Author: Betty Block

Let’s start with a fact that there is a surplus of almost everything on the market. Motivational quotes, science, start-ups, mobile apps, TV programs, bureaucracy, conspiracy theories. That the human mind is not biologically connected to process the infinite flow of colors, sounds, and, above all, that humanity is currently creating AND swallowing information every day.

File Manager Apps

To create order and clarity, I used Trello, Filza, Teamweek, Asana, Google Docs. For communication, I used Zoom, Google Hangouts, Slacks, Skype, and even the complete Gsuite package – among a lot of additional online applications, programs, and even “productivity tools.”

As you can see, each new application has reduced my emotional reserves exponentially faster than the last one (remember: the intellectual purpose is exhausting). I lost the digital battle faster than it takes to describe “project management.” I set myself a three-in-one goal: reevaluate my priorities, clean up the mess as much as possible, and adopt a minimalist, digital lifestyle at work and in my digital life.

Communication Apps

First, concerning the apps to be removed, the communication programs were the most important. They allowed their clients to send instant messages to other users using the application for better collaboration in real-time. Many of these programs had built-in video calls (some worked better than others), while others did not.

Skype comes pre-installed with Windows 10, requires a Microsoft account, has a straightforward and intuitive interface, but the call quality changes with each phone. Sloppy got many attributes, but few that would be used, excellent for instant messaging. However, the camera quickly became quite overloaded, especially the more users you discover in a particular area; the less ideal the search system is.

Productivity Apps

With my communication needs accumulating outside, it was time to filter through various productivity applications to find the perfect match without sacrificing usability. Asana is what you would expect, works quite slowly on tablets. It has a slightly higher learning curve than most of its competitors (although perhaps not quite), unnecessary animations (you can turn it off) did the job.

Finally, all that remains is often the nightmare of advanced work – applications for monitoring time. These programs are not ideal if you are the kind of person who makes a living with these programs, but they are great if you want to know what work has been done. Time management applications are also important for planning and productivity.

Hubstaff does not offer the primary input signal in time, counts keyboard and mouse actions, makes screenshots. I feel a bit crazy about this. Toggl provides a programming guide, ideal for teams and project managers, shows an overview and allows you to delve into the details. Google Calendar is more a pre-planning application than a simple, intuitive; the only drawback is its clumsy discussion function.

Conclusion

As you can see, I’m a Google fan. I think their products are as simple as they can be. Moreover, their applications are also quite intuitive, and newbies usually manage to grasp some basic features after a few tries. After I got rid of all programs, the major takeaway is that my nervousness has been like 75% gone. The leftover programs were helping me out rather than interfering with productivity and work. My physical desk started appearing more organized than ever, I ceased being late to the majority of conference calls, except those I didn’t particularly appreciate doing anyways.…