The curse of being a student is having a huge amount of educational fees unless you are sponsored by someone. Especially when you are having higher expenses on your educational essentials, you run short on money to manage your desk setup like the one you’ve seen on Youtube. But wait, it is really necessary to have a perfect setup?
The Illusion
You might have been inspired by your friend’s perfect desk with a heavy amount of computing devices or in short a high-end gaming desk setup. We wonder around a lot of Youtube videos and even have a real-life experience that quickly urges us to have one. What if we have the same desk setup, I would be 3x time more productive.
What happens when we see an Unboxing video when you can’t really afford it?
Product unboxing videos are the most satisfying videos on Earth. Let's be honest here, you have already watched the unboxing video of iPhone 12 whether you can afford it or not. This is true for all the students and young people who wish to earn after graduation and gift themselves a brand new flagship phone.
“Rich people buy luxuries last, while the poor and middle class tend to buy luxuries first.” — Rich Dad Poor Dad
Perhaps the more satisfying you feel from the videos the more eager you are to achieve that same feeling in less time. However, you urge yourself to fulfill the needs and you starve for money and the product.
Let’s be honest here, does the product really increases your Productivity by 3x?
Before you argue, yes it does.
And say :
“ The new Graphics Card will reduce my rendering time by 1 minute or 2 minutes. ”
or
“ Yes, the IPad will be lighter and has more battery capacity.”
I would ask you again, are they really ground-breaking changes that you need?
Even if you are professional, you don’t have to go broke to afford a premium product to get your work done.
The videos you see on Youtube is from a professional Youtuber who has indeed started with budget-friendly products a long time ago.
But wait, having an Ikea Desk or motorized Standing Desk really helps to keep a programmer or a computer geek healthy right?
Yes, it does. But the thing is a $1000 gaming chair is not necessary, perhaps if you are really tight on your budget you can wait for an offer or you can choose a lower-cost brand that gets your work done.
That super ultra-wide monitor will not make you a Super Saiyan. Perhaps, what makes you Super Saiyan is the continuity in practice on your skills by engineering the setup with what you have.
Illusion Therapy
What are the sources that make you wonder?
If you are craving a new tech product, what created this urge?
You must’ve passed through a social media post or a Youtube recommendation that might have been encountered your urge.
So, what must be done? Deactivate all social media accounts? Stop watching Youtube recommendations?
That would be great. But that’s not a solution to the problem.
To change the outer world. First, change your inner world.
Remember you will always have other options.
Perfection is the enemy, the thing that you have is already perfect. Perhaps what you have to do is observe it from another dimension.
If possible, stop watching Youtube videos that are titled “My Desk Setup” or “The product that I use for productivity”
First, you have to stop creating those inner cravings that make you feel poor for not being able to afford high-end Gadgets for sake of your productivity.
I even used to crave these gadgets. The more videos I watched the more I used to feel poor being not able to afford the IPad, external monitor, or even a High-end Desk Setup. The cravings were too strong that, I often was lost seeking how to make money online, instead of focusing on building skills first.
That happens for most of the young people who run to fulfill their inner cravings. They stop focusing on their long-term goals or their skills instead they run for short-term goals and easy income which tend to fulfill their inner cravings. The worst thing is they switch their careers easily where there is easy income.
Is it really important to buy the things you wish to have, right now? or Is it really that important the thing will increase your productivity?
First, what is productivity?
Productivity is the thing, that makes you comfortable to do a lot of work.
Your Dream setup is not directly proportional to your Productivity?
To be productive you must be focused for longer hours. It’s your mind which makes you more productive. Train your mind to be productive in any harsh condition.
That doesn’t mean, practice working by sitting on the mouth of a Crocodile!
Adjust your environment for your comfortable long hour work.
Conclusion
Most people run for perfection in their life, but they will always fail to meet perfection. Seeking perfection on everything will indeed stop them from progress on their work. My point is not to stop you from spending your money on a good product. All I am saying is if you have already a good Sofa that can work as your desk chair why would you spend an extra $500 dollar for a comfortable chair.
Most of the beginners stop working for their progress perhaps they start working for money to afford a good setup. They fall into the illusion “Having good setup will increase their skills”. Perhaps what needs to be done, enjoy what you’ve right now. Increase your value with continuity on your practice with what you have right now.
Previously published at https://devson.medium.com/the-illusion-of-being-productive-with-perfect-gadgets-4b35c5f44eec