In 2012, I moved to Somerset, seeking a simpler life, away from the noise (actual and metaphorical) of London. I am naturally drawn towards slower living in many parts of my life but there are parts of me that are still drawn towards convenience. I love experimenting with speed in my work, and often shortcut processes using AI to accelerate the time it takes to go from problem to solution.
Being away from London, I have really noticed this widespread desire for convenience in so many ways, but for me a lot of the latest shifts have been observed from a distance. For example, Uber launched after I had moved away from London, and so while I do use Uber from time-to-time when in a city, I have never experienced it as my go-to mode of transportation. I’ve really noticed the trend in one-hour delivery services (which are not available to me) and while very popular, I wonder how often this satisfies a genuine urgent need.
This relentless pursuit of ease and speed, while alluring, comes at a cost. The very technologies designed to simplify our lives are also speeding them up, leaving less room for the slower, more deliberate moments that once grounded us. In some ways, the promise of more leisure time is just resulting in more happening for us each day. We’re in a world where the next task, social post or message is always just a tap away, where instant gratification has become the norm and where the hustle never seems to end.
I wanted to explore what we may be losing in the name of convenience, and share my thoughts. How has the quest for efficiency reshaped our routines, our relationships and our communities, or even our sense of self? Is there a way to reclaim what’s been lost? Can we find a balance between the ease we crave and the depth we need as humans?
The Allure of Ease
Convenience has become a cultural expectation.
Over the past few decades, we’ve witnessed a significant shift in how we approach daily life. Tasks that once required time, effort and patience can now be accomplished with a few taps on a screen.
Technological Advancements: From the advent of the internet to the rise of smartphones and AI, technology has relentlessly pushed the boundaries of what’s possible. These innovations have been welcomed with open arms, as they offer us unprecedented access to information, services and entertainment. The convenience of having everything at our fingertips - from shopping and banking to communication - has fundamentally changed how we live.
But with each leap forward, we’ve also become more reliant on these technologies, often without questioning the long-term implications until years later.
Psychological Appeal: The appeal of convenience taps into deeper psychological needs. The desire for ease is intertwined with our natural inclination towards efficiency and control. The less effort something requires, the more appealing it becomes, allowing us to conserve energy for other pursuits.
This constant drive for efficiency can also lead us down a path where we prioritise speed over substance, and ease over experience. The simplicity and speed with which we can achieve our goals create an illusion of mastery, but it often comes at the cost of depth and fulfilment.
Immediate Gratification: One of the most potent effects of this shift is the normalisation of immediate gratification. We’ve grown accustomed to getting what we want, when we want it and with minimal effort. Whether it’s ordering a meal, streaming a movie or receiving a package within hours, the instant delivery of goods and services has reshaped our expectations.
This convenience comes with a hidden cost. It diminishes our ability to delay gratification, to wait and to engage fully with the present moment. In a world where everything is available instantly, we risk losing the appreciation for process, patience and the slow unfolding of time.
The Hidden Costs
The very ease that we crave begins to reshape our lives in ways that aren’t always positive, leading to a series of hidden costs that impact both our personal well-being and the fabric of our society.
Loss of Reflection: One of the first casualties of a convenience-driven lifestyle is the loss of reflection. When everything is designed to be quick and effortless, there’s little room left for the slow, deliberate moments that allow us to pause and reflect. The constant bombardment of information, notifications and tasks leaves little space for introspection or contemplation. We move from one task to the next, often without fully engaging with what we’re doing or considering its broader implications. In this rush, we lose the opportunity to connect with ourselves, to think deeply and to appreciate the present moment.
Erosion of Patience and Kindness: As our tolerance for inconvenience shrinks, so too does our capacity for patience and kindness. The expectation of instant results can lead to frustration and irritability when things don’t go as smoothly or as quickly as we’d like. This impatience can spill over into our interactions with others, making us less empathetic and more self-centred.
Impact on Relationships: The ease of digital communication and social media has made it simpler than ever to stay connected, but it has also transformed the nature of those connections. Relationships that once required time, effort and physical presence can now be maintained with a few clicks or taps, often leading to more superficial interactions.
Environmental and Economic Consequences: The demand for rapid delivery services, disposable products and energy-intensive technologies contributes to a cycle of consumption that strains our planet’s resources. The environmental cost of convenience is often hidden from view - manifesting in increased carbon emissions, waste, and resource depletion.
The Paradox of Convenience
As we embrace convenience in our daily lives, an ironic and often frustrating paradox emerges: the very tools designed to save us time often end up filling that saved time with more tasks, leaving us busier than ever. This paradox reveals itself in various ways, making us question whether convenience truly delivers on its promise of a simpler, more leisurely life.
In moving to Somerset, I’ve noticed how the absence of certain conveniences has forced me to slow down. While this can sometimes be frustrating, it has also offered me a valuable perspective on the true cost of convenience. For many years I have owned ‘slow coffee’ equipment - a hob-top kettle, beans that need grinding and a V60. I do enjoy good coffee, but this setup is mainly designed to ensure I am forced to get longer, more meaningful breaks from my work throughout the day.
This paradox of convenience fuels a cycle of busyness that can be difficult to escape. As we adopt more tools and technologies designed to streamline our lives, we inadvertently raise the bar for what we can achieve in a day. The expectation of constant productivity becomes ingrained, and the pressure to keep up with an ever-accelerating pace of life grows. Instead of enjoying more leisure time, we can find ourselves experiencing more fragmentation, more context-switching and less of the deep, meaningful experiences that come from slowing down.
Finding Balance
While the allure of convenience is strong, and its hidden costs are significant, I believe it is possible to strike a balance that allows us to enjoy the benefits of modern life without being overwhelmed by them. By approaching convenience mindfully, slowing down intentionally and fostering collective efforts, we can reclaim some of what’s been lost and create a more balanced, fulfilling life.
The first step toward finding balance is to approach convenience with mindfulness - being intentional about the conveniences we embrace and recognising when they are truly helpful versus when they simply add to our busyness. By consciously choosing when and how we use these tools, we can ensure that they serve us, rather than the other way around.
An important aspect of finding balance is the deliberate act of slowing down. In a world that constantly pushes us to move faster, choosing to slow down can be a radical act of self-care and preservation. I have a number of tasks that I carry out in a deliberately manual way including making coffee, making pizzas and chopping wood, to act as interventions and remind me of the need to taking things slowly sometimes.
Finding balance is something that can also be supported and strengthened by collective efforts. Communities can come together to resist the pressures of hyper-convenience and foster a culture that values connection, mindfulness and sustainability. This can be a group of friends, a culture within an organisation, or in some instances whole villages and towns.
It’s worth taking some time to consider what kind of balance we each want to strike between convenience and depth. While it’s almost impossible (and unnecessary) to eliminate convenience from our lives, we can choose to engage with it more thoughtfully.
Conclusion
It’s easy to get swept up in the promise of ease and efficiency, I know that left unchecked i find it easy to go too far with automation and convenience. But this relentless pursuit of convenience comes with hidden costs - eroding our patience and speeding up our lives in ways that leave us feeling more overwhelmed than ever.
Slowing down where we can, and fostering collective efforts, we can strike a balance that allows us to enjoy the benefits of progress without sacrificing the depth and richness that can make life meaningful.
Written by Russell