I'm using depends heavily on Dropbox. Maybe in time I'll turn to a self-hosted alternative.↩