It’s easy to wind up with an overflowing toolbox, virtually speaking. There are web applications, widgets and plugins galore, all ready to make your life easier if you just sign up and start using them.
All that help can quickly turn into a problem as you try to keep track of everything. Fortunately, there are ways to keep all those helpful pieces of technology from overwhelming us.
You don’t necessarily need to limit the number of tools you’re using to control your day-to-day routine more effectively — although a few excellent tools are always more helpful than a laundry list of mediocre applications. What causes more inefficiency is switching constantly or “upgrading” to seemingly better tools. Online, it’s easy to get the impression that there’s a better invoicing application or project management tool available every week. But moving your invoices or other information around on a weekly basis just isn’t practical. Here are a few options to make the most of the excellent tools that are available, without letting your toolbox get out of hand.
- Set a time for considering new tools. It’s hard to even remember what tools are in your toolbox when you’re constantly adding new things. Rather than sign up for every cool application that crosses your desktop, make a list of those that you want to consider. Set a date when you’ll consider switching out the tools you’re already using for something new — more often than once a month is probably not feasible, at least for those applications that you use on a daily basis.
- Keep track of issues with your existing set of tools. Whether the application has broken or has too much downtime or there’s just a feature you’d really like to see added, make a note of it in the same place you’re keeping track of new applications worth consideration. Don’t be afraid to ask in your favorite tool’s forums if the developers have considered rolling out the features you particularly want.
- Read up on news about your particular tools, especially if you’re considering swapping one out. That feature you may particularly want could be forthcoming. Even better, you may find ways to make use of your tools.
- Make sure you can get your information in and out of your tools easily. If you’ve wound up with an application that doesn’t have a lot of options for exporting your data, it may not be worth making the switch anytime soon, no matter how cool the alternative is. Also, try to make sure that any new tool you start using offers some level of data portability.
For a while, I changed out the application I used to manage my to-do list every two months or so. That sort of approach only guaranteed that things got lost in the shuffle, especially because I couldn’t easily transfer information between applications. It seems like it should have been common sense to stick with one, but in the moment — when something that seems a lot cooler than what you’re using comes along — it can be difficult to resist the temptation to jump ship immediately. Just the same, holding off even a little while can make your day a lot smoother.
How do you keep your toolbox under control?
Photo by Flickr user L. Marie, licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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