News and Updates
Why productivity tools can harm your productivity — and what to do about it
Mike Klökler
Aug 20, 2021
We all know the feeling when we found a new productivity app that finally solves all our problems. And then after a few days the first excitement fades. Quickly, we realize that the new fancy productivity app didn’t make us more productive after all.
In this article, you’ll learn how an overload of apps can harm your productivity and what you can do about it. Let’s get started!
Time Is Wasted Using Too Many Apps
An overload of apps can harm your productivity more than they help it. Research shows that employees use up to 35 different apps at work. This results in constant app switching. Another study shows that an average user switches applications 1,100 times a day, or one hour per day. That is 32 (!) days of lost productivity in a year.
Work Is Scattered Across Multiple Places
Another problem of app overload is that information is spread all over the place thus making it hard to find. Research from Qatalog and Cornell University shows that 54% of people think apps make it harder to find information. Another 43% are tired of constantly switching tools and communication channels. Consequently, adding new tools to your workspace can result in even more friction and harm your productivity.
Shiny New Tool Syndrome
Think of a chef. Sharp knives will help her to make great food, but it’s not the knives that do the cooking. While tools can be a nice add-on to enhance your productivity, you need to establish the necessary skills first. Once you have the them, you can play around with different tools to double down. Next time you see a new productivity app, use the mental model of net benefit instead of any benefit. Any tool will have some capacities that are beneficial to your workflow, but are they good enough to justify the switching and setup costs that come with it?
How Curiosity can help with app overload
If you’re thinking about improving your productivity, Curiosity might be a good choice for you. Curiosity is not another productivity app that is trying to replace your existing tools. Rather, its unified search lets you find any file, folder, message, or email across your local computer and cloud apps. You can also organize your projects, research, or other work in Spaces. Best of all, you can open Curiosity from anywhere with just a shortcut and find your work in seconds.
To try Curiosity for free, download it at curiosity.ai. Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn to hear first about new features.
We all know the feeling when we found a new productivity app that finally solves all our problems. And then after a few days the first excitement fades. Quickly, we realize that the new fancy productivity app didn’t make us more productive after all.
In this article, you’ll learn how an overload of apps can harm your productivity and what you can do about it. Let’s get started!
Time Is Wasted Using Too Many Apps
An overload of apps can harm your productivity more than they help it. Research shows that employees use up to 35 different apps at work. This results in constant app switching. Another study shows that an average user switches applications 1,100 times a day, or one hour per day. That is 32 (!) days of lost productivity in a year.
Work Is Scattered Across Multiple Places
Another problem of app overload is that information is spread all over the place thus making it hard to find. Research from Qatalog and Cornell University shows that 54% of people think apps make it harder to find information. Another 43% are tired of constantly switching tools and communication channels. Consequently, adding new tools to your workspace can result in even more friction and harm your productivity.
Shiny New Tool Syndrome
Think of a chef. Sharp knives will help her to make great food, but it’s not the knives that do the cooking. While tools can be a nice add-on to enhance your productivity, you need to establish the necessary skills first. Once you have the them, you can play around with different tools to double down. Next time you see a new productivity app, use the mental model of net benefit instead of any benefit. Any tool will have some capacities that are beneficial to your workflow, but are they good enough to justify the switching and setup costs that come with it?
How Curiosity can help with app overload
If you’re thinking about improving your productivity, Curiosity might be a good choice for you. Curiosity is not another productivity app that is trying to replace your existing tools. Rather, its unified search lets you find any file, folder, message, or email across your local computer and cloud apps. You can also organize your projects, research, or other work in Spaces. Best of all, you can open Curiosity from anywhere with just a shortcut and find your work in seconds.
To try Curiosity for free, download it at curiosity.ai. Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn to hear first about new features.
We all know the feeling when we found a new productivity app that finally solves all our problems. And then after a few days the first excitement fades. Quickly, we realize that the new fancy productivity app didn’t make us more productive after all.
In this article, you’ll learn how an overload of apps can harm your productivity and what you can do about it. Let’s get started!
Time Is Wasted Using Too Many Apps
An overload of apps can harm your productivity more than they help it. Research shows that employees use up to 35 different apps at work. This results in constant app switching. Another study shows that an average user switches applications 1,100 times a day, or one hour per day. That is 32 (!) days of lost productivity in a year.
Work Is Scattered Across Multiple Places
Another problem of app overload is that information is spread all over the place thus making it hard to find. Research from Qatalog and Cornell University shows that 54% of people think apps make it harder to find information. Another 43% are tired of constantly switching tools and communication channels. Consequently, adding new tools to your workspace can result in even more friction and harm your productivity.
Shiny New Tool Syndrome
Think of a chef. Sharp knives will help her to make great food, but it’s not the knives that do the cooking. While tools can be a nice add-on to enhance your productivity, you need to establish the necessary skills first. Once you have the them, you can play around with different tools to double down. Next time you see a new productivity app, use the mental model of net benefit instead of any benefit. Any tool will have some capacities that are beneficial to your workflow, but are they good enough to justify the switching and setup costs that come with it?
How Curiosity can help with app overload
If you’re thinking about improving your productivity, Curiosity might be a good choice for you. Curiosity is not another productivity app that is trying to replace your existing tools. Rather, its unified search lets you find any file, folder, message, or email across your local computer and cloud apps. You can also organize your projects, research, or other work in Spaces. Best of all, you can open Curiosity from anywhere with just a shortcut and find your work in seconds.
To try Curiosity for free, download it at curiosity.ai. Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn to hear first about new features.
We all know the feeling when we found a new productivity app that finally solves all our problems. And then after a few days the first excitement fades. Quickly, we realize that the new fancy productivity app didn’t make us more productive after all.
In this article, you’ll learn how an overload of apps can harm your productivity and what you can do about it. Let’s get started!
Time Is Wasted Using Too Many Apps
An overload of apps can harm your productivity more than they help it. Research shows that employees use up to 35 different apps at work. This results in constant app switching. Another study shows that an average user switches applications 1,100 times a day, or one hour per day. That is 32 (!) days of lost productivity in a year.
Work Is Scattered Across Multiple Places
Another problem of app overload is that information is spread all over the place thus making it hard to find. Research from Qatalog and Cornell University shows that 54% of people think apps make it harder to find information. Another 43% are tired of constantly switching tools and communication channels. Consequently, adding new tools to your workspace can result in even more friction and harm your productivity.
Shiny New Tool Syndrome
Think of a chef. Sharp knives will help her to make great food, but it’s not the knives that do the cooking. While tools can be a nice add-on to enhance your productivity, you need to establish the necessary skills first. Once you have the them, you can play around with different tools to double down. Next time you see a new productivity app, use the mental model of net benefit instead of any benefit. Any tool will have some capacities that are beneficial to your workflow, but are they good enough to justify the switching and setup costs that come with it?
How Curiosity can help with app overload
If you’re thinking about improving your productivity, Curiosity might be a good choice for you. Curiosity is not another productivity app that is trying to replace your existing tools. Rather, its unified search lets you find any file, folder, message, or email across your local computer and cloud apps. You can also organize your projects, research, or other work in Spaces. Best of all, you can open Curiosity from anywhere with just a shortcut and find your work in seconds.
To try Curiosity for free, download it at curiosity.ai. Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn to hear first about new features.
