Moving away from the work-centric lifestyle of Silicon Valley has shown me very different importance to laptop design, specifically, shutting them down.
Every day at precisely 6pm in workplaces around the Netherlands, everyone slams their laptops shut for the night and goes home to their family.
It is genuinely satisfying to slam a laptop shut. Try it tonight. Rather than slowly closing it and mumbling "....I'll respond to those emails later...", slam that sucker down. You're not a slave to your work life. Sometimes we need the thunder of a powerful slam to snap us out of that delusion.
Once it's shut it's much easier to ignore. Unlike desktops which stay screen up and "engaged", laptops give users a visual reprieve by closing shut and physically being disengaged. If you are reading this thinking "Matt I have a desktop, what do I do?" - throw it through the nearest window and get a laptop. Then when the time comes, heartily slam that sucker shut and spend time with loved ones.
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