There's a design style we've all seen called, "skeuomorphism," which, in computers, traces back to the 1980s. Most Apple products use this style in icons and other features, but many other apps and products use it, too. It was especially popular in the early 2000s, before we trended towards more minimalist and "flat" designs.
The style is all about borrowing the visuals from real-life objects and "remaking" them in a digital world. Think folder icons that look like real-world folders. The trash/recycling bin (especially on a MacOS) looks like one that might be around your home—they even show crumpled up objects in it when you've deleted something.
The look sometimes seems outdated now, but part of the reason it was used in the first place is to help people make the switch from their real-world office work to the computer. Borrowing the look of real objects and using these metaphors, like folders and a trash bin, helped people connect the dots of what was happening in these new-fangled machines.
This isn't just a primitive design trend, its concept is based on a solid fundamental (consider one of Dieter Rams's principles for good design "Good design makes a product understandable"). We can also take real-world or physical metaphors into our digital spaces to improve our habits and our memory.
Digital Habits
I was a MacOS-hater for most of my life until I discovered python and shell scripting. Of course you can use python on Windows, but a Unix-based OS is just so much easier to work with in my experience.
That aside, there's still a gripe I have with MacOS: the messiness!
Icons on the desktop can sometimes overlap each other when automatically placed. Program windows end up piled on top of others, and it makes everything feel cluttered.
It's these little details about our digital spaces that can impact our habits in a big way.
I don't love taking a full minute every single day rearranging all of my windows back to the way I want, but it's massively important to me.
My code needs to be on the right and the browser on the left so I can easily see how my code affects the page I'm working on. That's just the monitor.
On my laptop, I need Slack open, my calendar, and another browser for researching errors so that I don't have to dig around for another tab or browser instance on my monitor.
The Windows OS makes it easy to simply drag your windows to the side or top of the screen and it will fill the space or make split-screen a breeze. (You can also use a keyboard shortcut: Windows Key + An Arrow Key to move or size your window how you want).
Luckily, an independent developer took it upon themselves to make Mac window organization so much easier. Not a sponsored link, but I have been using the free version and it's solved so many frustrations for me: Rectangle App
Mess is unavoidable, especially for creative work. However, being able to clean up that mess or at least get a little bit of a handle on it has done wonders for my motivation day-to-day. Just like a clean physical desk or office, a tidy collection of screens and windows feels less stressful.
Here are a few more of my digital habits that have helped me stay focused, improved my productivity, and reduced overwhelm:
1. Close browser tabs as soon as possible—I use Obsidian (my [[PKM]] software) to keep track of websites that I don't want to lose. This lets me add keywords and notes so that I can find it again and remember why it mattered.
The real-world metaphor here is like what my mom always told me: "When you're done with it, put it away!"
2. Shut down (completely power-off) my computer at the end of the workday. This forces a fresh start every day. I don't allow my browser to "start where I left off" and auto-open 20 tabs. I only allow the computer to open the apps that I use every day (VS Code, Slack, Chrome, etc.).
This is like taking a few minutes at the end of the day to clean up your desk, so that you come to work tomorrow fresh and organized.
3 Use desktops for specific tasks. On both Windows and Mac, you can set up a screen layout, then switch to another layout. This is useful for two, maybe three, distinct workflows that need to be running that day. I try to stick to one, but if I need to test something, for example, I'll throw a new browser window onto the other desktop with the webpage already open so when it's time to test, I switch desktops, refresh and watch for the new changes.
It's reminiscent of work that has to be done in two or more different spaces. Maybe a scientist who goes to one countertop to look in a microscope, then moves over to another to make notes, then moves to another to store the samples.
Memory
Humans are designed with spatial memory—we can remember things pretty well when they're associated with a particular place. So, yeah, your kid isn't necessarily lying when you ask how they can possibly find anything in their messy bedroom and they respond:
"I know exactly where everything is..."
Just like the tricks that memory athletes (yes, that's a thing) use to remember lists of random words or memorize the order of a shuffled deck of cards, we can also use our digital space in a way that helps our memory.
The method I think is most applicable here is the Loci Method, also known as a Memory Palace. This is where you map out the things you need to memorize to a physical space in your mind. Usually based on actual spaces you are familiar with, you take sets of two or three bits of information and connect it to a spot in your space. One of the best ways to further cement this is with imaginative stories.
For example, if I wanted to remember this first set of cards: jack of spades, 4 of hearts, 4 of diamonds, I might imagine my parents' garden. I'm digging in the dirt ("Jack" has a funny and special connection to me), and as I bury four hearts, I unearth four diamonds.
Whatever the story is, it will sound absurd to you, but for me, designing that story makes it much easier for me to remember some random sequence of cards. (Check out Nelson Dellis's YouTube channel for more information on this method!)
We can do something similar in our PKM/note-taking systems. The goal is to use the location of information to help trigger the memory of the information.
We know, referring back to the research for last week's CYBORG_, that we are inclined to remember the source of information over the information itself:
"Moreover, when people search for information on the Internet while working on the Internet, they are more likely to use the Internet rather than their brain the next time they encounter that issue, and they retain pertinent information in an interesting way: they remember the Internet address where the pertinent information is stored (e.g., domain name, database, etc.). People who have searched the Internet for a solution to a problem, for example, will remember the website where they found the solution more vividly when they encounter the problem again, even if they have forgotten the precise essence of the problem for which they were searching." Google Effects on Memory
We can attach memories and experiences to these digital spaces so that we can more readily find the things we want to reference later. We can also design our digital spaces to support our actual memory of the details.
Instead of trying to completely copy or quote a resource and call it a note, when we add a little bit of effort to actually respond to the information, it becomes easier to remember the information.
In my experience, this shifts my location memory to Obsidian, rather than the website, so at first, it doesn't seem like much has changed.
The difference is that because I spent time with my notes—adding my thoughts to the quotes I've pulled out, connecting different notes to each other—I've actually started to distill the information.
Becoming more familiar with the information I've deemed important enough to take notes on helps me not just remember that the info is in Obsidian, but it also reminds me of the conclusions I've come to or the evidence I've captured, similar to the memory palace.
This is all anecdotal at this point, purely my experience, but I feel like this is a way to strike a balance between over-investing in the Internet as my memory and over-investing in memorizing all the things that are inconsequential to my daily life (since there is just too much information out there, we have to prioritize what to remember anyway).
CYBORG
Our physical spaces impact our mood, our productivity, our work, our play. We often use the movement between those physical spaces to cause a change in our readiness for various tasks.
For example, I have a home office where I do all of my work. When I leave that room, I'm now changing modes for a different task—perhaps to relax or to exercise or to eat.
When we compartmentalize the tasks to the location, it becomes extremely easy to "get into the mood" to do your work or accomplish a specific goal.
This principle applies to the digital realm. We can use window and desktop management shortcuts and we can use certain apps to design little "rooms" for our workflows.
We can also use locations (digital and physical) to trigger memories of information.
Ultimately, it is all by design.
We can either let others determine the design or we can get intentional with how we use our digital spaces.