My Minimal Mac

I am a very recent Mac convert. A reluctant Mac convert too, because I loved my PCs. But in recent years, I’ve been downsizing, looking for better, simpler ways to do business. Since I spend all day, every day, on the computer. I need reliability, ease of use, and a clean working surface. I have a Zen-like approach to GTD, and the 13” MacBook Pro fits in to my lifestyle perfectly.

As a Mac convert, I was initially deluged with websites and information. Minimal Mac (recommended to me by fellow author Jeff Abbott,) 43 Folders and Zen Habits have become staples of my daily diet. I was already practicing minimalism on my Sony Vaio, adhering to the tenants of Merlin Mann’s Inbox Zero and Leo Babauta’s Zen lifestyle, but Minimal Mac has allowed me to take this to new levels of serenity.

My dock holds only the few items I regularly use: Freedom, Word, Firefox, Tweetdeck, iTunes and Finder. I’ve just upgraded to Snow Leopard, and really like the new Exposé. The dock resides at the bottom of my screen, out of site until I need it. I love that it disappears when my cursor isn’t on it. Clean screen. I use Finder and Spotlight to get to my files and the Gmail notifier, though I’ve turned the notifications off, so I can click directly through to my email without being inundated with noisy updates. I turned my menu bar transparent, took out most of the excess icons (you’ll see Mozy in there for quick backups, and the character palette, because I’m still learning shortcuts.) There’s something to be said for not knowing about all the bells and whistles.

Having to move all my documents gave me the chance to clean things up, get the excess filed away. I’m perfectly organized now.

The current desktop picture is a shot from northern Italy that I took the last time I visited. Looking at it feels like sucking in a breath of fresh mountain air. Very calming.