Distraction Free Development with a Raspberry Pi

Posted on 25/03/29 in Developer Life

Tags: raspberry-pi, focus, distraction-free, workflow

Personal projects kept stalling because it was too easy to drift into YouTube or Reddit. Work focus was fine, but at home the main PC acted like a distraction machine.

The desk setup uses a single 27 inch monitor with multiple inputs and a USB switch that shares the webcam, speakers, a Blue Yeti mic, mouse, keyboard, and a spare hub across machines. The constant temptation came from the gaming PC living on that same switch.

The change

After trying blockers and focus apps without success, the switch was to a dedicated development machine that does not reward distraction: a Raspberry Pi 5 with 16 GB RAM, a spare 256 GB NVMe, a small fan, and Raspberry Pi OS. One deliberate choice made the difference. The Pi is not connected to audio through the USB switch, so videos play without sound. That extra friction removes the usual rabbit hole.

Results after a month

A higher barrier to distraction: switching inputs and USB over to the PC adds enough friction to stay on task.
Clear context: sitting at the Pi signals it is time to build, not browse.
Fewer notifications: no Discord or personal Slack, which keeps attention on the work.

Unexpected benefits followed. The Pi’s limits encourage fewer tabs, mornings start with focused work before the day ramps up, and time in the terminal has sharpened Linux habits.

The approach is pragmatic rather than heroic. Instead of relying on willpower, the environment now nudges the right behaviour, and the projects are finally moving again.

Thanks for reading. If a hardware constraint helped you focus, share it so others can try it too.