How getting smaller saved my digital life

← back to blog techdigital-hygienetools How getting smaller saved my digital life Tuesday, 10 March 2026 I used to have a setup that looked im

← back to blog techdigital-hygienetools How getting smaller saved my digital life Tuesday, 10 March 2026 I used to have a setup that looked impressive on paper.

A full gaming rig with a tower the size of a small child. A monitor that could probably be seen from space. An iPhone Pro Max that required two hands just to read a text. A MacBook Pro with enough RAM to run a small country.

It was a lot. It was also slowly making me miserable.

Here's the thing about maximalist tech: it creates maximalist friction.

Every time I needed to work from bed (which, with POTS, is often), I was navigating around this elaborate ecosystem of devices and cables and peripherals. The gaming rig couldn't move. The laptop ran hot. The phone was a tablet pretending to be a phone.

I wasn't using my tools. I was managing them.

The downsize happened in stages.

First came the iPhone mini. Everyone told me I'd hate it. Too small. Can't see anything. You'll switch back in a week.

I never switched back.

The mini fits in my pocket — actually fits, not "sort of fits if you angle it right." I can use it one-handed. When I'm horizontal and exhausted and just need to check something, I don't need to prop myself up or use two hands. It sounds small. It isn't.

Then the mini PC — a tiny NUC-style box that replaced the tower. The tower was enormous and I used maybe 15% of its capability for actual daily work. The mini PC handles everything I need: development, video calls, writing. It takes up the space of a hardback book. It runs silently. When I need to take it somewhere, I can.

Then the MacBook Air. Not the Pro — the Air. I had convinced myself I needed the Pro's power. I didn't. The Air is lighter, cooler, longer battery. It doesn't scream "professional tech person" in a coffee shop, which is a feature, not a bug.

The cumulative effect surprised me.

My desk is calmer. My bag is lighter. My cognitive load — the mental overhead of managing things — dropped noticeably. I know where eve