multiple tools, single system

decide on how to link to systems over templates

in the past, i’ve always had this idea that all in one is the best way moving forward.

this applies to anything and everything in general. applications. tools.

i used to think that the best way to do anything is with the concept all in one.

you know things like a swiss army knife. or google enterprise. maybe other thigns as well.

a tool, that can do everything.

this saves time and cognitive load from switching.

but over time this is what i’ve learnt.

firstly, no one app, tool or thing can do everything.

and even if it can, it won’t be a master at all of them.

like the popular phrase [[ jack of all trades, master of none. ]]

however even with this thesis, it isn’t bad that a tool isn’t a master of one. again it depends on your use case.

let’s take a look at something like notion.

its a productivity application that seems to do it all well enough.

notes. task. crm. even publishing. the list goes on.

as a casual user, these tools or applications may seem to either be over the top or more than necessary,

and most would often come to the conclusion, including myself that these are the best tools in the market.

the ones that can do almost everything in one.

but when you start having real life uses of these, or start diving more into the ecosystem, you’ll realise that you start getting trapped even more, and it becomes increasingly harder to escape.

imagine having your whole life, or your whole business and ecosystem set within notion. it works for awhile.

but what happens in a simple situation of you’re on a flight. no internet connection.

all of a sudden your powerhouse of an application becomes useless. literally. notion at the moment is only an online and cloud application.

even if they do end up having a very robust offline system, here’s another situation to consider.

you start having your crm in notion, and your various workflows.

there eventually comes a time when you’re not satisfied with the features that notion alone provide.

what if you want a more extensive email funnel and workflows?

sure notion has various automations and integrations with popular tools, but there will be a situation where a tool you often use or need to use does not integrate well or at all.

what happens then?

and the reason for sharing this story is also a reminder to myself.

it is not a one tool that fits all that’s the best. instead often time thats the killer in the long run.

its all about decentralising, but using tools that are best at what they do.

your unique selling point, is the cohesive system that you build and weave all these tools together.

right now i’m still figuring out my digital tool stack, but something i’m always conscious when choosing on one is that

what’s the main use of the tool?

[include more questions]

this is the same reason why i initially used my iPhone for photos and videos.

but over time i realised that once you start getting deeper into content creation or even just wanting to have better clips,

you start looking for a tool dedicated to filming and capturing.

i’m not at the point of having a dedicated camera for photos and dedicated camera for videos.

but even at this point, i’m starting to see my phone as more of clips on the go, and using my phone as a phone.

and a camera right now serves for higher quality videos and cameras.

this same mindset is applied to various parts of my life too.