Some time ago, I came across an interesting post on Reddit in a productivity-focused channel. It was incredibly honest – so much so that it inspired me to write about it. What triggered such a reaction? Well, the author of the post made it clear: none of this makes sense. Task management systems, elaborate note-taking apps, automation, cataloging, prioritization, etc. No, this can simply be thrown in the trash (to put it mildly), and instead, it’s better to just get to work and get things done.
The author was quite direct in their statement, but after years of fascination with productivity, a subsequent reality check, and finally, a radical change in approach, I completely agree, because yes, most of the time, it doesn’t make sense.
I’ll admit openly that, since my school days, I’ve had a tendency to test all kinds of software. I was simply always interested in it, so I enjoyed exploring alternatives. This habit has stuck with me to this day. I once considered it a strength: an interest in the topic, being a true IT enthusiast, and having extensive knowledge about various options and software. Nowadays, I see it very differently. Firstly, knowledge in the world of software becomes outdated very quickly, so there’s no point in retaining certain details – what good does it do me to know what features Office Suite A or Browser B offers when tomorrow new versions might appear that could change everything? Secondly, constantly jumping from one platform to another may technically be stepping out of your comfort zone, but it’s also… a total waste of time. I have a task to complete, right? Then I should just focus on that. Does the platform I use to complete it really matter that much? In most cases, absolutely not.
Another good example to analyze is note-taking. A notebook can, of course, be physical, which doesn’t pose much of a problem, but it can also be digital… and that opens up a vast array of choices. And that choice can ruin everything. I started… well, I don’t even remember where I started, but I do recall regularly switching between OneNote and Evernote. The former didn’t appeal to me because of its excessive flexibility on the canvas, while the latter was always paid and had significant limitations. So, I kept looking and, for a while, got heavily into the popular Notion. It’s an amazing tool, but its flexibility didn’t work for me: instead of actually using the notebook, I kept jumping between features and changing setups. Eventually, I moved everything… to Google Drive, simply as documents. It’s a much simpler solution, but the search engine does the job. Additionally, when I want to focus on something, I just print the note and work analogically – with paper.
I mentioned productivity, and a good example here is task list (todo) apps. For years, I jumped from one to another, eventually narrowing my choices to the “big players,” i.e., Microsoft and Google (I didn’t consider Apple because I don’t use their hardware or software – and, importantly, I don’t want to). This was all because I convinced myself that these solutions, integrated with the rest, like their email, clouds, and notebooks – would provide me with “seamless, efficient work.” I’m sorry, but I have to say this: that’s complete nonsense. These services evolve, they’re developed by different teams, and often these so-called “ecosystems” are not cohesive at all. The result? While I love Gmail and Google Calendar, I absolutely can’t stand Keep or Google’s Todo app because it’s too basic. Similarly with Microsoft: I like certain aspects of OneDrive, the entire Office suite is fine, but Outlook is a disaster, and its calendar and contacts don’t match Google’s level of usability. The result? Over the years, I’ve mainly used an external app, TickTick: simple yet powerful. I didn’t even use most of its features, but that didn’t diminish its practicality in any way. So should I look for alternatives? Honestly, why bother? It works well, and there’s no point in tinkering with it.
The last and, for many, the strangest example is Linux. From the start of my computer experience, I worked with Windows, and it’s still my primary operating system. That doesn’t mean I can’t use others – Linux isn’t an issue for me. Over the last few years, I considered switching to it, which led me to test many distributions. I encountered many issues and wrestled with them: screen scaling on HiDPI displays, cloud service integration, battery charging limits on laptops, finding alternatives to my daily software, etc. I devoted a lot of time to this and… nothing changed. I still work on Windows, and though it has its flaws, I currently see no reason to switch. In fact, Microsoft has made it even easier by introducing WSL – Windows Subsystem for Linux – which lets me combine the two worlds quickly and efficiently. It just works. So why this urge to test and experiment? I don’t know, but I know it’s pointless, adds nothing of real value, and just steals my time, steals my life.
Let’s remember one thing: the more complicated a system we create and the more tools we use, the more time we’ll naturally spend configuring and maintaining it. But is that what we’re aiming for? Definitely not. If we have a task to complete, say, writing a report, it doesn’t matter whether we write it in Notepad or log into a dedicated system, launch its reporting module, and use additional analytics tools there. Of course, some tools can make our work easier, but if the entire process becomes overly complicated… it’s simply useless to anyone.
So instead of constantly searching for better solutions, let’s apply the Pareto principle more often: fulfilling 80% of our needs is enough, and we’ll spend much less time searching than if we aim for perfection. The saved time is better spent with family or on personal hobbies because work is just a small, insignificant part of our lives.
