We need the right tools for the job. That seems obvious enough doesn't it? And yet on several recent occasions I found myself procrastinating over getting the right tools. I caught myself making do, with less-than-optimal tools, because they were still "working" and still "good"...
I made three significant improvements to my toolkit in the last 18 months:
1. An up-to-date version of Filemaker Pro. So I can actually run my business accounts/records on my primary laptop. And work with almost 20 years of records without creaking. I was “making do” by running an older XP-only version on a secondary laptop.
2. The 64-bit version of Adobe Illustrator. So I can use all the memory in my computer for more complex work, and do everything faster.
3. The smartphone I knew wanted before it was released last year - the Galaxy Note 3. To enable more effective reading, writing and working on the go where a laptop would not be practical (on the train, the elliptical machine…) The larger screen immediately made everything significantly more legible and usable. Yes, the older Galaxy SII still worked, just not as well, and I was that much less effective.
So why didn't I do these things sooner? The price certainly didn't change with the waiting. I held off because I thought I could make do with what I had. Because it would be a waste to throw away things that weren't broken. Because I should be able to modify my behavior to avoid wasting resources. (Note the bad word “should”...)
Except I was wasting my own time! And isn't that the most precious resource of all?
