Plan your exit from Google Workspace

Full disclosure, I'm an affiliate for Google Workspace. I used it for a long. Long. Long. Time. If you're starting out, privacy isn't a concern, you enjoy "AI" built into things, or you need the convenience of everything in one place then Google Workspace is a great option for you. It served me well for many many years.

But for me, it was time to make the move. Convenience is coming at a price I can't justify anymore: security. Peace of mind. The fact that I fucking hate generative AI...

But you have to make this decision for yourself and really reflect on a number of things, not least of which what you will use to replace the myriad of tools Google Workspace offers.

It has email, calendars, documents, slides, spreadsheets, virtual meeting space, websites, groups, chats, and so much more. It is truly a convenient all in one place for your life or business.

And again, for me, this was a choice that wasn't entirely difficult to make considering the direction my business and life are taking:

1. I can afford to not use an all in one
2. I can afford privacy over convenience
3. I can afford the time and energy to find new alternatives
4. I can afford the time and energy to migrate tools

Do you see the pattern here? Privilege. And I'll be the first to admit it. I have the coins and I have the spoons to take this on, so to speak.

Leaving Google Workspace is not a simple or necessarily affordable choice to make and I want to be clear about this up front. Whether this is by design and some huge tech-data-privacy-conspiracy to trap the tired, the financially constrained, and the overwhelmed in an ecosystem that preys upon them is another topic for this Aquarius sun to undertake at a later date.

I digress. But it is important to start paying attention to just where Google Workspace is being utilized in your life before you make the decision to upend everything.

Of the more than dozen "apps" within Google Workspace, what are you using and how are you using them? It's okay if you're not sure! I wasn't aware of how much I was utilizing Google Sign-in and that was a wake up call to how much I was relying on convenience vs. protecting my data.

The importance to the "how" here is in how you will replace each of the tools. Do you need a way to send and receive basic email? Proton or Namecheap could do the trick. Do you rely on meeting scheduling in Calendar? Proton Calendar may not be an option for you, as it's read only. Do you lean on the ecosystem of Sheets and Docs? Notion might work for you. Airtable or ClickUp could do it too.

It all depends on a lot of factors.

So then you have to start answering other questions:

• What is it that made you choose Google Workspace in the beginning? This tells us what you initially valued in the purchase.
• Why are you wanting to leave now? This tells us what you value now.

And you may as well take it to the next level:

• Will you keep a Google account in any fashion? This decision tells us how you will continue to intentionally stay in the eco system.
• What other aspects of Google do you want to get away from? This tells us just how much you want to "get away."

Leaving Google Workspace can be a bit like trying to check out of Hotel California.

"You can check-out any time you like, but you can never leave!" - Hotel California by The Eagles

I want you to build the awareness of how much you rely on Workspace before you begin, because so many people I've talked with don't realize just how much they use or rely on the web of Google products. And when you start moving away from them things get... well, they become less easy. Less convenient.

You start to see just how convenient Google was. You start to wonder if this was a good idea. You have to do a values check before proceeding.

Because a switch actually requires a lot more "more" in the beginning. More effort, more time, tools, money, accounts, realizations, and more energy requirements of yourself.

From a basic tech aspect, there are multitudes of alternatives to each of the tools offered in Google Workspace. But from a life, business, values, and reality aspect: it's not going to be simple and straightforward.

It requires re-training your brain. Your habits. Your workflows. And, it may even require changing how you operate your life or business entirely. Entire processes will change within your life or business.

Leaving Google Workspace is an investment in diversifying the way you utilize the internet, grow your business, and even your understanding of your own values.

And along the way you will have to compromise.

For me... it's been a worthwhile journey.

I see a lot of conversations on social media and it's starting to spill over into our Discord - just how do we leave Google Workspace/Gsuite? I'm working on articles, but sometimes a quick discussion is the easiest way to get the answer you need.