Finding Useful Apps
I’ve tried and tested a lot of apps over the years and discovered a few things along the way. So, I figured I’d share some of them with you. Keep in mind, I’m what you might consider a ‘digital minimalist’. If it isn’t elegant, simple and functional, it’s gone.
That being said, here’s a quickfire summary of my process, my learnings and a few of my favourite apps (excluding games).
1. Process
Nothing special, but useful for context.
Most of the time, I’ll:
- Read or watch an app review titled something like Top apps or What’s on my mac/phone.
- Download apps that I haven’t seen before, are relevant to my work and inexpensive (ideally free)
- Test these for a while, usually 1–4 weeks, sometimes longer.
- Uninstall the ones I don’t think are worth keeping.
- Record the names of the apps I tested.
- Rinse and repeat.
2. Learnings
Tech review trash
Some app reviews aren’t as credible and unbiased as you might think.
A significant number of app reviewers recycle the same content.
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen plagiarized material without proper accreditation. Do your best to find the original source. It’s almost always more thorough and accurate than other versions.
App reviewers often get paid to promote certain apps, even if they aren’t very good.
This is especially true for popular websites or Youtubers with more web traffic. Even though content may be less frequent, I’ve often found lesser-known websites and video creators to be more trustworthy, more relatable and less biased.
Reviews often include 1–2 crappy apps in order to arrive at a round number like 10 or 20.
This is immediately obvious when it occurs, particularly in videos that cover a large number of applications. The creator will say something like “I don’t use it that often, but…” or “If you can put up with ‘X’ then this might be for you”. Less is more. Stick to articles and videos that follow this rule.
Measuring usefulness
When considering whether or not to keep an app, try asking yourself these six questions.
Is this app:
- Something I have used in last week/month?
- Saving me time and/or effort spent on regular tasks?
- Helping me develop/improve certain skills?
- Helping me to concentrate on important tasks?
- Performing better than a free alternative (for paid apps)?
- Beautifully designed and easy to use?
If the answer is a resounding NO to any of these questions, do yourself a favour and get rid of the app in question.
3. Applications
Finally, here are a few of my favourites
Dato
Date and time app for your menu bar
macOS / $2.99USD
If you’re someone who is contacting people overseas regularly or creating calendar events for work, Dato is an absolute must-have. It’s lightweight, inexpensive and beautifully designed.
- Shows both date and time in the menu bar
- Clicks through to a full month-view calendar
- Ability to add clocks from different time zones
- Works with dark-mode
- Highly customisable
Spectacle
Move and resize windows with ease
macOS / FREE
Having grown up with Windows computers in the ’90s, the fact that macOS still has a lacklustre window management system is beyond me. Once you use Spectacle, you won’t go back, especially when you get familiar with using the hotkeys.
- Quickly resizes windows
- Doesn’t require full-screen mode
- Lightweight application
- Easily accessible through the menu bar
- Customisable hotkeys
Dozer
Hide status bar icons on macOS
macOS / FREE
Every Mac I’ve ever owned has had a menu bar bursting at the seams. Not only does this stress me out, but it also makes it annoyingly hard to find what I’m looking for. Dozer allows you to hide apps you don’t use regularly with the click of a button.
- Quickly show/hide menu bar items
- Subtle, minimal design
- Auto-hide feature hides apps after 10 seconds
- Customise which apps to show/hide
- Ability to add hotkey shortcut
Skips Ads
An easy way to skip annoying YouTube ads
Android / FREE
Skip Ads app automatically presses the ‘Skip Ad’ button as soon as it displays on Youtube videos without you having to lift a finger. If you watch a lot of Youtube and don’t subscribe to Premium, this one’s a no-brainer.
- Free version available
- Works automatically
- Regularly updated
- Paid version mutes ads
Subscriptions
Keep track of your subscriptions
Android / FREE
Digging through emails and bank statements to find out when your subscriptions occur and how much they cost is a slow, painful experience. Subscriptions keeps all of your paid subscriptions in one tidy, beautiful, easy-to-access place.
- Free version available
- Ability to add subscription alerts
- Beautifully designed UI
- works with system dark-mode
Thanks for reading!
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below!
