Upgrade Your Tools

In Skills Development, I share the importance of developing our skills to achieve maximum results.

Similarly, it’s important to equip yourself with the best tools to achieve your best results. By tools, I mean whatever software or hardware you use for your work. If you’re a blogger, this includes your laptop and your mobile device. If you’re a video editor, this includes your video editing software.

When we have average or bad tools, we need to spend extra time to offset their limitations, even if we have the best skills for the job. On the other hand, when we have the best tools (and by best, I mean the right tools), we cut down the time taken to achieve our desired results. This time can be used elsewhere on more important things.

My Experience

Back in my previous corporate job, I had to do a lot of data mining. I remember this software which I had to use to get market data — it was usable but really slow. Every click took about 10 seconds before it returned a result. Sometimes it took minutes. Sometimes it would hang.

Because of this software, I would spend countless late nights gathering data for my reports. The end result — getting the reports done — was never implicated because I was always sacrificing my sleep to meet my deadlines. But I would waste precious hours each week because of the software. It was the worst use of my time.

When I first started my personal development business in 2008, digital devices became instrumental to my work, since I was now running an online business. Being in my early 20s and new to my field, I thought that meant simply having a workable laptop and functional software. As I grew older and my work had higher stakes, I realized I was very wrong.

For example, I was using this free software (LibreImpress, a free alternative to Microsoft Office) for my course slides. When I first used it, it’s because it was free and seemed handy. What could go wrong, right? Over time, I realized that it was very buggy and kept crashing when I was doing large slide decks. I would lose precious hours of work each week due to the software’s crashes. I would also be stressed out whenever the software hung, and would have to scramble to meet my timeline.

It was only after I switched to Microsoft Office that I realized how much my previous software, despite being free, was costing me — my time, energy, and work. MS Office has its problems, but for the most part it is a huge step up from LibreImpress.

When I started recording and working with audio, I thought just having a headset would suffice. I mean what would be the difference between one headset and another? But I noticed that I often had to do a lot of post-production work, such as removing background noise and softening overly sharp audio. I didn’t know the difference until I upgraded my headset, when I started saving hours in editing with each recording. Not only was the audio quality better, but my ears felt better because I wasn’t listening to sharp audio anymore.

Having the right tools isn’t just about having tools that function. It’s about having tools that you can use seamlessly, like they are a part of you. Your tools should complement your skills and talent, not drain and frustrate you. Your tools should help you to be massively productive, not cause you to spend hours fighting its deficiencies.

In short, 

  • (Your Skills + Your Tools) x Time spent = Output
  • (Bad Skills + Bad Tools) x Time spent = Lousy Output
  • (Great Skills + Good Tools) x Time spent = Great Output

Here are 5 signs it’s time to upgrade a tool:

  1. You spend more time fixing its issues than doing work.
  2. You’re more often frustrated with your tool than not.
  3. Your tool doesn’t help you to be productive.
  4. You use this tool often in your work and it affects your output.
  5. The costs of sticking to it (loss of productivity, loss of time, emotional frustration) outweigh the costs (financial) of buying a new one.

Are You Limited By Your Tools?

While the tools of today are tech devices, “tools” really refer to anything you use in your work/life. It can be a piece of software, a device, or a non-tech item. For many of us, our tools are probably the laptop, mobile phone, and perhaps tablet, with other tools depending on our job nature. Take for example

  • Video producer: Video camera, lighting equipment, audio equipment, laptop, video editing software, audio editing software
  • Baker: Oven, measuring tools, parchment paper, whisk, mixers, molds, rolling pins, and other baking tools
  • Illustrator: Drawing software, illustration tablet, laptop, drawing supplies
  • Carpenter: Hammer, tape measure, cutting tools, screwdriver, screws and nails, marking tools
  • Business owner: Laptop, mobile phone, accounting software, customer management software, project management tools, document editing tools, email

Where upgrading (and buying products that better your life) is concerned, it’s important to see it as an investment. This is especially so if it has a direct or indirect role in your work output, your ability to create, and your quality of life. If something seems costly, think about it in terms of the long-term benefits you’ll get, such as time savings, improved well-being, and improved work quality. Suddenly it’s clear that this isn’t really an expenditure, as much as it’s an investment for a better you and a better life.

Of course, if the cost isn’t justified by the benefits, then you shouldn’t get it. I find that many people in materialistic societies jump to buy the next iPhone or new laptop without regard of the value. For these people, their tech devices are more of a showpiece, rather than being integral to their work.

What I’m talking about here is different — I’m talking about being aware of the importance of your tools in your work output and health, and investing in the tools that matter.

As someone who was raised to be cost conscious, I regularly remind myself of the cost-benefit ratio of every work tool, and the reality of costs like loss of well-being, loss of productivity, and quality loss, beyond monetary costs. Even though you save financially when you go for the lowest cost option or when you refrain from upgrading, these invisible costs form part of that decision that you later have to offset.

Being mindful of this has helped me make decisions that are different compared to if I was just focused on price as the sole determining factor. Of course, the assumption here is that it is something that you are in the position to afford, not something you need to fork out half your life savings to buy.

Ask yourself if there is any tool that is draining you, consider the cost vs. benefit of continuing with it, and consider if it’s time to make a switch. Don’t let yourself be held back by tools that are a bad fit. Switch to tools that can keep up with your pace, that help you become more productive, that work in sync with your mind. Just like You Are The Average Of The 5 People You Spend The Most Time With, you are the average of the efficiency and competency of your work tools. When you use lousy tools, it’ll affect the quality of your output.

The one situation where you shouldn’t invest in better tools though is when you don’t have the right skills to match. For example, a photographer who buys pricey photo equipment to offset his lack of photography skills. A videographer who buys pricey video equipment and editing software instead of improving his video skills. A new business owner who buys every gadget and service rather than build his business and get his first customers first. Here you should work on improving your skills first. This will also help you learn more about your gaps, style, and preferences. When you outgrow your tools, then upgrade to improve your work output.

How about you? Are you currently held back by your tools? Here are 3 questions to ponder over:

  1. What are the 5 tools that you spend the most time using in your work and life?
  2. Which of these tools have been giving you trouble or are limiting you in your performance?
  3. Is it time to upgrade or change them?

While you equip yourself with the best tools, be sure to equip yourself with the best skills too. Read: Skills Development

6 comments
  1. Glenn Thomas 10 years ago

    Good article Celes! Are you enjoying the new headset?

    • Celes
      Celes 10 years ago

      Hey Glenn! I totally agree about mastering limited tools at the beginning while the person builds up his/her skills, as I think the person may not be aware of what are the best tools to use during the beginner phase and buying a huge bunch of tools may be a waste. It’d tie in with the point I mentioned about costs vs. benefits, where it’s important to ensure that we have a good use for the tool (and of course it has an important role to play in our work/life) before getting it.

      What tools are you currently using that you’re a big fan of (besides the Nokia Lumia)? Did you eventually get the modmic in the end? It did sound like the perfect solution to your needs!

      The headset: It’s really good, though my only complaint is that it seems too tight/small (and this is a consistent complaint that I’ve read in Amazon reviews before buying, so I’m not too surprised to know it’s like that). But I think it’s starting to loosen, and I’m looking forward to use it for a formal course recording soon. A huge thanks to you by the way for all your help with my questions on recording and audio equipment!

      I’m not sure what a SSD drive is, but I’m really happy with my laptop–it’s really fast. One of my best investments (in tech at least) ever!

      I don’t know about the MS Lumia range to be honest; my husband has been using one since last year and he seriously hates it! It has been giving him a lot of problems! For starters it’s not exactly user-friendly, has limited functions for apps due to it being a less popular OS, and doesn’t seem very durable (his mute button has spoilt for example, and it’s only been 9 months since he owned the phone!). I’ve tried to use it and I don’t like it either. So it’s really good that you found the Lumia series good; perhaps it appeals to a different target crowd? And it may also be his specific Lumia phone that isn’t that great too!

      Personally I’m considering switching to an iPhone when it’s time for re-contracting (never owned one before); I’ve heard a lot of good things about it and I’d be interested to try it out. It’ll be probably good for me since a lot of business owners I know use iPhone and like it; I’d probably be integrating much of my work into my phone as well when that happens.

  2. JadePenguin 10 years ago

    Ha! My bosses should read this. Last week I was doing a boring repetitive task that could so easily be automated by the software but the software’s not Open Source. And no one in my department had ever requested that feature! I asked for an email address for the software and did so myself. This wasn’t the first time I had to carry out such an inefficient boring task, so I’m actually really fed up of the job. Even if you’re doing a job just for money and don’t care about the company, doing your work inefficiently is mentally damaging.

    I’m glad that my laptop’s lasted me 6 years though :) It’s a Fujitsu-Siemens with only 2 gigs of RAM but does what I need for everyday surfing or code writing. It developed a few glitches recently and its keyboard is half-broken (I use a USB one) but nothing that’s stopping me from doing stuff. I’ll replace it eventually but not just yet.

    I can imagine that more demanding work such as video editing will need a more substantial investment.

    • Celes
      Celes 10 years ago

      That’s terrible, Jade! I can relate to what you’re saying. I used to spend copious amount of time waiting for data to LOAD when doing data-mining task back in my corporate job. I don’t really know what the bottleneck was really — maybe it was really a RAM thing, maybe it was a system thing (which was in turn hosted by an agency company I think). But it was definite a big waste of time especially for the employees that did a lot of data-mining. (In retrospect though, I think I could have sped things up by using a different approach too.)

      In such cases, it’s always good to take some proactive action and try to break out of it, which is what you did! I think that’s really awesome. I would also recommend to others in this situation to provide feedback to their bosses if they haven’t. While some bosses may not be receptive, some may be (my previous boss was really receptive when I mentioned about needing some additional tech tool the last time, and promptly gave me the go-ahead to do so), and it’s about informing them what are the working limitations on the ground because they may not have visibility to that sometimes.

      Yes, it does seem that tech tools wear out easier with heavier needs. Mine is a 16 GB Ram now that serves me perfectly — and the previous one was 8 GB Ram but it was over-working a lot of the time whenever I was running high-resource programs! (I could tell on how it kept going into overdrive load speeds and the processor kept overheating.) And I’m not even talking about video editing, but any high-resource program that I use regularly. I know a professional video editor who has a desktop with 32 GB Ram but finds that insufficient for his needs–go figure!!

  3. Hello Celes, I know it’s not right the topic but just for you to know, an overheating laptop can be the cause of it’s frequent crashes and slowness. When my hp started to really slow down last year ( it was two years after I had bought it) the guaranty was over so I opened it following youtube instructions and cleaned the cooling fan with q tips and also the vacuum cleaner. When I finished assembling it, it worked as silently and as fast as the first day. And it wasn’t even warm when working, when I wasn’t able to put it on my laps formerly. Now it’s been a year and started to be too hot again. I am planning to disassemble it once more. Dust is laptops number one enemy.

    • Celes
      Celes 10 years ago

      Hey Arpi! Thanks for your note! I’m aware of overheating being the issue, though overheating is just the symptom — and dust can be the culprit like you rightly pointed out, or it can well be the laptop being ill-equipped to match the user’s needs. In my case, the latter was the reason (I was constantly using my laptop to do very high-resource activities like video rendering etc.) in turn causing the hardware to degenerate quicker than natural usage, plus I suspect my laptop hardware wasn’t very hardy to begin with (its little parts began breaking down over the last year before its demise, such as wireless not working and my keyboard not working anymore).

      It’s good that you managed to solve your overheating issue through self-cleaning! Hopefully it’ll be cool again after you do the cleaning. I’ll keep this tip in mind for my future usage too if such an issue occur again!

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