So, Dave has been nagging me to try to spend more time on my iPad and less on my Mac. He has made the change almost completely in the evenings and on the weekends. I typically only use my iPad for reading or surfing the web outside of the house. It's not that I don't like it, it's just habit to sit with my laptop on the couch. I know Zamboni likes Dave's idea of ditching the laptop, cause then he can sit in his throne (my lap) and not have a laptop for a pillow (see pic)!

This weekend, we had no kids activities so Dave challenged me to a laptop-free weekend, he even made sure I had 100% battery on my iPad. Well, what wife walks away from a challenge from her husband? Not this one, so, Game On!

Well, I will say it's Monday and I survived, but I am currently working off my laptop now. Here is how I fared. I had to fight the urge to reach over and grab my laptop, I had to fight the urge to use my mouse, I had to argue with Zamboni about sitting on my lap the entire weekend. I did have more freedom in my sitting positions, so that was a plus. I did spend a little less time plugged in as a result also, which is also a plus.

Some things that aggravated me were getting used to reading news apps versus the websites. They are laid out differently and I had to hunt for the sections that are my go to, and I felt like I was missing information. I am a long time HootSuite user, I like my little Owly dude in my Chrome toolbar on my Mac. I don't have that on the iPad (and I am not entirely sure if it's available or not) to just tweet an article with an owly link in an instant. I don't like the process of pinning to Pinterest off my iPad either. I also like my little "Pin it" button on my toolbar that works from any site I am on (Ok, I am sure these two buttons might be available, but again, I haven't figured it out yet!).

Some other things, we all know not every industry is up on tablet technology. I like to spend time surfing travel sites, dreaming of new destinations to try. Travel sites blow on the iPad. I also like to shop, and a lot of shopping sites are still flash ridden. I was on the Nordstrom app, looking for a cute new top....I couldn't sort by size! Are you kidding me?? There were 1600+, I had to sift thru, petite, plus & maternity...none of which I am! So, I gave up on that. A big part of the drawback of these types of issues to me is, it was the weekend and I spent it screaming in my head that we could help all these companies streamline their user experience and probably get more business. Technology is just lacking and it shouldn't be! So, it's the weekend and I am thinking about work. Admittedly, a lot of my frustrations here wouldn't have been if business stopped fighting technology. I should not have to reacclimate to a site/brand I frequent just because I am on an iPad.

Another issue I had is, I don't like the weight of my iPad. I have an iPad 2. As developers, we have several for testing and development. We have the mini, that's Dave's, I think I would prefer that size, but I can't justify it yet for me. So for now, since the dog likes to sit on my lap when then laptop isn't there, he is the iPad prop. So far he hasn't complained, so we will make do with that.

I know all this is a matter of me getting used to different layouts, and functionality (as well as business getting on the tablet bandwagon and making tablet versions of their sites). It's just breaking a habit. I mean after all I use my iPhone 5 for all these things, so why am I resisting the bigger screen of the iPad? Stubbornness, with no other excuse. Essentially the iPad can do all the things I use my Mac for, so I have no excuse, other than making new habits. My plan is to try to match Dave at least on nights and weekends. So, are you an iPad user? How often do you use it compared to your laptop/desktop/smartphone? Are there things you wish you could change to make the switch over easier?