It’s 2025, and if a productivity app doesn’t integrate seamlessly, automate intelligently, or leverage AI to read your data for you, it’s no longer a helpful tool — it’s a liability. We have reached a tipping point where the classic apps we have relied on for years are now affecting our efficiency.

This post names and shames six apps — including industry veterans like Evernote, task managers like Google Tasks and Trello, and utility giants such as LastPass and TeamViewer — that are simply bloated and outdated in a modern, AI-driven workflow.

Evernote

The green elephant is old now

Evernote was once my digital filing cabinet, my ‘Second Brain.’ For over a decade, it was the undisputed king of note-taking. However, by 2025, being a great filing cabinet is simply no longer enough.

I had to retire it due to several reasons. The modern standard for knowledge management is linking and discovering relationships between notes. We call this ‘Graph view’ or ‘Networked thought.’

Evernote remains a linear system of notebooks and tags. This limitation alone instantly dates it in the age of personal knowledge graphs. Besides, the modern Evernote app is based on Electron

When I launch it, it often feels like I’m waiting for a website to load, not opening a snappy, native desktop app. While Evernote is trying to bolt on new features like Tasks and Calendar, it still doesn’t come anywhere close to Notion, Obsidian, or ClickUp.

TeamViewer

Much better alternatives out there

When I think of an outdated app, I think of something that charges a premium for a product that no longer feels premium. That’s TeamViewer for me in 2025.

For years, it was the unquestioned industry standard — the tool everyone used to help a family member or hop onto a remote work computer. But today, the entire user experience feels hostile, expensive, and deeply inefficient.

The most frustrating part is the price. TeamViewer’s subscription model costs hundreds of dollars a year. That price was justifiable a decade ago when they had no competition. Now? I’m being asked to pay top-tier enterprise rates for an app that interrupts my work.

Besides, TeamViewer feels bloated, and the competition is way ahead in terms of security and privacy. For example, RustDesk is a free, open-source rival to TeamViewer and even offers self-hosting capabilities.

LastPass

Dashlane as well

A password manager is another non-negotiable tool in any productive workflow. For a long time, LastPass was the convenient choice, but in 2025, I simply can’t trust a company with such a troubling track record.

While LastPass still gets the job done, there are many capable alternatives to consider. For starters, 1Password is a solid option with dozens of features to create a secure vault. And then there are open-source tools like Bitwarden to create unlimited entries without paying a single dime.

With LastPass, I have to take the company’s word that their encryption models are sound. After repeated security failures, that faith is gone.

Trello

Have you heard of Notion?

There was a time when Trello was pure genius. It was the best digital representation of a Kanban board, and I relied on its simplicity for everything. But in 2025, that simplicity has become a limitation.

I realized I was using Trello for one thing — to visualize workflow status — while using two or three other apps for the related context.

I don’t just track tasks; I manage content calendars, client relationship managers, meeting notes, and team wikis. Notion handles all of this under one roof using its flexible databases.

Trello is a fantastic visual organizer, but for managing the holistic, complex workload of 2025, I needed a database — and Notion is currently the best one I have found.

Google Tasks

Basic at best

I rely heavily on the Google ecosystem for my email and calendar, so I wanted Google Tasks to be my primary task manager. However, it’s just basic, frustrating, and incapable of handling a modern workflow.

The biggest reason Google Tasks is obsolete is its complete lack of automation and intelligence. I can’t set a priority level, tag for location or context, and there is no unified view of my entire workload across all lists.

Competitors like Motion and Reclaim.ai use AI to look at my calendar and automatically time-block my tasks. Google Tasks requires me to manually assign a date and time to every single entry. It does zero of the heavy lifting for me.

Goodbudget

Doesn’t stand a chance against alternatives

I respect Goodbudget for pioneering the digital envelope system. While it supports a range of features, like bank sync, the UI still looks basic at best.

The user interface feels clunky and hasn’t adapted to modern aesthetic or functional expectations.

Navigating menus and adjusting envelopes feels clunky compared to the sleek, intuitive dashboards of newer apps like YNAB.

For me, Goodbudget became a chore that added friction to my day instead of eliminating it.

Outdated and over

For years, apps like Evernote, Trello, and LastPass were a crucial part of our workflows. The modern work setup requires apps that automate categorization, manage your schedule, finances, and more without breaking a sweat.

So what are you waiting for? If a tool in your hand is more than five years old and doesn’t have a robust feature set, it is actively dragging down your potential. Go ahead, replace one item on this list with a modern alternative and reclaim your lost hours.