The Top 10 Things I Have Learned From Flylady #8: There May Be A Right Tool, But There Is No Perfect Tool

Originally published on 1 March 2007.

As a follow up to the last item, I have also learned that there are no perfect tools. Searching for the perfect tool makes me lose site of what I am trying to do. If I believe that I can’t clean something because I don’t have the right cleaner, I put off doing what only takes a bit of effort. Flylady rightly says that the only real tool is the one at the end of my arm.

This doesn’t just apply to housecleaning, either. I have put off writing something because I didn’t like my pen. I have put off actually working on projects while I do needless planning. And I have not implemented my productivity system as I tinker with various software components.

The thing I have most learned is that it is the DOING rather than the NOT DOING that gets results. Sure, if I don’t have the perfect tool, I might not perform a task perfectly. But in the search for the perfect tool, I waste more time in the search than I would actually have used to just do the task with the tools on hand.

It’s something to think about. Are there areas in your life where you are using the search for the perfect tool/system/whatever allowing you to not work on your actual goals?