Smart luggage with lithium batteries are facing new travel restrictions

I have a single medium sized backpack that fits a few days worth of clothes as well as things like laptop, Switch, etc.

The biggest space saver is bringing some travel detergent and washing clothes in the sink/bath if needed. I also use my after work t-shirts as undershirts during the day. I generally only carry one or two pair of pants as they are the largest single item.

For work specifically, having wrinkle-free clothing goes a long way.

I've also done the same thing as you for cables and a few other things by just always leaving them in the bag. Cables are cheap enough to have dedicated ones (especially if you consider the cost of buying extra ones anyway when you forget one).

Not only does packing take me less than 10 minutes, I generally don't feel like I've forgotten anything.

On top of all that, actually traveling is way less stressful. It's easier moving around the airport (even just going to the bathroom is annoying when you're dragging around even the smallest of suitcases). I can also generally disregard when I board since I do not care about overhead space (my bag fits under the seat in front of me).

I would rather just buy something that couldn't be raided without ruining it or is otherwise unfeasible to use as a replacement for other things, like a large permanently installed battery in a suitcase.

So "don't take it out and remember to put it back if you do" is sort of unhelpful in my case. :-)