Morning Coffee 96: February 12th, 2024

Good morning. Just finished breakfast with the family. Almost time for work. Had a busy weekend. Was hired to film a tableau and a parade. Also went to two different parties. Also was in the studio recording several new songs. Pushed through all of this with very sleep (drink lots of coffee to help get through a calendar event, but once the event is over, the coffee is still there, throwing the sleep schedule completely off). As always, I hope this letter finds you well.

Table of Contents

1. A Gamer’s Nightstand
2. Screen Time Pickups

A Gamer’s Nightstand

When it’s time to settle down, I walk into the bedroom, and on the nightstand are three things waiting for me: AirPod Pros, a wireless controller, and a pair of glasses.

Once the AirPods are in my ears, I reach over for the controller and put the glasses on my face. The room then transforms into what feels like an IMAX movie theatre. The glasses are called XREAL Air.

This setup is powered by the Steam Deck, which sits in a dock. The dock charges the Steam Deck and connects the controller and glasses. The dock is the central hub that ties all of this together.

In a pitch black room, while my wife and daughter are sleeping next to me, I’m looking at a giant screen, with surround sound in my ears. They can’t see or hear a thing.

Screen Time Pickups

Written in December.

A stat that I’ve been monitoring during my weekly review is the Screen Time Pickups, and more specifically, what is the first app that I go to after picking up my phone. The fact that the iPhone even tracks this stat is fascinating, and very helpful.

As I make a note of this week’s screen time averages and pickup amount, I’m also making a note of what was the first app used after pickup. From there, I’m more conscious throughout the following week to change that pattern.

Most of our screen time is mindless and done without thinking, so this simple data point could easily change a habit that we weren’t even aware of.

This is Morning Coffee: a weekly newsletter that arrives in your inbox every Monday morning. I write about productivity, technology, and cool things I find on the internet. My wife wants this to be my only job, so pay what you want, purchase my books on Amazon, or join my Music Program.