I counted the apps it took to switch my car insurance. The answer is four.

I finally did something that had been on my list since like the end of April. Switching my car insurance. Not hard. Not even super important. But doesn’t it just take a few minutes and I’ll save 10% right?

Nope. A couple hours and a few apps later and I saved like 7%. Not bad. But not great. I just wasn’t satisfied with how I used my time.

So I actually walked back through it. I had to scour my Dropbox first, because that's where the old policy PDF is. That took longer than it should have. Then search my notes app, because my accountant said something to me months ago about the car being partly business use and I vaguely remembered it changes the quote. Then I took that stuff into ChatGPT, because I had no idea what an insurer actually asks for - mileage, deductible, who knows what. Then off to Gmail to write the actual email to cancel my current policy.

Four apps. Over an hour before I was even in a position to make the switch. I made it happen, but the part that was bugging me was how many places one simple task was spread across.

And I think that's why it sat on my list since April in the first place. Starting it meant going and collecting my own information from four different places first, and some part of my brain was quietly pricing that in every time and going "not today."

But that’s kind of everything. Ok “everything” is being dramatic. But it’s a lot.

Booking anything. Following up with someone after a meeting. Basically anything that involves a document, plus a person, plus a date. Three apps minimum. All the information exists. It's just scattered.

I know the answer everyone's going to give is use fewer tools, and I've tried, it doesn't hold. The policy has to be in Dropbox. The email has to be in Gmail. The note got taken on my phone in a meeting because that's where I was. None of those feel like bad decisions, that's just where stuff ended up.

And I don't want another system to maintain, I've done that, the system just becomes its own chore.

So what I’m most curious about is, what's the worst app count you've hit on something that should have been simple? I feel like four is on the low end.