Stop trying be everyone else!
You are unique. You are you! That’s what makes you special. That’s what makes you amazing. Where people mess up is they stop being themselves and try to be someone else. It gets all of us in trouble. It can be small things. It can be big things. It can be lots of things. It can be one thing. (I feel like I have the making of a Dr. Seuss book here.)
I’ve been learning this myself over the past several years. I’ve documented my journey with journaling quite a bit. I’ve shared my love for the iPhone and apps and productivity quite a bit. I’ve gone through more apps on my iPhone/iPad than I care to admit. I’ve used almost every task manager app known to man. I’ve even paid for quite a bit of them.
It doesn’t just stop there, though. I have gone through notes apps and paid for a lot of them. Journaling apps. I’ve tried several of them. Not to mention all the notebooks I’ve purchased to do analog journaling. Blogs? Yup. Tried a lot of them too. Social media? Yup. Been there too.
What’s the point you ask!
I’m not sure there is one. I’m kidding. The point is simple. Just because something works for someone else doesn’t mean it’s right for you. That goes for every area of your life. Just because someone else is really good at buying/selling on the stock market doesn’t mean you are. You can learn. You can study. You can become good at it but you may not be good from day one.
Just because someone else loves using Omnifocus or Things 3, doesn’t mean it will work for you. (As a side note, I’d stay away from Things 3 because they’re terrible at listening to the needs of their customers). Someone may use Bear or Drafts for notes, that doesn’t mean it’s right for you.
I guess what I’m saying is if I had learned this years ago, I wouldn’t have spent so much money on apps that I’ll never use again. Here’s what. is working for me:
Notes:
- Drafts (I’m writing this blog post using it right now)
- Notes (I store long term notes in here)
Tasks:
- Reminders (I use it for repeating tasks mainly)
- Field Notes (I love carrying a pocket notebook with me)
- Bullet journal (See below)
Calendar:
- Google Calendar (work is all Google based)
- Calendar (I put personal stuff in here but have it shared to my Google calendar so I can see it all in one place)
Journaling:
- Notebook (I still love analog journaling. I use a Bullet Journal at the office to keep track of meeting notes, tasks, etc. I have a journal I purchased a while back that I write in almost every night)
- Journaling App (I just this app because it’s simple and plain. I love the layout. Anything personal that I don’t want other people to find or read, I usually put in here. Mainly gripes and vents about people)
That’s about it. I’ve tried many other apps but I’ve settled on these. They’re simple and pretty much come with the device. Drafts is an app that I pay a yearly subscription for and will continue to do so because it’s my favorite app on the planet. I have found out what works best for me through trial and error. And when I decided to stop being like everyone else and jumping to the next best thing. This all stopped for me when I realized that the YouTube videos and the app review articles were done by people that were paid for their services. Either by the developer or by a website. That means they’ve got a skewed opinion of the app and are there to try and get me to pay for this app.
All of this to reiterate my original point. It’s ok to be you. It’s ok to not be like everyone else. Whatever works for you is perfect. It’s beautiful. Stop spending money on things that other people say will make you more productive or serve you better. If you have a system, stick with it. You’ll be better off in the long run.