I’ve gotten a lot better at not buying the “hot” new apps once they arrive on the scene. App purchases are often impulse buys due to their low monetary cost – but the time cost can be much greater. That’s why I am “wish listing” a lot more of these apps – and there are a few ways to do this.
- iTunes: This feature gets used far less than it should. I put any apps I discover on my Mac on the iTunes Wish List, and I have an OmniFocus task that has a start date of the first of each month so that I can review what I’ve chronicled. At that time I purge what’s not needed and keep what still interests me. If it’s there for a lengthy period of time, I’ll buy it. But the amount of apps that stick around long enough are few and far between.
- A Web Clipper: Whether you use Evernote or another app that uses a web clipping tool, you can keep tabs on apps you’re interested in looking at. I use this option for software, web apps, and other apps that can’t be found directly in iTunes, and I review them in the same manner as I do with my iTunes Wish List. I tend to tag these items as well (with “Appsv”, of course) so that way I can easily filter and find them.
By being thoughtful now about you install on your iOS devices, you’ll be able to spend more time setting yourself up for those apps you really want to have. It may seem like a small thing to consider, but using wish lists will save you a considerable amount of time in the long run.
