Apps eat your time! How many notifications do you receive about offers and deals you don’t need? Each time you receive one of these, you expend mental energy to digest that offer and make a decision. Then you may delete that offer.
Over time, I have added many apps to my phone which I no longer need. I may have signed up for a one-time offer, but now my shopping habits have changed. Time to delete that app. [tap, tap – one app deleted.]
Now that I have deleted one app, I see many more apps that I could delete, but I waver. What if I could get a future offer or discount with that app? That is an example of FOMO, fear of missing out!
I click on an app, see all the potential discounts I can get, then realize that I don’t and likely won’t use them. So I delete that app. From then on, it was easier. I deleted another and yet another app. I was on a roll. Before I knew it, I had deleted 5+ apps.
No more just-in-case apps that will continue to rob my time and create stress by reducing my decision-making capacity. Barack Obama once told an intern that he could only make a certain number of good decisions in a day, so he doesn’t waste it on what to eat for breakfast. Don’t waste your decisions on FOMO offers and discounts.
Apps are now leveraging behavioral change methods. They present you offers based on your past shopping patterns. They nudge you by asking you to activate offers. By activating one of several offers, you signal your intent to the advertiser. At the same time, you are more likely to act on that offer and make a purchase.
For the next month, conduct an experiment. Delete all FOMO apps and offers from your phone. Give your mind a bit of a vacation. See if you feel less stressed, feel like you have more time, and feel more spacious within.