Hardly Hamilton

Most people probably just stick with the one device and believe that’s enough. For most people, it probably will be. I’m in the fortunate position to have multiple devices to work with, and each has its use. The question is: when should I use this device? Is one piece of technology better optimised for a certain working experience?

In short: yes. Yes, it is. Here’s a breakdown of how and why I work with so much digital media, and when you’d be best off switching to a different device.

Desktop

My desktop is set up as the best place to work. I built it over Lockdown Three, when I was teaching from home and wanted the best working experience that I could manage. This is because I believe that you should invest your money where you like to spend your time. This is for many reasons: not only is your time money (and every bit of it worthwhile), but also because money is there to be spent. And what better way to spend it than by making your most commonly-used spaces infinitely more comfortable?

My desktop is by far my most powerful piece of tech and is equipped with the most screen real estate. As a result, I do most of my lesson creation, social media work and final edits to my blog on desktop. During lockdown, I also hosted multiple parents’ evenings from here.

I do also do the odd bit of gaming on this rig, giving me plenty of opportunities to make use of it.

Laptop

Whenever I travel to my family home, I take my laptop. It’s six years old at this point, so I optimised all of the settings and cleared out its hard drive to make it run as smoothly as possible, and it just about gets the job done for when I’m on the move.

The reason I rely on this for when I’m away from home is because I prefer the feel of Windows, and a traditional mouse and keyboard, when I’m doing heavy lifting on the work front. The mouse that I use is the Logitech MX Master S2*, and upgrading from a standard Microsoft mouse to something that’s more accustomed to my large hands was more than worth the price of admission.

Tablet

My tablets get a lot of use. The one for work usually stays in my rucksack, and I use that for planning lessons, tracking student behaviour, as a mobile whiteboard, and for a little bit of light lesson creation if I’m without my first two main devices.

My personal iPad is a little more versatile. When I write for my blog, I like to come away from the desk and set up in the chair I have in what I refer to as my Flat’s Reading Nook. I like to do this because it feels a little more laid back than at my desk, despite being less optimised for work. However, I tend to feel the most creative when I’m relaxed, so end up working a little harder on my writing whenever I follow this method.

I also like using this for catching up on Youtube, as I don’t usually need a huge screen to absorb the website’s content – and it’s nice to have in front of my face when I do the washing up or video call friends and family.

Mobile

My mobile gets a little more use out of it than just as a social media machine. Because I use OneNote to track my tasks and shopping lists, I add to it anytime I have an idea suddenly hit me.

I find this easier and that it causes less friction between having an idea and noting it down than using a notebook because it’s so readily available in my pocket – as opposed to setting down my bag, pulling out my bullet journal, and then struggling to remember what it was that I thought about in the first place.

How do you use your devices? Do you use one or does each piece of tech have its place in your life? Let me know in the comments below!

---

Disclaimer: any links marked with a * are affiliate links and may provide me with a small kickback if used, at no extra cost to you.

Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagramand Pinterest to know whenever a post goes live. You can read them early by subscribing to my email updates via WordPress.