A quick trick for focusing
Bottom line up front: on Linux, I created keyboard shortcuts to run the commands nmcli networking off with Ctrl+Alt+I and nmcli networking on with Ctrl+Alt+O
This turns off and on, respectively, my computer's Internet connection.
This past week, I took advantage of the holiday season and disconnected from the Internet. I quite enjoyed the feeling of regaining both my time and my ability to concentrate, specifically on work for a manuscript.
It occurred to me that with modern cloud infrastructure, there's an assumption that one writes while connected. Google Docs, Microsoft Word, Notion, etc. presume a stable connection while work is saved. Yes, it's convenient. Yes, one could flip a switch to access offline mode. But as I used LibreOffice during my experiment, I recall what writing was like when I grew up: it was quiet (e.g., no notifications about new features), without distractions (e.g., no insistent prompts to use AI tools). It was almost monastic; just me and my words on the screen. I got a lot done.
So I figured I'd reduce the friction to enter this state as much as possible, by making it a few keystrokes away. This has the advantage of being a blanket switch for:
- Firefox, all websites (versus using a browser add-on or editing
/etc/hosts) - Thunderbird, the receipt of emails
- Discord, messages
It's also just as easy to flip back on, like when I need to look up a reference. The point is: I get to choose when I connect. As I said in describing my intentions for 2026, I'd like my default state to be offline.