Computers are great for causing stress and frustration.
When computers work, they are invaluable, worth their weight in gold. They recall vast quantities of information quickly and efficiently. When they malfunction, they will drive a computer user crazy. Today many companies boast how effiicient and effective they are, especially with the available use of artificial intelligence. BULL SHIT !
Computers can drive you crazy as they take you from screen to screen, implying the next screen will be the universal panacea to all your information problems. Don’t believe it. The next screen, and the next, and the one after…each requiresa more learning, more effort to understand new material, more energy and focus to manage new information. AI, compounds the problems as companies can create new screens, new pages instantly, and they do so thinking it will help computer users. It doesn’t. It causes more frustration and stress as computer users must constantly learn new information, constantly.
You may be better off with paper and pencil, a simple notebook with many pages. Writing your notes may be tedious, slow and even repetitive, but the learning curve is shallow. Nothing new there. Just write it down, underlining the important stuff. Go to the next line/page. Try that on a computer and you must learn new things, new procedures, new rules, new methods…and on and on.
This is not a tirade against computers. It’s a warning that they are not the panacea they want you to believe they are.
When they work, computers are all they claim, time savers, efficient information managers, practical assistance. Add AI to the mix to elevate computers to high levels of utility and practicality. However, as you find a computer app that works for you, use it as is. Don’t dig into it, deeper and deeper as it will lead to frustraton and anxiety. If it works for you, stick with its basic functionality. Your life will be calmer and minimally stressed.
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Here is a list of essential computer applications that I think are easy to use, have tremendous practical value and are free of glitches. Read my notes and reviews about them on my website at www.szpin.ca :
- NOTABILITY: for note making, journaling
- mymind: for information recall at a glance
- NOTEZILLA: digital post it notes
- Search EVERYTHING: find information on your computer
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