Not all Apps are created equal. Some of them add great value to your life in terms of productivity. Others will provide endless fun and entertainment. Every app on your phone has purpose.
On the other hand, some apps do not help you reach your goals. They can waste your time and clog your phone with useless notifications. They can cause us to achieve less with our days.
The big question is: Do the apps on your phone provide additional fulfillment to your life?
While this question is important, it can also be broken down into a few smaller questions. This is what I would like to talk about today.
I want you to go through your devices (phone, tablet, Chrome book, etc.) and ask them the following questions. If you do not have a good answer for all of them, I would suggest removing the app from the device.
Signs That I Need To Manage My Apps
It is really easy to tell when it is time to delete some apps. However, it can be hard to think about not having the app as part of your life. You may feel some separation anxiety. It is important to keep in mind the reasons why we want to be a productive person.
A few reasons that I look for to manage my apps include:
- Feeling rushed and poor time management
- Mindlessly browsing on your devices
- Trouble keeping up with notifications
- Excess gaming
- Choosing your device over better decisions
- Strain on your social life
I know that a few of these may seem extreme. However, it is easy to lose a lot of time with our phones and devices. We are at a point in human history where we have overcome many of the barriers of communication. We all get trapped in the sea of information from time to time.
When was the last time you used it?
We all have apps like this in our phones. The old game we can’t give up on. Social media networks we no longer post to. The store app we used for a one time discount three years ago.
Going through our app list can cause us to play the “What if?” game. We may be plagued with some fear of missing out. If we can concieve of a future situation that utilizes the app then we should keep it, right?
Wrong. More apps means more notifications, less organization, and possibly a slower-performing phone.
Do you need this on the go?
Most of our devices are meant for portability. We carry our phones with us outside of the house and office. We leave the heavier lifting to our laptops and desktops. This is especially true of us who make digital art, music, and writing. Making art on our phones are no the most convenient.
Can it be replaced with a reminder?
A lot of the apps on our phones are used occasionally for a specfic reason. For example, we check our emails a few times per day.
However, while the app is not in use it is still active. It sends us notifications and alerts. The mere presence of the icon on the app list is enough to trigger our curiosity.
Many of these apps can be eliminated and replaced with a reminder on our phone. The reminder tells us to use our desktop/laptop to use the same service. Instead of our phone blowing up with emails all day, we get one reminder to go check our email.
This serves the dual purpose of cleaning up our phones and managing our time.
Does it positively impact your life and goals?
Listen, I love Candy Crush as much as the next guy. I’m lying, I mostly play roguelike and dungeon crawlers, but you get the point. Not every app will help us pursue our goals.
I love mobile games and the creativity put into them by their creators. However, they are not the best of use of my time. I personally do not keep more than two games on my phone at any given time. If I didn’t review games on this site I would probably lower the limit to one, or none at all.
Are you paying for it?
Membership fees can hit the wallet fast and hard. They serve as great examples of the “out of sight, out of mind” payments that stack up. Just a few monthly fees can eat up our extra income.
When dealing with Paid Apps, it is very important to look at both the lifestyle impact as well as the financial burden.
Look to see if there free alternatives available. The limitations of the free apps may work for what you are doing. The extra bells and whistles found in the paid version may not be of any use.
Paid apps need to add more to our life than the cost. Sometimes this is literal. For example, some of the paid apps I use for my website give me enough traffic to recoup the costs.
Other times the app adds more to my life than the cost of the app. The app I use to track my diet and eating habits saves me money in the long run. The $2 per month I spend is nothing compared to the money I would have spent on junk food without it.
What Do You Think?
How often do you go through the apps on your phone? Do you have any other factors that you use to determine if you delete or keep an app?
Let me know on social media!
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