If you’ve read some of my previous blog posts, you’ve probably answered this question for yourself: “Is there a perfect app for boosting productivity?” The clear answer: “No!”
Less is often more, and there is no app that will do all the work for you.
It’s easy to fall into the illusion that this new app is exactly what you’ve been looking for to solve a problem you haven’t managed to fix with other tools. Similar to shopping, where you think, “This ab trainer will finally give me a six-pack,” the app often ends up like the unused ab trainer: It wastes space and doesn’t fulfill its intended purpose.
Apps Are Just Tools – They Don’t Replace Work
Apps are tools like anything else you buy to meet a need or solve a problem. Without the necessary context—and in most cases, that’s simply work—the most intuitive app won’t change your productivity level. The work still has to be done, and no app can do that for you.
That doesn’t mean apps can’t be helpful. There are indeed apps that make certain tasks easier for me, like “Trello” for project and to-do lists or the “Daily Dozen” app to track my healthy diet. But that doesn’t mean these apps are the solution to everything. They support you, but the actual work still falls on you.
Test Apps Thoroughly Before Adding Them to Your Toolkit
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with trying out a new app. Take a look at the features and check whether you might find them useful someday. Storage space on most mobile devices is not as limited as it used to be. However, before chasing after the next app, let me give you a few criteria to help you decide whether you really want to invest time, effort, and potentially money into a new app.
Principles for Selecting New Apps
Here are a few guidelines I follow when choosing apps:
1. What problem are you trying to solve? This is the most important aspect. Be creative and check if you can solve this problem or meet this need in another way. Do you really need an app for this, or can you achieve the goal in another, possibly even more efficient way?
2. Do you already have an app that solves the problem? Before installing a new app, think about whether you already have one that can solve the problem. If so, what does the new app offer that your old ones don’t? Especially if migrating data from the old app to the new one is necessary, you need to weigh whether the effort is worth it.
3. Is the effort for switching worth it? If you conclude that the new app is better, ask yourself: Do you really want to go through the effort of entering data or even maintaining data in two places for a while?
4. Is there an open-source alternative? If the app costs money, check if there’s an open-source alternative. While these alternatives aren’t always the better choice, it’s always worth considering them, as the transparency of open-source apps allows anyone to conduct security checks and make adjustments. Another plus is the active community that often forms around open-source projects. This community offers support, shares knowledge, and continuously contributes to the improvement of the software.
5. Free apps – but at what cost? If an app is free but not open-source, often your data serves as compensation for its development. Or, the free version may offer only very limited features compared to the paid version, which aims to lead you toward the paid version in the long run. So, check if the costs (either your data or the fees for the premium version) are reasonable for the service the app provides.
Conclusion: Introduce New Apps Consciously to Your Life
Feel free to check out my recent articles on “How to Make Your Smartphone Your Personal Swiss Army Knife,” where I help you make more mindful app choices and turn your smartphone into a better tool. Ultimately, the smartphone is just that—a tool—and should not serve as an end in itself.
Checklist:
- Define the problem you want the app to solve or the need you want it to fulfill.
- Check if you already have an app that solves this problem.
- Consider whether the new app offers real added value compared to an existing one.
- Be aware of the effort involved in switching (e.g., migrating data) when choosing a new app.
- Check if open-source alternatives are an option for you.