Steal, don't copy - or why you shouldn't maintain 20 tools or systems ✍️
For a long time, I’ve found myself caught in a cycle of discovering new apps, trying them out, and integrating them into my workflow, only to realize later that I’m duplicating effort across multiple tools.
A recent example: keeping track of movies.
I had Sofa, Ripple, and Letterboxd all in use, each serving a similar purpose. But instead of making my life easier, this fragmentation added friction. I wasn’t fully committed to any of them, resulting in half-hearted tracking and an inefficient system.
Eventually, I made a decision: ditch Ripple and Letterboxd and stick to Sofa. It already served as my central hub for books, music, and trips, ... Consolidating everything into one app meant less mental overhead, less decision fatigue, and more actual use.
Being online, it's easy to get caught up in how others organize their workflows. You see a post about someone using an incredible new note-taking app or productivity tool, and you think, maybe this will improve my system too. So you try it. And another. And another. Before you know it, you’re maintaining multiple overlapping systems that don’t really add value.
It’s tempting to believe that adopting more tools and workflows will make us more efficient. In reality, the more we have to maintain, the more friction we introduce. The time spent switching between them, updating them, and trying to remember where something is stored outweighs any benefits of specialization.
Steal, but Don’t Copy
There’s a balance to be found. Inspiration from others is valuable. Seeing how someone else structures their productivity system, organizes their reading list, or tracks their habits can spark ideas for improvement. But blindly adopting someone else’s setup without considering your own needs leads to unnecessary complexity.
I learned this the hard way with Obsidian. After deciding it was my go-to note-taking app, I started watching tutorials on how others used it and copied their setups into my vault. But because their methods weren’t built around my needs, they didn’t really work for me. I ended up with a structure that felt forced and difficult to maintain. Eventually, I stripped it back to what worked for me, a simple and functional system that supported my workflow instead of over-complicating it.
Another example is the Zettelkasten and evergreen notes approach. When I was part of the PKM community, I read so much about it and while I love the idea of deeply interconnected thoughts, this was not a system that felt natural to me. it collided with my natural workflow leading to frustration. Again, the lesson: take inspiration, but adapt rather than blindly copy.
Audit Your Tools, workflows,...
Getting new apps or trying new systems might spark interest and motivation, so I'm not saying you shouldn't do that. But from time to time, ask yourself:
Am I duplicating efforts amongst multiple apps or workflows?
Am I actively using all of them, or are some just sitting there?
Would consolidating into one simplify things without losing functionality?
What is the actual benefit of switching to a new tool?
The goal is not to have the best tool for every task but to have a system that works efficiently without excess maintenance.
The toughest question of them all
While the above questions are to reflect about duplicated efforts there is an even more important question to ask:
Does this action, app or workflow actually serve me?
Does it help me in any way?
Reflecting on my movie & TV logging, I came to realize it didn't. While I actively use Sofa for logging and writing my weekly review, I never reviewed what was in Ripple or Letterboxd.
Ok, perhaps once I checked when the Missus asked whether we had already seen a movie. But other than that, never.
So why keep making the effort?
More tools and workflows can give us the feeling of being busy, but they don't necessarily mean better well-being or more productivity.
Sometimes, they just mean more work. The key is to find what works for you and stick with it.
The fewer moving parts, the smoother everything runs.
Thanks for reading!
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