There is an ongoing debate on the internet about the workflows, tools and setups. And in the midst of all of that consumerism tool chasing, we tend to learn a lot of new things, but never use the knowledge of software acquired. This is creating a radical toxic time waste, that prevents us from focusing on the important. I am guilty of this. But also aware of this rising problem.
Hi name is Bojan, and I am an App-o-holic in recovery
My workflow transformed over time, evolved and matured, up to a point, where I said it’s Enough. And once you indulge yourself in overabundance, you tend to lean towards app minimalism.
Sometimes I’ve been using too many apps, sometimes I was trimming them down too much, but eventually I’ve found balance around concepts. I don’t even try apps “gone free”. More often than not, you will find yourself wasting more time than earning, by testing out the latest and greatest. I certainly recommend reading a review of the app, before you tip your toes into it. Sometimes spending 30 or so seconds researching before making a decision on an advertisement, will save you hours of time, instead of going through it manually.
Experience from other people is essential. Sometimes you will just realize that the application is not for you, before you even press that buy button and waste money and more importantly: Time.
Minimal apps, minimal search
Over time my focus expanded on integrations, and I don’t want to be scattered around too many apps, so one app died off from my workflow.
Only apps that worked well with others, and played nice, got a place in my workflow. Apps like Drafts and Launch Center Pro are shining example of this. They are open in nature, and easily correlate to all the possibilities of other apps that are the part of the ecosystem. Both of them work with Text Expander for example, and that makes them insanely valuable.
How I killed a good app, because it wasn’t playing well with others
That app is Day One. Even though it was amazingly superior in terms of tracking your journal, it created friction in form of additional box for my things, and additional app. It simply didn’t correlate my minimal goals and integrations. And I knew that it had to go. If it was integrating properly into my Dropbox workflow and text files, I’d be still using it, as yet another “sunglasses” for my text files, but it works in semi-propriatery format. This excluded Day One from my Dropbox searches with Cloud Magic and Spotlight. This was not the good way to go, so my decision was based on that premise.
Final Thoughts
In the coming days, I am making a spring cleaning of my app ecosystem. I am going to review and minimize number of applications that I am consistently using. By the time you read this, there will be some progress on that end.
