We all get excited about new gear.

The latest computers. The newest smartphones. The freshest features.

I pulled out my old iPhone 6 from storage. Most apps don’t work anymore—YouTube, social media, gone.

I planned to use it for music, alarms, and timers.

But I opened the empty Notes app and started writing my thoughts. The keyboard lagged a bit, so I switched off autocorrect.

A few minutes later, I have a page of ideas.

That’s when I realized—this could solve my creative block.

So I grabbed my old Bluetooth keyboard and phone stand. Connected everything. Opened Notes again. Wrote another page of ideas. Another page of ideas.

This slow device worked better than my newer ones.

I started my online presence with borrowed computers, USB sticks, and scratch paper. Now I have enough gear to run a small studio. But I create less.

New tools distract me—games, social media, doomscrolling. I follow more people but see fewer in real life. I compare instead of create. My hard drives are full of unpublished drafts and unedited videos.

I remember typing blogs during my commute on an iPhone 3G. It was outdated even then. Nobody cared. Nobody wanted to steal it. Facebook, YouTube, and games were unusable—which was perfect.

Now, this old iPhone might help me get back in the groove. I’ll strap on the keyboard. Write. Take photo notes. Set alarms. Play music. That’s all I need.

I’m excited again.

Got a project you keep putting off because of distractions? Try your old stuff. Give your gadgets a warrior’s death.


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