Life is full of distraction. A business needs these four apps for your marketing and sales — just take them off your phone. If you keep these four apps for use on computers only, it makes a huge difference in your productivity. Most articles tell you what phone apps to add for productivity, but this one is about what phone apps to delete to win back your productivity.
The endless stimuli around us constantly divert our attention. Today, more than ever, there are companies and products that benefit from capturing this attention. That means that the media is doing a better and better job of appealing to our unique interests. And we are only going to see this customization improve over time.
Finding some of those unnecessary distractions now and muting or eliminating them can set up a foundation of strong habits. If you implement these effectively, you can not only be a more productive person in the short term but also down the road, as more and more technology makes it harder to be efficient.
Everyone gets preoccupied with their own unique mix of distractors. Here are four Apps everyone can delete for “computer only” use to drastically boost productivity and effectiveness:
1. Snapchat.
Messaging people on Snapchat is a big time suck, which means it is one of many phone apps to delete. We are more inclined to take the perfect picture with the perfect caption, given the nature of the app. While it is feasible to have conversations via Snapchat, they will not be as meaningful or productive as over long-form messaging platforms.
Therefore, Snapchat has become an app to use more for leisure than productive communication. Snapchat also sucks our time with Stories and other features. It is tempting to click on a story to see what your friend is doing. One story turns into two and two into twenty. Seeing what other people are doing often just serves the purpose of making you less present in the moment.
People that are concerned with stories are also often thinking about what story they should post. There’s nothing wrong with posting Snapchat stories, but it can often take you out of the moment. You will get more out of your day by simply being present!
2. Facebook
You do not have to delete messenger to delete Facebook. Messenger can be a valuable way to communicate with people. Facebook, on the other hand, has a goal of keeping you online as long as possible. They have countless people working to optimize your news feed to keep you on the site. That means if you like baby cat videos, Facebook will figure that out and put them in your feed.
It is easy to shift towards Facebook when we do not want to be doing our work or have a small break. That being said, deleting the app outright is an easy way to stop yourself from divulging.
Just having messenger will give you the chance to interact with your friends in messaging form without getting distracted with your feed.
3. Netflix
Some people love their movies and TV. There is a value that can be provided through these forms of media, and for some people, it is an effective way to wind down. One of the biggest issues with Netflix, though, is how easy it is to watch the next episode. This makes it one of the top phone apps to delete because you know immediately how much time you will lose if you open it.
You can get Netflix on your computer or any other screen. The shows are, admittedly, addictive. Therefore, having Netflix downloaded and starting a new show or series is often an accidental commitment towards watching significantly more.
Plus, not having Netflix will force you to find other ways to wind down or relax. This could come in the form of other, more productive, outlets. It could be spending more time with friends and family.
You may realize you love to paint or be indulged to pick back up an instrument. Even going outside and walking can be a great way for people to decompress. Doing that gives you both exercise and a chance to think and decompress.
Netflix is one of the biggest time sucks because of the bulk amount of time it can take up. Shows are long and series go on forever. Using Netflix time for some other activity can also push you to find new skills and hobbies that are more beneficial.
4. Push notifications
This isn’t quite an application in the “traditional sense,” but push notifications on your phone and computer provide major distractions. There are times when you might need to urgently be checking for an email response or a text.
Nearly all of the time, though, those responses can wait for a few hours. It might not feel like it, but there is a marginal difference between responding to an email at six pm versus ten pm.
When we get these notifications popping up on our phone or desktop, they instantly take our attention away from our current task. Delete from your phone, silence on your computer and set hours for that business.
Even if we can get over the urge to respond immediately, which is often difficult, we still need to expend the mental energy to do so. This does not even take into account the times you might get a message and accidentally end up looking at the video or website within it for an hour.
Instead, handle your messages (whether text or email) when you are ready for them. You are going to have to commit your full attention to those things at some point, anyway, so might as well not worry about it until then.
