I still use tools.
That’s worth saying upfront, because a lot of writing about tools eventually turns into theatre, either endless recommendations or performative rejection of the whole idea. Neither is especially useful.
The tools I still use are mostly boring. They’re not optimised, cutting-edge, or clever. They’re just things that have survived long enough to earn their place.
And that’s the point.
Tools Solve Local Problems, Not Directional Ones
Most tools are good at solving local problems.
They help you:
- publish something
- track something
- automate something
- organise something
What they don’t do is help you decide what’s worth doing in the first place.
Early on, it’s easy to confuse movement with progress. Adding a tool feels like progress because it creates activity. But activity only matters if it’s pointed in the right direction.
I’ve learned to be cautious of tools that promise clarity. They rarely deliver it.
The Tools That Survive Are the Ones You Forget About
The tools I still use are the ones I don’t think about much.
They don’t require constant configuration. They don’t change their pricing model every six months. They don’t demand that I build my workflow around them.
If a tool becomes the work, it usually doesn’t last.
Longevity has become my main filter.
Why I Don’t Actively Recommend Most Tools
Recommending tools creates an obligation I’m no longer interested in carrying.
Once you recommend something, you implicitly accept responsibility for:
- whether it still works
- whether it’s still “best”
- whether someone else’s experience matches yours
That responsibility grows quietly over time.
These days, I’ll mention tools where they’re relevant, but I don’t maintain lists or rankings. Tools change too quickly for that to remain honest.
What Matters More Than the Tool Itself
The biggest gains I’ve made haven’t come from better tools.
They’ve come from:
- reducing complexity
- removing decisions
- finishing things instead of expanding them
- trusting judgement over optimisation
Tools support that when they’re chosen carefully. They undermine it when they become substitutes for thinking.
That’s why most tools don’t matter.
And why the few that do don’t need much attention once they’re in place.
