# This Is A Tool – Rhoneisms

<https://www.patrickrhone.net/this-is-a-tool/>

- Host: [patrickrhone.net](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/hosts/patrickrhone.net/)
- Saved: October 21, 2024 (2024-10-22T02:00:17Z)
- Record: https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/3e990c2b9c62/
- JSON: https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/3e990c2b9c62.json

## What Jamie wrote

My friend Patrick reminding us how he frames the phone that he carries around — as a tool. I’m not sure I’m as far to the utility as Patrick is regarding my phone, but I particularly agree with his framing at the end.

> If there are add-ons or functions of the tool that are meant to modify the tool in such a way as to be a distraction from the goals in using it, remove those add-ons or functions. Those features are not serving the goal of making the tool more useful. They are making the tool less so. They should be removed without prejudice.

Maybe said another way, that phone you carry everywhere is a shapeshifter that can be many things. It becomes the apps you put on it. I have no social apps on my phone. I have no streaming services on my phone. So those are two whole categories of things my phone cannot be. 

If we are super intentional about the apps that we install, and only add them if they align with the context that we want our phone to have, I think we will be much happier. Maybe a mobile streaming video thing is what you want? Then install those. 

But above all, be intentional about it.

## Facts

- Kind: [Page](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/kinds/page/)

## Appears in

- [WT298: Weekly Thing 298 / Tool, Solar, Circles](https://weekly.thingelstad.com/archive/298/), Notable

## Same host

- [Some Things I’ve Learned in 2022 – Rhoneisms](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/212788341622/) (patrickrhone.net, January 5, 2023)
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## Elsewhere

- Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://www.patrickrhone.net/this-is-a-tool/