2026-01-12 08:00:00
Hello 2026, and hello Bored Horse readers. It's been a minute, hasn't it? Why not kick off the new year with some app defaults, as that's something other cool tech people are doing. Here are mine as of today, January 12th 2026.
📨 Mail Client: Fastmail apps on Mac and iPad/iPhone.
📮 Mail Server: Fastmail, although I still use both iCloud and Purelymail for various purposes.
📝 Notes: Apple Notes.
✅ To-Do: Reminders and Basecamp.
📷 iPhone Photo Shooting: I rarely use the iPhone camera, when I do, it's the default app.
🟦 Photo Management: Photos.
📆 Calendar: Calendar using Fastmail's calendar.
📁 Cloud File Storage: iCloud.
📖 RSS: I use Feedbin as a backend, Unread on iPad/iPhone.
🙍🏻♂️ Contacts: Contacts, barely.
🌐 Browser: Brave and Safari.
💬 Chat: Signal and Telegram, although I'm sometimes elsewhere too.
🔖 Bookmarks: The built-in feature in my browser(s).
📑 Read It Later: Instapaper.
📜 Word Processing: iA Writer and Pages.
📈 Spreadsheets: Numbers.
📊 Presentations: Keynote.
🛒 Shopping Lists: Reminders.
🍴 Meal Planning: Nope.
💰 Budgeting and Personal Finance: Numbers.
📰 News: RSS using Feedbin, Guardian, Economist, Reddit, SvD, and a slew of other newspapers on rotation.
🎵 Music: Apple Music, and vinyls.
🎤 Podcasts: No thank you.
🔐 Password Management: 1Password.
I've done two of these posts in the past, the initial one late 2023, and one late 2024.
2025-01-02 08:00:00
It's that time of year again, so here are my app defaults as of late last year. Because yeah, it's 2025 now.
📨 Mail Client: Mail on Mac and iPad, Edison on Android.
📮 Mail Server: iCloud and Purelyemail.
📝 Notes: Obsidian and Notes.
✅ To-Do: Reminders and Basecamp, but I'm playing with Obsidian for to-dos too.
📷 iPhone Photo Shooting: Camera app on whatever phone I'm using.
🟦 Photo Management: Photos.
📆 Calendar: Calendar.
📁 Cloud File Storage: Dropbox and iCloud.
📖 RSS: I use Feedbin as a backend, but I'm in-between readers at the moment.
🙍🏻♂️ Contacts: Contacts, barely.
🌐 Browser: Brave and Safari.
💬 Chat: Signal and Telegram, although I'm sometimes elsewhere too.
🔖 Bookmarks: Brave.
📑 Read It Later: Instapaper, but I'm still invested in GoodLinks.
📜 Word Processing: iA Writer but I'm starting to compliment it with Obsidian, and Pages (for processing).
📈 Spreadsheets: Numbers.
📊 Presentations: Keynote.
🛒 Shopping Lists: Reminders.
🍴 Meal Planning: Nope.
💰 Budgeting and Personal Finance: Numbers.
📰 News: RSS using Feedbin, Guardian, Atlantic, New Yorker, Economist, DN, SvD, and a slew of other newspapers on rotation.
🎵 Music: Apple Music, sometimes YouTube Music in the car.
🎤 Podcasts: No thank you.
🔐 Password Management: 1Password.
If you're curious, here's last year's post on app defaults.
2024-09-18 08:00:00
Work's back in full force, which has been interesting from a digital balance point of view. I know a lot of people who can't disconnect, have to check their emails and social media inboxes at all times, that sort of thing. I'm not one of them, these things don't stress me out like they used to. From a digital balance standpoint, going back to work from the summer holiday made little difference.
Don't get me wrong, I get plenty stressed by other things at times. Just like with the end of the year and its "we have to get this done now" nonsense, a lot of clients want to kickstart the autumn with deliverables. There's a difference between these periods of time because people come back somewhat energized from their summer breaks, whereas they just want to get things done by the winter holidays at the end of the year. Funny thing is, it always tapers off after the initial rush, so January and February are usually calm, and while the same might not be said by late September and October, it's back to business as usual at least.
I guess these stressful periods could be even more so if you were glued to your phone and had to check it when you wake up in the middle of the night, but I'm not that person.
What has happened since last time is that I've delegated the Punkt MP02 to weekends. There are too many situations where I need my iPhone. I can't even enter the gym without it unfortunately, a place where I really don't feel like I need it (music streams from the Apple Watch). I've mentioned needs like online identification through BankID, as well as the taxi services, but I've had to rely on the Maps app a couple of times as well. It's a different thing, a different life even, when you need to be able to navigate a city, where you're expected to have a smartphone at all times. Missing out is a real thing, and it's not just the good stuff either, it's crucial things like parking and charging the car. There's a way too silent debate in Sweden about the older generation and how they're not at all in tune with this new way to do things. I get that, society is a lot harder to navigate without a smartphone.
That doesn't mean that you have to be glued to you phone at all times obviously. Just putting it away for a month has removed a lot of those situations where I pick up the iPhone out of habit. I wouldn't say that it was a huge issue before, but it's even less so now. I put my iPhone on the charger when I get home, where it acts as a ridiculously overpriced clock, and then I take it off when I leave for work in the morning.
Some random thoughts, thus far into the experiment:
I'll be keeping tabs on my usage the coming weeks and months, to see if something changes. I do want to read more on paper, but it's tricky to break the habit of reading in bed, in the dark, with a screen that can handle that. We'll see how it goes.
— Thord D. Hedengren ⚡
2024-08-25 08:00:00
Hi!
I've been continuing the Digital Balance challenge, and come to the realization that not many people call me. As in, call me from a normal, actual phone number. Not FaceTime or a voice call through Telegram or Signal, just a typical phone call.
The setup I have for this challenge is that I'm forwarding my phone calls (and text messages, except iMessage obviously) to another number. I use an eSIM in my iPhone, and while I'd be able to move my number to a physical SIM card, I don't want to do that. Instead, I'm forwarding everything, which means that if you call or text me, the call or text ends up on my iPhone replacement. And yes, that's still the Punkt MP02.
Which brings me back to the amount of calls I get, or rather, the lack thereof. I've had several longer conversations through digital devices, but they've been video calls or through Telegram or Signal. Thinking about it, I'm pretty sure this is normal for me. The only people who call me the traditional way are my parents, my wife if something's really urgent (which it rarely is), and delivery companies. This week, I count three calls in total. And yes, one of those calls was indeed an UPS delivery person, which I missed.
Other than the fact that I apparently don't need a phone in the old school sense, I have some random thoughts from this week's adventures.
In no particular order, then:
No big surprises there. I will say however, that I've not kept my phone – iPhone nor MP02 – nearby at home. It's not there for easy access, I'm not scrolling Instagram or anything on it because I can't pick it up subconsciously, and get stuck doing something I hadn't planned on doing. When I get home, I put it on its charger, and it sits there until I need it. It's never on the table within reach or anything.
Not having the iPhone nearby has cut down on unplanned screen time for me. I use my iPad more, but that's a device that I, when I decide to pick it up, use with purpose. I won't get stuck doing nothing due to picking it up without thinking. The only time I pick up the iPad is when I want to do something specific.
This is true to a point, of course. I easily get stuck reading things, going down rabbit holes, if I'm not looking for something in particular. Question is, is that a bad thing? It depends. It's fine getting lost sometimes, when you're looking for something which leads to something else. What I don't want is to get lost when I didn't have a destination in the first place.
Next week will be a hectic one, with a heavy workload as well as social obligations and plans. It'll be interesting to see what that does to my device usage. Because as of now, I'm quite enjoying the fact that I'm a bit disconnected to the digital world, without the plethora of notifications and distractions it brings.
— Thord D. Hedengren ⚡
2024-08-18 08:00:00
Hey there! 👋
It's been a minute since the last letter, hasn't it? I decided to take summer off to figure out what to do with Bored Horse, and my online presence overall. Then I heard about the Punkt Digital Balance Challenge, and I just had to do it, so here we are.
→ Read more about my partipation in the Punkt Digital Balance Challenge
I'm focusing a lot on smartphones in my take on the challenge. As stated in my post linked above, I aim to not use my iPhone as much as possible, but I won't get away from it completely. That's fine, this isn't a quit tech challenge, it's about balance.
I've been thinking a lot about digital balance for quite some time, as regular readers might recall. A lot of the things I do for work and leisure is deep in the digital world.
That's a lot of digital things right there. That's okay, some are inherently digital and there's nothing to do about that. The problem, and where the whole balance thing comes in, is the lack of non-digital alternatives, as well as the fact that other digital things will take time from digital things done with or for a purpose. Doomscrolling comes to mind, but browsing Reddit is just as bad.
For example, I'm currently playing Starfield. That's a digital activity that I've decided to do, and are looking forward to. However, being tired after a long day at work, it's easy to get caught scrolling Reddit instead. The barrier of entry is so much lower – the iPhone is right there, whereas I have to make a conscious decision to rig up the gaming laptop. I haven't tracked this, but I can safely say that a shocking number of times, I start the game hours later that I'd originally planned, or not at all, due to fooling around with apps on my phone.
The smartphone and its apps is the worst culprit, but the same can be said of an iPad or laptop, too. It's easy to get caught up in the vast abundance of things you can do in apps or on the web. It's draining, scrolling Instagram, and when it's not done purposefully, and quit in accordance, it'll steal time from valuable experiences. Like playing Starfield.
Digital balance is a lot about choosing what to do, and not just do other things because it's easier.
It's also about not choosing the digital option at all times.
Being able to read books on a screen is great. I keep different hours than my wife, and thanks to screens I can read in bed while she's asleep. This is a good thing.
However, if I want to cut down on my screen time, I could read a physical book instead. Sure, it's tricky in bed, I'd need one of those worm-lights, and they're perhaps a bit bright, but it is possible. I could also do my reading in the living room before going to bed.
I love physical books, but the convenience of digital ones are hard to beat, for me.
That said, it was a pleasant experience reading a couple of stories in the paper edition of the New Yorker while having lunch at the office the other day. They keep sending the print edition, we keep piling it, and ultimately recycling it, but the stories I typically read, I read in their app for iPad. It's more convenient. That particular day I'd left my iPad at home due to errands, and since I'm making a point of only using my iPhone for crucial things, I picked up the print editing. It was nice. I should do this more often, I thought.
That's where the balance thing comes in. It's so easy to just keep using devices, relying on screens and apps. It's convenient, which is great, but it comes with a risk of distractions. When you're not really choosing to do something, when your actions aren't purposeful, the balance is off.
I'm focusing a lot on the smartphone, putting away my iPhone for all but the most crucial things. That's not the whole story however, and I'm happy to see my thinking around these things evolving, one week in. It's interesting, for sure. I'll keep you posted.
— Thord D. Hedengren ⚡
2024-08-15 08:00:00
I've written a lot about our reliance on tech, and the way social media apps are designed to be as addictive as possible. It should come as no surprise that I'm curious in the various alternatives. You might even remember my posts on various outlets on smartphones vs. dumbphones, as well as combinations with tablets to avoid smartphones in particular. Let's face it, that wonderful computer in your pocket is the real problem here, right? We all use it too often, too much, and instead of other things, out of convenience as well as addiction.
Swiss company Punkt makes a wonderful feature phone called the Punkt MP02. I've reviewed and used it in the past, as well as its predecessor. The phone is a testament to the fact that just because you put away your high-end smartphone, you don't have to sacrifice design and style for something that looks like a plastic toy. So, when Punkt announced their Digital Balance Challenge for 2024, I knew I had to participate. Luckily they agreed, and sent me a beautiful MP02 to replace my iPhone 15 Pro Max for a bit, or more, who knows?!
My main goal is to get away from my iPhone as much as possible. I won't be able to put it in a drawer and forget about it unfortunately, due to the fact that there are apps that I rely on daily.
I'm sure there are more things, but these are the crucial ones. This is interesting in itself, seeing how the society I live in is tied to services utilizing, and often requiring, a smartphone. It's a problem for older people in particular, especially now that many places won't even take cash anymore.
So, I'll have to carry the iPhone, but it'll sit in a purse of sorts (more on that later), and the idea is to not use it for calls, texting, or anything other than the necessary things. I might even do a focus mode for this, we'll see.
While I'm doing this Detox Challenge, I'll also experiment with my setup because why not? After all, I'm not looking to eliminate all digital things, it's detox, and finding something sustainable after this is over. Expect thoughts on this going forward.
I've already carried both my iPhone and the Punkt MP02 this week, to get a feel for it. As of today however, I'll start documenting this more, and you can look forward to updates in the newsletter on a semi-weekly basis or so. There might be the occasional post here, too, outside of the newsletter, and I'll do something on my Swedish site as well.
So, to follow along on this experiment, peruse these channels:
I'll also do occasional posts on Mastodon, Bluesky, and on TDH.se.
Let's get to it!
