Om Malik posted recently about his use of pen and paper, and what he likes about it. I am also a fan of making a task list on paper and crossing items off – it feels so good! Even if I do not complete everything on the list, getting everything down on paper feels good (see Getting Things Done Step 1 – Capture). However, there are times when other tools could and should be used. I have written about my use of Personal Kanban for organization, and I have dabbled with Google Tasks to replace my pen and paper list. The mistake I try to avoid is continuing to look for another tool when the one or ones I have at hand are “good enough”. I know of several people who always seem to be looking for another tool that will do the job better, when they could have used a tool they already have or that they are already familiar with. Use the tools you have at hand – see how that can make you more productive.
@AndySylvester I have recently learned a big lesson about “Use the tools you have at hand” in the sphere of blogging. If things go well, I’ll soon be back to using two great blogging tools that I was happily using four years ago. I have noticed many people who always seem to love new tools, rather than the ones that were already working for them. I’d rather spend my time writing, rather than fiddling with getting new tools working! New doesn’t always mean better in my experience. It’s the writing that matters to me, not how shiny the tool is that I use to do the writing.