Turning my phone to a jack-of-all-trades
Ever since I bought my first smart phone, I was obsessed with cramming my devices with loads of useless apps.
But with time, I noticed that the majority of apps are just laying there occupying space.
I recently bought a Huawei Honor 8X, and here's a list of apps I'll be installing
A few essential apps, and a minimal setup
I will start today with the first part, which is compiling a list of useful apps that I cannot go without, things that add value to my life.
Keep in mind that this post is not about the best android apps. It is about what "I" have on my phone.
The list of apps I use
Productivity
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| Google Calendar | Google Keep | Memorigi | Clear Todos |
Cloud Storage
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| Google Photos | Google Drive | DropBox | Mega |
Music & Audio
Ideally you'll need one app to stream music, one app for audiobooks (Librivox is the free alternative to Audible), another one for podcasts (if you're not into Google try DoubleTwist, or AntennaPod), and an app to identify music.
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| Spotify | Librivox | Google Podcasts | Shazam |
Communication
4 types of apps is needed (or not): emailing, teleconferencing, instant messaging, and a broadcasting medium. I am planning on using Twitter exclusively on laptop in the future. The majority of people around me use the Facebook-owned 'Whatsapp', so I was compelled to abandon my beloved 'Skype' and 'Hangouts'. 'Zoom' recent major data breach is worrying so I'm staying away.
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| Gmail | Google Meet |
Tracking
What get measured gets managed. Tracking time, money, calories taken, and calories burned.
Planning ahead will automate the process, so if I stick to my schedule on Calendar, and do some meal planning, I won't need 'aTimeLogger' and 'MyFitnessPal'.
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| aTimeLogger | Monefy | Mi Fit | MyFitnessPal |
Travel & Navigation
For my flights, I use 'Google Flights' which is a website and not an app, and it's powered by the mighty 'ita matrix' that Google purchased a while back. I am definitely not an Airbnb person as I don't like to stay in a place for long, so Booking suits me well. I also noticed that it contains most hostels listed in 'HostelWorld' as well. Google maps doubles as navigation and public transit app, but I recommend downloading a local transit app or 'City Mapper'.
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| Maps | Translate | Booking | Wikivoyage |
Morning routine
My morning "digital" routine starts by checking the weather. The native app isn't as accurate as 'Dark Sky' or 'Today weather', but nothing can beat a weather radar such as 'Windy'. As I'm writing this update, I am on a 330+ days streak on Duolingo, and to be honest, it isn't the most effective app for language learning. Then I read my daily digest on 'Feedly' the best RSS aggregator. And occasionally check Manga scans on Tachiyomi.
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| Windy | Duolingo | Feedly | Tachiyomi |
System
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| Gboard | Nova Launcher | KLWP | X-plore |
| Wellbeing (12) | Prana Breath, Home workout, Home workout, 30 day fitness, Bodyweight Fitness, Calistheniapp, 100 pullups, 200 pushups |
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Apps I don't use
Social media apps: I realized that they don't add much value into my life.
Mobile Games: addictive and time consuming.
Blue light filter: First, It's better to use monochromatic filter, second, sleep early, and you won't need it.
Recipe apps: I am compiling a list of my favorite recipes in a PDF file.
Online stores: pocket drainers, I do purchases on laptop
Pocket (reading articles offline): I am transfering articles to my kindle using a chrome extention.
A Password manager: I don't feel the need.
Breathing, and guided meditation:They are available as podcasts.
Apps to install occasionally:
Tor, Uber, Ubereats, Sectograph, Activity bubble, Org 2020, BombSquad, TwoPlayerGames, StarWalk2, memory map, locate my friends, smartkit 360, Prisma, Notebloc, tasker, Island, Wabbitemu, Mobile Electrician, carddecks, Survival Manual, History timeline, Clozemaster, DeutschLernen.
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