Our distracting devices are killing office productivity

A nice physical notebook may be underrated.

- Tim Harford

Given how many things there are to rage tweet about these days, it was almost a pleasure to stumble upon the hate for the Analogue to-do list system, available from a Philadelphia-based design studio, UgMonk, for a mere US$100 (S$130).

What does that US$100 buy you? Basically, some nicely formatted index cards, and a luxurious wooden box (walnut or maple) to keep them in. You can even get a subscription to get more cards sent to you every quarter! What's not to despise?

I have no plans to abandon my trusty notebook. Still, I think the haters are sadly mistaken, as haters often are. This rather pretentious piece of design gestures towards three truths about productivity systems that we'd do well to embrace.

The first is that the multi-functionality of our digital devices is often a curse. Tools that do less often give us more.

Our electronic devices don't work for us; they work for Big Tech. Anyone using apps for basic organisation must run a gauntlet of distractions before they can answer the simplest questions about what needs doing.

Professor Gloria Mark, author of Attention Span, is known for her increasingly alarming studies of our proclivity to be distracted. Using software to log people's computer habits, Prof Mark has found that we now average 47 seconds on one screen or window before clicking away to the next thing. You don't need to believe the precise number to recognise the problem.

Some of these distractions (TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube shorts) don't even pretend to be useful, but checking email or Slack can feel productive, responsive and professional while actually diverting you from the serious projects you hoped to accomplish. What were those serious projects again? You can't remind yourself without running that gauntlet.