Simple Tool Rule
Posted on | April 8, 2009 | 1 Comment
Simple Tool Rule: Always use the least complicated correct object, or method to get the task at hand done.
The old way was the “Right tool for the job.” Well the jobs have changed and the right tool now has a host of friends on the shelf with him. When asked why some tools have longer lifespans than others, and why some gadgets outdo other I usually rely on the Simple Tool Rule.
Reducing points of failure
I am not inept at working on things around the house. Some things I’m even accomplished at, other skills need some extra time in the minor leagues before I would call them up to the pros. As my normal occupation isn’t a handyman i don’t often find myself with the need to drill things. But when I do i know how to work a drill. The problem lies in the fact that i have a cordless drill, which seems like a great idea for a quick little job.
Drills are complex, gears grinding, chucks need tightening, and the correct bits need selecting, these are all givens. An extra Point of failure is now the battery needs to be charged which it never is, see above were i don’t work on these things often, and there is no way for the model that I have to be tethered and function. The simplest tool for the job is a regular old drill.
Swiss Army Knives are great to carry with you when you need tons of different features, but each one of the features is slightly degraded by the inclusion into a multitool. The Swiss Army Knife, and by proxy the workman equivalent, the Leatherman are great tools for the on the go tech, but when it comes down to the greatest functionality for any one task a simple tool is always better. Increase the number of tasks you need to accomplish and the tool’s complexity grows. So there are a host of tasks which a multitool is the best option.
Online Life is Complicated:
This is an easy concept to grasp when working in the physical realm, at what point does the creeping featureism get in the way of the simple jobs the tool is supposed to do? When dealing with your digital life we are still finding our way. Ping.fm is a great tool to broadcast status messages to multiple venues, but the point of failure is the limitations each different service places on the text. If you post to twitter the message gets cut off after 140 chars, ect.
There are three services i use to reduce my workload when it comes to keeping up online presence in different areas.
Ping.fm: Post to twitter, facebook, and pretty much everywereelse via email or sms.
Twitxr.com: From a standard phone i can snap a picture and via email or SMS have it uploaded to Flickr, Facebook and post a message to twitter about it.
Evernote: With multiple points of entry into the system I can drop notes to myself from my work desktop, home desktop, take pictures from my phone and have the text in them searchable, email reminders and ideas from my phone, a mobile email client, or even my pocket PC with a doodle on the screen and get them all collected into one searchable database.
Without these three services I spend a ton more time doing things which should be simple. The constant in my life is my phone, i have it with me everywhere, its not overly fancy as phones go but it does a great job keeping the digital me updated and reminded all through plugin systems elsewhere.
What are your Digital Tool that follow the Simple Tool Rule?
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April 8th, 2009 @ 1:18 pm
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