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Good morning, friend! Pull up a chair and bring your favorite cuppa. I have a little story for you.
Earlier this week, Amazon sent me a shipping notification announcing that an automotive part was on its way. An automotive part? I couldn't remember ordering anything for our vehicles. Had I forgotten something? I spent a few minutes mentally reviewing our recent purchases before finally opening Amazon and checking my orders.
Apparently, the mysterious automotive part was a cable I'd ordered to connect an external drive to my computer. Of course. How could I possibly have confused those two things?
And then there's Apple Wallet, which thoughtfully informed me that an Amazon order would be arriving today. Wonderful! Is this the "automotive part", perhaps the upholstery tacks, or maybe it is the ..." You get the idea. It provided an order number. Not the product name. An order number.
So back to Amazon I went, searching for the purchase that matched those numbers.
At this point, I was beginning to wonder whether my technology was helping me manage my life or simply giving me more things to manage.
When Convenience Becomes Another Chore
Now, don't misunderstand me. I love the convenience of online shopping. Living where we do, a trip to the store can mean a 30-minute drive before I even begin looking for what I need. Ordering online saves me time, fuel, and the frustration of visiting three stores only to discover that none of them carries what I'm looking for.
And I appreciate technology. I use it throughout my personal and professional life. Some of these tools have genuinely changed how I work and given me more flexibility.
But somewhere along the way, I think we've confused having more information with having more useful information.
I don't need three notifications telling me a package is coming. I need one that tells me what's coming and when I can expect it.
Instead, I receive an email, open an app, search for an order number, and sometimes visit the carrier's website for yet another update. All to discover that a cable is arriving on Tuesday.
In my last newsletter, I wrote about the difference between investing time in technology that will serve us better and continually maintaining something that no longer does. My ongoing migration to a new computer environment is an investment I'm willing to make because I believe the long-term benefits will outweigh the temporary frustrations.
But not every inconvenience is an investment.
Sometimes we're simply accommodating systems that aren't giving us what we need. And that raises a question I've been asking myself more frequently: What are our tools really costing us?
Not just in dollars, but in attention, energy, and the little interruptions that pull us away from what we intended to be doing.
A Little Something to Consider
This week, I invite you to notice one tool or system you regularly use. Is it genuinely making something easier? Or have you become so accustomed to working around its limitations that you no longer notice the effort involved?
You don't have to replace it, learn something new, or reorganize your life. Sometimes simply recognizing the difference between a worthwhile investment and an unnecessary complication is enough.
And About That Article I Promised…
In my previous email, I mentioned that I was finishing an article about understanding our work before introducing AI and other productivity tools. Well, I kept my promise!
Before You Add AI, Understand the Work explores why understanding what we're trying to accomplish matters more than simply adding another tool to our collection.
It's a different perspective on a question I've been considering both personally and professionally: How do we make thoughtful choices about the tools we invite into our lives?
For now, I'm still hoping someone will explain why my computer cable is an automotive part.
Until next time, enjoy your cuppa!
