rewrite this title ‘Sometimes we all need a little friction in our lives’ – in defence of awful laptops

According to Atomic Habits author James Clear, the third law of behavior change and becoming more productive is to make things frictionless. If you’ve got the best laptop, and your work setup is as comfortable and frictionless as possible, then you’ll produce your best work and create an oeuvre to rival Shakespeare or Colleen Hoover. However, thanks to a hideous laptop, I’ve found the opposite is true.

The laptop in question is a Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 2-in-1. At the time of its release, back in 2021, it checked all my boxes. I’d grown to love ChromeOS for productivity on more conventional laptops, but Lenovo had packed Google’s operating system into a compact laptop/tablet format that could switch between modes quickly.

In addition, it had just become possible to run Android apps on ChromeOS, massively expanding the device capabilities beyond just running the Chrome browser. Tablet mode on the Lenovo IdeaPad suddenly became all the more enticing.

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On release, our reviewer John Loeffler awarded it a prestigious four-and-a-half star rating, describing it as “one of the best Chromebooks we’ve ever used.” He wasn’t wrong: it was an innovative device that proved that Google could take on Apple in the gray area it was dominating with its iPads – and that it could do so at a much lower price point.

The bloat begins

Fast forward five years, and the cracks are beginning to show. The battery life has tumbled to just a couple of hours of light use. Sometimes the bottom half of the screen darkens for no apparent reason. Wi-Fi connectivity completely drops without warning and will only come back on with a complete restart. The whole thing slows to a crawl if you open more than one tab — ChromeOS has become a much more rounded operating system in recent years, but this has also meant its requirements have increased, swamping this elderly Chromebook with its lowly 4GB of RAM and MediaTek processor.

That’s to say nothing of its size and form factor. With a 10.1-inch screen, it’s a tiny computer, and the act of typing on the minuscule keyboard is akin to a tarantula balancing on a thimble, and I’d like to apologize to any arachnophobes for that visual. The trackpad is one of those rough, sticky affairs that only registers one in 32 clicks. Compared to Apple’s slick iPad equivalent, it’s clearly lacking — but, to me, every single one of its disadvantages is actually an advantage.

Laptops have become too good, and this is not necessarily something that works in our favor. Computer-aided design, intense user research, and AI (probably, but almost definitely) are creating laptops that are a joy to use, which is great if you want to have fun. However, if you want to do something massively important and deeply unpleasant like actually working, a torturous machine can enhance your productivity.

When I sit down in front of my crappy Lenovo, I dread the experience. I want to get it over and done with. I feel clammy and uncomfortable. My fingers twist to align with the keys, and my neck strains so I can see what I’m looking at, and I can’t focus on anything other than the blank page on the screen. In this state of digital and physical torture, the words just flow out of my fingers, like a shaken bottle of champagne, a fluent gush of vowels and consonants.

I can’t get distracted because Instagram or Reddit will drive the Chromebook into the ground. Gaming is hard enough on Chromebooks, but this one can barely even handle Wordle. And even if I do succumb and click the plus symbol for a new tab, because the internet frequently collapses, the sites won’t load. Thankfully, the laptop and Google Docs are just about robust enough to ensure my work is backed up offline and uploaded when I next connect to the internet.

I’m not alone in creating my best work when I’m deeply uncomfortable. Les Misérables author Victor Hugo would strip naked and hand his clothes to a valet so he couldn’t leave his room until he’d finished writing. Painter Francis Bacon thrived in an absolutely chaotic studio. And German philosopher Friedrich Schiller would keep aging apples in his desk drawer and have a whiff of the rotting fruit for creative stimulation. Which is just plain weird to be honest, Friedrich.

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Obviously, my crappy-laptop method of working won’t apply to all professions: graphic designers and video editors, for instance, need a decent laptop, and brain surgeons and airline pilots might face a little criticism if they use tools that aren’t fit for the job. But everyone needs to use a computer from time to time, and those “quick email” sessions more often than not turn into week-long Amazon spending sprees. Right?

My main laptop, a MacBook Pro, is stuffed full of productivity apps and browser extensions to keep me on track. But, just like replacing your smartphone with a dumbphone, switching from an uber-powerful computer to something kind of awful works wonders for preventing distractions, and there’s something about having a dedicated device for getting stuff done that makes it easier to compartmentalize your activities and plan ahead.

I’ve also started applying this make-it-uncomfortable method to other areas of my life. I’m sitting on an enormous spike as I write this, so I can’t get too comfortable. I’ve removed the brakes from my car so that I pay more attention when I’m driving. And I’m in the process of moving to Ilha da Queimada Grande, an island off the coast of Brazil that’s also home to tens of thousands of deadly poisonous snakes, just to keep me on my toes.

Sometimes we all need a little friction in our lives, something pushing back against us, so we become stronger and better. Now, does anyone have the antidote to Golden Lancehead Viper poison?

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