Constantly Changing Tools is Bad (Plus, Some Cyber Week Advice)
Around this time last year, I asked, When Do You Burn All of Your Processes Down and Start Over?
On the precipice of actual Black Friday (I say actual because it feels like every year, the sales start earlier and earlier), it feels like a good time to revisit this question.
First, let’s start with my conclusion from last year:
So when do you burn it all down and start over? I think it’s when the frustrations start getting in the way of you working efficiently.
If what you have is working, and you can continue to afford the tools you use, leave them be.
Now, let’s look at the moves I said I was making, and if I stuck to them:
- Organization and Ops: Airtable to Notion – YES
- Podcast Recording: Riverside to Squadcast – NOPE
- Projects/Task Management: Todoist to Things 3 – NOPE
- Scheduling: Calendly to SavvyCal ? (chose Cal.com) – KINDA
And at the beginning of last year, I also moved from Zapier to Make (I’m now using both).
This is not a great scorecard. Notion is the only one that really stuck.
I found Riverside to be superior to Squadcast, and I am sticking with. I tried Things 3 for a while, but the lack of automation support got frustrating, and I very recently moved back to Todoist.
While I did manage to switch from Calendly, it’s because I found a free alternative that offered everything I got in Calendly and more.
And I’m back using Zapier mostly because I’m prepping for a new course I’m working on. Make.com is still my primary driver for automations.
So what happened, exactly? Chiefly, I didn’t follow my own advice.
In the haste of consolidating and trying to save some money, I rushed to move to several new tools instead of properly evaluating them.
I have a bad habit of just trying things anyway. Plus, I tend to over-engineer. This leads me to collect tools, in an attempt to have options.
But a year later, I’m thinking differently.
Over on Joe’s Audio Notes (my free, private podcast which you can sign up for here), I’ve been thinking a lot about where and how I’m spending my time.
The number of social networks I’m on; the number of places I’m publishing my content too.
The constant barrage of membership and course tools I’m both trying, and promoting (all of which are good, by the way).
It’s easy to get shiny object syndrome when the cost of trying new tools and switching is so low…or seems to be. But the time investment in switching + learning the new tool adds up.
And as we approach Black Friday, you’ll get countless emails about lifetime deals, intro plans, and bonuses.
It reminds me of the guy who sold socks at the flea market.
Growing up, there was a huge flea market about an hour from our house. Every few months, we’d leave early on a Saturday morning and get to it when it opened. We’d spend half of the day there.
It was something we’d do year after year, and I always looked forward to it.
But there was one vendor there that we called sock guy. He had a huge booth set up in the middle aisle, close to the exit. And every time we saw him, he’d be yelling the same thing.
”All the socks are buy one, get two free. I have to get rid of my inventory. This is my last week!”
It was always his last week.
The socks were fine, but not great. So he’d rely on 2 things: a good deal, and false scarcity.
He was trying to get us to collect socks — that is, even if we didn’t need them, he was banking on the fact that 3 for the price of 1 was too good to pass up.
Black Friday deals are the same. App Sumo started theirs last week, putting dozens of already low-priced services on sale, or adding new services for the sale.
They want us to collect apps, services, or stuff that we might need.
But in canvasing all the stuff I’ve purchased from Amazon, App Sumo, or individuals, it’s clear I’ve wasted more money than I’ve saved.
So what do you do? Here’s something I’ve tried that’s worked out.
Make a list of the things I need to buy ahead of Cyber Week. I keep a note called “Stuff I Want.”
When it comes to software, I do the following:
- Create a job description for it. Do you currently have a need for some software or service that fills a void? For me, this year, it’s an eSignature platform. I’m doing a lot more contract sending these days, and a platform for this will streamline the process a bit.
- Determine your must-have features. These will be based on the job description, and it will prevent you from buying the wrong thing. For example, there are lots of App Sumo deals for eSignature platforms right now, but if they don’t integrate with Dropbox, I’m not interested.
- Make a budget. I tend to do this last because I don’t want the price to bias my features. But I’m also really strict about what a “must-have” feature is. I’d love Zapier or Make integration. But that’s usually included in a plan priced way out of my budget, so it’s a nice-to-have (and an interesting problem to work around ?).
Don’t get me wrong: Cyber Week is a great time to save money and potentially streamline some processes.
And it’s a great way for businesses to make their products and services more accessible. I plan to offer a Black Friday sale (though I’ll only be sending one email on Friday morning).
However, you could also end up wasting time and money if you don’t have a plan. This is my plan — I hope it helps you too!
And now tell me: what are you hoping to get this Cyber Week?