On: A $35 keyboard for children transformed me into a novelist

[banana_maker]

Computers have the ability to disable their connections to the internet. Recent apple products have Do-Not-Disturb modes.

Maybe, one could do some introspection about why they are unable to put notifications on hold?

Nah. Better spend a lot of money instead, because that will fix the root issue, assuredly.

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W.r.t my original comment: For $70-$100 (at most!) I can take a laptop, disable the wifi, and open a word processor.

It is admittedly a splurge, as I already have a desktop pc and a perfectly capable macbook. However, that price point for a dedicated writing machine with a great keyboard was worth it to me. I did it for the keyboard, not the (lack of) notifications, but one could easily do it for that purpose.

[nitrogen → banana_maker]

Sometimes dedicated devices are a deliberate choice with desirable benefits. You don't use a pocket multitool to prepare a fine meal just because it has a blade. You just buy a knife that was made for that purpose.

[banana_maker → nitrogen]

I think comparing a knife to a dedicated writing device is like comparing apples and oranges. We use different utensils because they innately have different properties that are useful in different aspects of cooking. It's not that a knife and spoon both have the same exact function, only the knife doesn't send me push notifications.

A laptop with a keyboard is not going to give you different writing properties than a screen + a keyboard. They both will write text just the same. One can turn off notifications/connection to the internet if desired, and now they're both quiet devices.

[ryanwaggoner → banana_maker]

You come across as weirdly upset and condescending about this. Why do you care if someone else wants to waste their money on a shortcut to avoid introspection about their poor impulse control?

I bought one of these things within 2 minutes of reading the blog post we're commenting on. I don't really need to "reflect" on the reasons that I sometimes have poor impulse control. It's not like not knowing why I'm sometimes tempted means that I'm no longer tempted.

And part of impulse control is "tying yourself to the mast" to avoid temptation in the future. It'd be stupid to keep piles of tempting junk food within arms length at all times and then berate yourself for "poor impulse control".

Similarly, it'd be stupid to put tons of social media, notifications, and games just a click or two away from where you're trying to do something hard and meaningful, and then berate yourself (or others) for your lack of reflection on your poor impulse control.