Going local-only
A relatively easy step can help your focus and reduce stress
When I got my most recent Mac, I created an account for everyday use but I also created a “local only” account. The everyday account has services and apps I log into. The “local only” account doesn't. The point of it is that I don't log into anything with it. I don't give it admin privileges either so any time I want to do anything like install software, I have to log into my regular account or my admin account.
The history
Why would I do such a thing, you might ask. It's the kind of thing people do ask me when they hear about it. In the earliest days of personal computing, you were generally limited to doing one thing at a time on your computer. That had a lot of disadvantages. What if you wanted to put something you did in Program A into Program B? Options existed but none of them were great. Then, computers introduced “multitasking” which at the time meant “we're going to stop the old program but keep it ready to go the moment you need it.” It was an improvement but it had issues too. Eventually, there was “pre-emptive multitasking” and we really were running more than one thing at a time. We were still kind of limited by the computer's speeds but computing was starting to look a lot like what we think of as computing today.
As computers got faster, we had them doing more things at the same time. Software and OS makers didn't have to care so much about whether their software ran amok using wild amounts of resources. Depending on who you ask, that was a problem. Count me in the “it's a problem” camp but it's not why I have a local-only account.
When you log into your computer, what happens? Not from a technical perspective. What do you experience? If it's anything like what happens when I log into a computer, you're getting popups and notifications. Things want attention. If you need to feel busy and you didn't have anything else on your plate, there's probably a lot to keep you occupied. As time progresses, you get new notifications on your screen demanding attention, action, and decisions.
Just walking into another room can cause me to forget why I was going into that room in the first place. Every time I have an interruption on my computer, I'm taken out of the task and out of the mindset I had going into it.
By eliminating all of that, I can just do what I came to do.
I don't think our computers should work this way, by the way. I think it's offensive that our computers (and phones for that matter) are treating us like mental pinball machines, bouncing us from one stimulus to the next until we're numb and go turn a streaming service on.
As long as they do, some of us still need air to breathe creatively. Setting up a local-only account is a great way to do that without getting a second computer.
How
This isn't going to be a full technical guide, just a quick start in the right direction. I've got instructions for both Windows and Mac here. The situation is too unique on Linux so I'm going to leave you to your own devices on that.
Mac
- Open System Settings either from Launcher or Spotlight or whatever your preferred method is
- Navigate to Users and Groups
- Create a new user with Standard permissions
Your computer will probably tell you to log out and log back in before the new account can be used. Just reboot your dang computer.
Over time, your computer will try to get you to do things like log into the App Store or whatever else. If you absolutely have to in order to do iCloud or something else (backups are good!), then do it but only grudgingly and carefully. The entire point here is to log into nothing at all if it can at all be helped.
Windows
These instructions are for Windows 11 and they are true as of October 14, 2024. Microsoft really doesn't want you creating local-only accounts. This should be considered a workaround at best.
- Open Settings
- Find the Accounts option
- Under the top section (Other users) click the Add account button
- Microsoft will ask you how this person will sign in. Click the I don't have this person's sign-in information link below the Email or phone field
- On the next screen, they will try to get you to create a new Microsoft account for the new user. Ignore that and click Add a user without a Microsoft account.
- Give that local only account a username and password
There are a few ways to access this account. The easiest way for me is to lock the account and then select the local account from the account selector at the bottom left hand side of the screen.
What now?
Dunno. It's up to you. I use my local-only account for writing fiction (and non-fiction like this), learning programming languages (Rust at the moment), and making book covers.
I could use it for writing letters or journaling. Whatever might benefit from having fewer interruptions. I can't really live without stuff that brings the distractions forever but it gives me the freedom to step away from it for a few minutes while still basically having the kinds of things a computer is good for.