Let’s Embrace Disposable Features

Using apps that automatically delete data is something we’ve really only recently started getting accustomed to at scale thanks to the invention of Snapchat. Apps like Dust and Signal have taken the idea to the next level, offering secure platforms where messages aren’t even stored on servers.

These kinds of features are beneficial because they promote user privacy, but what if we applied similar features to the realm of productivity? Over the last 8 years, I have constantly been in situations where I needed a throwaway space to brainstorm or plan for something. When I say “throwaway space” I’m referring to a digital holding bay for information that will be discarded later with some of the data to be used moving forward for whatever task is at hand.

Back when I used Evernote heavily, I would create notes for plans, ideas, thoughts, product comparisons, etc. — basically stuff that could be considered important near the time of the note’s creation but could be considered much less important as time went on, unlike reference material or journal entries which theoretically stay important forever. So when I realized that I had years worth of practically semi-useless notes, I sorted through them while trying to remember what I was thinking at the time of their creation. If I had dealt with these notes closer to their origin, I would have saved myself hours of time and frustration.

Imagine a scenario where you are planning to travel to another state or country: you will need to choose the dates, get the vacation time approved at your job, choose a specific area in that country or state, compare hotels, compare travel options, write up a packing list, purchase new items, do laundry, contact a family member to babysit your kids, contact your neighbor about feeding your pets and watering your plants, tell the Post Office to hold your mail, cancel any conflicting appointments, get a passport, compare restaurants & entertainment and the list goes on. So you end up jotting down these notes and diagrams like a stream of consciousness brain vomit only to later discard and/or rewrite them. And just like our brains, we need to write these initial thoughts down in order to process & proceed forward and then discard what we don’t need.

I fundamentally believe software should learn from our brains’ inner workings and suggest we start implementing the following features:

• Semipermanent State — Don’t assume the user wants to keep everything they create. Never delete user data without permission/warning but also provide an option to separate disposable data from permanent working & archival data.
• Better Inbox — Offering a folder as a solution for drafting ideas and plans is not enough. We need features that are specific to our disposable needs rather than broad “Jack of all trade” features. We need a place where we can work on different types of information (tasks, checklists, notes, calendar dates, links, phone numbers, voice memos, maps, drawings) in a visual-first environment where context matters.
• Separate Item History — Instead of offering history backlogs for entire files or notes as a whole, offer logs per item (task, events, lists) inside the disposable workspace and allow the user to view these past versions quickly and easily. For example, imagine that there are 2 different times where you could see the same movie but depending on which showtime you attend, the rest of your evening’s plans change drastically within the context of these differing showtimes. What if you were unable to attend the movie time you had planned for? Instead of having to dig through changes to an entire document (think Dropbox or Evernote), you could select your alternative plan list with all of your old notes intact. A feature like this could save you from going into panic mode!
• Planned Erasure — Letting users schedule cleaning of their data could be one of the simplest ways to remove the clutter before it piles up. Either let the user schedule a timeframe to delete/archive their data or give them automated reminders to clean up their data manually.

If we can live in a world where robots vacuum our homes then why not live in a world where software can vacuum our disposable data?

Agree or disagree? Feel free to comment below or send me a message on Twitter. Thanks for reading :)