A few days ago I had to go fix a leak in my sprinkler system. After inspecting the problem I realized that I needed a few tools. A small hex driver, of a particular size. I also needed a shovel, some wire nuts, some electrician’s tape, a pair of wire strippers, a pipe cutting tool, and a small hack saw. Of course I found a few more tools that I needed as well. The small valve fix took 6 trips to my garage and 2 trips to Home Depot before I finally resolved the issue.
As I was playing in the mud trying to peel pipe glue off of my fingers, I started reflecting on just how many disparate tools this job took to accomplish. I was crossing several boundaries here. Excavation, plumbing, electrical, and landscaping are all different trades with a variety of different tools. Which is why I had this collection of instruments strewn all over the ground around me. Each trade has a variety of tools needed for a particular type of job, and particular issues that might be encountered. I started wondering how valuable it is for an invention to come around that fulfills the need of multiple tools at the same time. Take, for instance, the screwdriver that I brought with me to my little job site. It had a way of switching quickly between multiple bit types, which allowed for me to take one screwdriver with me and not a collection based on what type of screw head I would encounter. Now this is a non-consequential thought, this is not in itself all that revelatory – but then I made the connection to my own life.
I think I am like many people, my life has been regulated to be a professional task worker. Now I can claim to have some fancy title, or create an air of tremendous responsibility, but the reality is that most of my meaningful work is sitting here at this computer performing tasks. If a alien from another world came and watched me and a person doing just basic data entry work, the alien could not tell the difference. They would see us doing the same thing. Typing on this keyboard, moving a mouse, answering the phone and talking into a microphone and camera system. The work product maybe completely different to us, but the view of what we are doing is largely the same. So in essence, many of us have become task workers. CEO – just a task worker. CFO – just a task worker. You get the idea.
So as a professional task worker, I think it is important to consider methodologies to aid me in my craft. This is probably why LLMs have captured the hearts and minds of so many people. We are just tired of doing repetitive tasks and now were are being introduced to a way to remove much of that from our life. However, my mind did not steer towards AI, but rather the tools that I do use throughout the day. What tools am I using and for what task am I using them? Is there an opportunity, like that screwdriver to collapse down to fewer tools and thus make my life easier to understand?
I see attempts by software companies to do just this. This can get really overwhelming. Evernote can do calendaring now, it can link to your calendar. So now instead of looking at your calendar in Outlook, or other tool you can also look at it in your notes taking application. Why would you do this? I am not sure why, but it is possible now. For kicks I started counting the number of apps that I use in my everyday life. Every time I open a piece of software to do something I made a hash mark in a notebook. It is now 4:30pm my time and I am now on number 33. You may think that is nuts, but do not make this judgement until you try this yourself. I guarantee you will get to 20 and then you will start to realize that I am right. We use a lot of apps in our lives these days.
I say this as I type and I realized that I am not counting web based apps. I probably have 300 hundred chrome tabs open right now. Dare I start counting web apps too? Oh. Geez. This is hopeless, I have apps everywhere. There is apps on my phone, apps on my computer, apps on my TV, apps in my car and even apps on my refrigerator. This is crazy, I am surrounded by apps everywhere I go. I just walked down the hallway to get a sparkling water and I realized I have an app monitoring my room temperature too. Unbelievable how many apps I am using. I am thinking the number 100 is not that far fetched. I think even might have apps integrated into my apps. Oh bother.
So how do I make sense of this app centric world I am now in? I came up with one clear idea. This is that I need to break my life down into concrete working areas. For example, “Grow Revenue,” or “Manage Finances,” or “Invest.” I count about 10 specific categories like this that are the core part of my life. Not nearly as overwhelming as counting the number of apps that I use. Now that I have these categories, perhaps I can focus on identifying the most comprehensive and appropriate tool that I can use when I am engaged in that specific category of work. This way, when I decide to “Grow Revenue,” as an example, I can shut everything else down and focus on the one app, or perhaps the one tech stack of apps that I use for this purpose. Can I get to the point of spending most my time in this function using the that one application? SFDC, Hubspot, or ServiceNow all want you to believe this concept. Of course that requires buying a subscription to their platform and all the extra licensing requirements to accomplish all that you need to. Yes, I do see value in this. If you could figure out how to regulate your life into discrete working sets and identify the tools that allow you to stay in one app during that working session then I think you would excel.
But then reality hits, just like my 6 trips to the garage and 2 runs to Home Depot. The idea of simplifying everything into one app, or one platform, is appealing, but it’s often unrealistic. Just like in my sprinkler repair adventure, no one tool, no one app can do everything perfectly for every situation. The nuances and complexities of life, work, and even plumbing, mean we need specialized tools for specific jobs, and that’s okay. What I’ve come to realize is that it’s less about finding the *perfect* all-in-one tool, and more about managing the chaos. Just as I laid my tools out to keep them organized during my repair, perhaps it’s about becoming more intentional with the apps and tools I use daily. Sure, I may need a lot of them, but I can still aim for efficiency and structure in how I use them. In the end, the true goal isn’t necessarily to reduce the number of tools, but to make sure each tool serves a purpose, helps me work better, and doesn’t complicate things unnecessarily. Whether it’s physical tools for fixing sprinklers or digital tools for growing revenue, it’s all about balance. It’s about knowing when to streamline and when to embrace a little complexity to get the job done right. And sometimes, just like a broken sprinkler valve, life will still surprise you with a few unexpected trips to the garage. But at least you’ll be prepared.
