App choice anxiety

The problem with having so many app choices for common tasks is that you can end up spending more time deciding which app to use than actually starting the task.

The problem with having so many app choices for common tasks is that the sheer number of apps can be a complete productivity killer. Each choice is accompanied by a few trade-offs and the result, for me at least, is that I end up spending more time deciding which app to use than actually starting the task.

Ironically the solution is to just make a choice about everything. Or you can simplify your choices by sticking with defaults unless there is a really compelling reason to install something else (I think Nathan Jeffery tends to stick with default apps).

App choice anxiety is a real pain in the butt!

Tags anxiety, app choice, productivity

By Paul

Enthusiast, writer, Happiness Engineer at Automattic. I take photos too. Passionate about my wife, Gina and #proudDad.

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5 replies on “App choice anxiety”

Some time back, I made a conscious decision to opt for default by default.

There are some downsides to this, for example ecosystem lock-in, less money spent on the third party developer ecosystem, contributing to monopolies, the list can go on but when I think about it long and hard, the chance of me leaving the [Apple] ecosystem are highly unlikely and if I get so frustrated and angry that I need to leave then I’ll make the effort to migrate content.

There are a few benefits to default by default: the apps used on a daily basis come pre-installed most of the time, they’re “free”, they receive automatic updates and you’re pretty much guaranteed long term support for future OS iterations. You also avoid decision fatigue as you don’t need to choose, you just use what you’ve got.

It works for me because I’m fully invested, my desktop and mobile devices are all made by Apple but if I were to switch to Android for mobile or Windows or Linux for desktop then I would need to make some serious changes.

When it comes to functionality not supported by a native/default app then I generally opt for a cloud service. That way I can access the content from any OS without an issue.

In a sense, I’m also a bit of an edge case as I make a point to not use my phone for more than the bare essentials. I enjoy working at a big screen and feel more focused and productive at a desk so I can get away with using cloud services that don’t have mobile counterparts.