I feel like I’ve documented my addiction to apps before. Not as much as an addiction to the apps but an addiction to fidgeting with my iPhone. Always looking for the perfect setup. The perfect wallpaper or the perfect task manager.

I have downloaded more apps than I care to mention. I’ve also deleted more apps than I care to mention. It always starts with hearing about or reading someone’s experience with an app. I may not have a need for said app at the moment but, in my mind, I can make it fit into my workflow. Inevitably the app gets deleted or forgotten about and never used (There are a handful of apps that have actually stuck around: Drafts, Dark Noise, WaterMinder, and theScore are a few that come to mind).

The problem isn’t that the apps are bad. Most of the time the apps are very good at what they do. The problem is that I am trying to make something fit into my workflow based off someone else’s needs. In other words, as great of an app as Ulysses is, it doesn’t fit into what I need or want when I’m writing. I’ve tried it. I’ve tried a lot of different writing apps and I keep coming back to Drafts as my primary source of writing (for my blog, the local newspaper or several websites I contribute to).

I tried Ulysses because I read about how great it is. I tried to make it work into my workflow because other people use it in there workflow. Does that mean its a bad app or that I’m not using the best app available? The answer is no to both of those questions. It may be the perfect app for someone else, but not for me. Now, I used Ulysses as an example, but I could go through the list of popular apps that I have tried and do not use.

What I’ve learned to do is trust my process. I have a good process when it comes to writing sports articles, sports reports for the radio, blog posts, as well as many other things. What works for me is not what other people should do and vice versa. Its not bad to experiment. Its not wrong to try new apps. I highly encourage both. However, if something doesn’t feel right or work the way it needs to for you to be productive, there’s nothing wrong with deleting the app and going backwards.