5 tools that will make you no better at your job unless you actually use them

Stop buying shit and start doing shit

I’ve fallen victim to this time and time again, and it really really sucks.

You buy a product because you think it will make you more productive, or proficient, or get better data than the last, then instead of using it to its fullest potential, and adapting it when it isn’t exactly perfect — you jump ship to another tool thinking it will solve all of your problems.

Yes, a nail gun is more effective in most cases than a hammer — but not if you don’t show up to work because you’re at Home Depot shopping for a newer one.

My motto on products I purchase is “If I’ll enjoy using it, and will actually use it instead of worrying about what else is out there, I’ll be okay buying it.”

This came to a head recently when I bought 2Do to manage my personal task lists, then something happened in my life for a week and I got complacent and stopped pushing through tasks, got behind on some work, then my “overdue” section was filled up and I felt like it was the app’s fault that I was being a lazy asshat, so I went shopping for something else — instead of just ponying up and knocking down the overdue tasks.

It took embarrassingly longer than it should have for me to realize I was simply procrastinating and running away from my responsibilities and it was up to me to correct course, get back to working, and stop worrying about my equipment — because the equipment is fine.

Slack is the best chat platform on earth for teams like mine, but if we didn’t use it because we wondered how much better HipChat would be, it would be terrible.

Basecamp is an incredible project management platform, but if we don’t take full advantage of how versatile it can be, and let the thought of how some other program like Trello would better suit our needs cloud our judgement when we really just need to keep rolling on the projects we’re working on — it would be horrible.

I’m not saying that any of these apps are bad, or that one is worse than the other; but the fact that they are so close to the point where it’s hard to tell if one is better than the other helps prove that we shouldn’t be focused on if we are on an inferior platform. We should be focused on if we aren’t operating well in general, and need to adjust our focus to get out of the complacent state we’re in.

Focus on getting shit done, instead of browsing the “GTD” app list on the App Store.

The best tool in the world won’t help you if you don’t use it.

That being said, don’t try to drive a nail with your knuckles either.