The Endless App-Switching Loop
You’re a self-proclaimed productivity tech nerd.
Your systems are humming along nicely—until the flashy new XYZ app drops.
You buy it.
You migrate data.
You reorganize everything.
You spend weeks learning the tool instead of doing the work it’s supposed to support.
After a few months, you’re feeling comfortable with the app and spending more time on your work than on the app.
Your systems are humming along nicely.
Then the flashy new ABC app is released.
And you already know how this story goes.
The cycle never ends…
The problem isn’t bad apps.
The problem is allowing tools to become a hobby rather than supporting the work.
But don’t give up; there is a fix for your new app addiction.
Working the System Instead of the Work
Unfortunately, productivity enthusiasts are known for wasting time switching between applications.
We spend more time working the system than the work the system is designed to support.
And then to add insult to injury, after making the big switch, we find there’s no real benefit.
In fact, you discover things the old app did better, and then you become disillusioned.
You’re ripe for another change, which, of course, the market will provide for you.
One Simple Rule That Changes Everything
One of the most innovative solutions I’ve seen doesn’t involve finding the right app—it involves limiting when you’re allowed to switch apps.
David Sparks has a self-imposed rule: he allows himself to make significant application changes only once a year, during the week between Christmas and New Year’s.
This is a simple solution to a complex problem. By limiting how often he can make changes, he avoids the problems of Shiny New App Syndrome, decisions made out of boredom or a desire for change, and related issues.
It puts the brakes on quick decisions in the heat of the moment.
He can test and evaluate during the year, but not adopt. If he decides to adopt a new app, he’s already thoroughly tested and vetted it in his workflow.
6 Tips to Evaluate Your Tech Stack
What criteria should you use when evaluating your tech stack?
1. Is This Just the New and Shiny?
“Shiny New Thing Syndrome” is a prevalent disease shared by many productivity tech nerds.
It occurs when people focus undue attention on a new and trendy app, yet drop it as soon as something new can take its place. The Lure and Downsides of Shiny New App Syndrome, by Jim Eagar.
What is your primary motivation to change your system?
Do you really need this new app to do what needs to be done?
Or are you just being seduced by the fact that it’s the newest kid on the block?
If this app didn’t exist last month, would you still feel the need to change?
2. What Problem Does This Actually Solve?
Is there anything falling through the cracks that the current system is not capturing?
Are there essential functions that the new app fills, but the old one doesn’t?
What specific problem will still exist if you don’t switch?
If it doesn’t fix a gap in your present system, what’s the point of all the time and hassle of changing?
3. Is Anything Actually Broken?
If your current system already meets your needs, what’s the point of changing?
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Often, the software you’re already using, and you already know, is perfectly adequate to meet your needs.
As Paul Jun writes in his book, Connect the Dots,
“The challenge isn’t to find better tools to lead a more productive life, it’s learning to be mindful of the tools that have already taken root.”
You may need to learn more about using the app you already have instead of jumping ship to a new one.
4. Power Isn’t the Same as Useful
Features you don’t use aren’t power—they’re overhead.
Does the new app offer features that improve on what you’re using and that you’ll actually use?
Or are they just cool features that you’re likely not going to use anyway?
Sometimes productivity nerds are seduced by the mere presence of fancy new features, whether they use them or not.
If you don’t use features, what’s the point?
In forums like Mac Power Users, I frequently see people recommend an app by calling it ‘the most powerful,’ as though that alone makes it the best choice for everyone.
However, I question why the most powerful app is equated with the best app.
Whether an app is the most powerful is irrelevant to which app is best for you.
Just because an app is powerful doesn’t mean it’s the app you need to use. Why the Most Powerful Apps Often Aren’t the Right Choice for You, by Jim Eagar.
5. Does the Benefit Outweigh the Cost?
Productivity expert Cal Newport, in his book Deep Work, discusses what he calls the craftsman approach to tool selection. He writes that after identifying the core factors that determine success and happiness in your professional and personal life,
“Adopt a tool only if its positive impacts on these factors substantially outweigh its negative impacts.”
If, for instance, an app is so complicated that it’s going to take you three months and 30 hours to learn and implement it (the Obsidian app is an example for some users), perhaps it’s not worth it.
6. Use a Framework, Not a Feeling
Anne-Laure Le Cunff writes about how to make decisions when there are many choices in The Art of Good Enough. She says for big choices such as changing software systems, when the decision is meaningful, use a simple process to guide you:
“A method like the DECIDE framework keeps you grounded: define the problem, set your criteria, briefly review alternatives, identify your choice, make a plan, and evaluate afterward.”
A framework like this slows you down just enough to keep you from burning weeks on a decision you’ll undo three months later.
A Very Nerdy Christmas Gift to Yourself
If you’re going to make changes to your tech stack, the week between Christmas and New Year’s is the perfect time.
Not to chase shiny objects—but to decide, intentionally, which tools deserve a place in your life next year.
The best practice is to start testing apps you’re considering earlier in the year, and then make your final decision the week between Christmas and New Year.
But if you want to go ahead and make a choice this year,
- Pick a window — the week between Christmas and New Year’s.
- Ask the hard questions listed above about why you want to change apps.
- Make a tentative change and give yourself a few weeks to test the new app in your workflow before totally committing. If you find the new app doesn’t fit in your workflow well, go back to using the prior app.
Then close the app store and get back to the work that actually matters.
AI Note: I wrote this blog post myself, using my own words and thoughts for the initial draft. I used AI only to suggest headlines, section headings, images, and text improvements.
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