On one hand, and perhaps more importantly, this sounds like a great idea.
On the other hand, 5 days seems like a short amount of time for any effective results? I would think, at minimum, 3 weeks to align with the adage of 3 weeks to develop a habit.
I have a room in my house that only has an old tube amplifier and a typewriter (and a litterbox). All very low tech... it just works:
the amp still sings | the typer still writes | the litter still clumps
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The best method for keeping my tech/writing/life simple has been to establish multiple workstations ("desks") that each have their own machine & purpose (e.g. tax machine, browsing / youtube, technical writing machine, multiple typewriters [one for correspondences, another for brainstorming]). An extra laptop (or two) is helpful for general purpose multitasking, anywhere.
In 950sqft, I have six separate desks, with three primary workstations. If you haven't ever composed on a typewriter... it's worth exploring (no distractions other than emptiness-induced tech addiction syndrome).
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One of my favorite Tom Hanks -isms is that he gifts dozens of typewriters, annually, to various authors... and if he ever see his gifts sitting unused as art/museum pieces (i.e. not being used to type) he will dismantle the famous Tom Hanks typewriter exhibit and force the recipients to actually set them up for ready-use upon desks (or re-gift the machine) [American Typewriter (2016)].
Is anyone making modern non-qwerty typewriters (I've heard some existed in Dvorak, but I'd want Workman), maybe also split/spaced apart and with thumb keys for stuff like backspace and space? My computer keyboard is just too good to use the typewriters of old. Maybe it would be better to have some sort of middle man hardware that could take the USB keyboard signals and move the mechanical parts in response, so you could plug in any keyboard.
Modern?.. not to my knowledge; Dvorak could be DIY'd somewhat easily by manually moving typebars (characters are exchangeble, albeit with a lot effort, on most typewriters). Dvorak typeballs do exist for IBM Selectrics (just relabel the keys... or touch type).
An easier solution to your last question could involve the 1970-era Selectric II, which already has a built-in DAC (and OEM add-ons to e.g. turn your typewriter into a Telex printer)... which could easily interface with a USB keyboard (instead of the typewriter's onboard keys).
>Maybe it would be better to have some sort of middle man hardware
Part of a reason to avoid this would be that this "friction" disuades the simplicity of just using a typewriter on any whim. If yours is not an electric model, you don't even need to turn anything `ON`.
Henry has mastered the art of the local newspaper photo, gesturing to an empty space where the tech used to be, but I can't help noticing that his room seems to be in the middle of an unfinished decorating job.
For me, a 37-year old teenager, the best thing I've ever done to improve my sleep was setting "downtime" (in iOS screen time settings) from 21:00 to 07:00, and ask my partner to set a screen time password that I don't know so I can't cheat. Works wonders! It creates just enough friction that I don't want to reach to my phone or a computer (which is in another room), and still allows for handling emergencies since messages and phone calls still go through.
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[ 0.27 ms ] story [ 26.9 ms ] threadOn the other hand, 5 days seems like a short amount of time for any effective results? I would think, at minimum, 3 weeks to align with the adage of 3 weeks to develop a habit.
the amp still sings | the typer still writes | the litter still clumps
----
The best method for keeping my tech/writing/life simple has been to establish multiple workstations ("desks") that each have their own machine & purpose (e.g. tax machine, browsing / youtube, technical writing machine, multiple typewriters [one for correspondences, another for brainstorming]). An extra laptop (or two) is helpful for general purpose multitasking, anywhere.
In 950sqft, I have six separate desks, with three primary workstations. If you haven't ever composed on a typewriter... it's worth exploring (no distractions other than emptiness-induced tech addiction syndrome).
----
One of my favorite Tom Hanks -isms is that he gifts dozens of typewriters, annually, to various authors... and if he ever see his gifts sitting unused as art/museum pieces (i.e. not being used to type) he will dismantle the famous Tom Hanks typewriter exhibit and force the recipients to actually set them up for ready-use upon desks (or re-gift the machine) [American Typewriter (2016)].
An easier solution to your last question could involve the 1970-era Selectric II, which already has a built-in DAC (and OEM add-ons to e.g. turn your typewriter into a Telex printer)... which could easily interface with a USB keyboard (instead of the typewriter's onboard keys).
>Maybe it would be better to have some sort of middle man hardware
Part of a reason to avoid this would be that this "friction" disuades the simplicity of just using a typewriter on any whim. If yours is not an electric model, you don't even need to turn anything `ON`.