Long-time list member, Hiro, wrote in with a follow-up to yesterday's post about not getting stuck researching your journaling tools:
I want to emphasize your point by saying that tools are often a major distraction, it can become an obsession, and we need to be careful not to get sucked into the "which tool" question. To me, it is like picking one brand of screwdriver. Sure, I will look for something that holds reasonably well and make sure it works correctly, but beyond that, I choose one and start working with it. I even began thinking that way about web development as well. "Which programming language and framework should I use?" "Which editor is the superior choice for real developers?" "I hate x and y, so I refuse to use them." ... Nowadays, I want to be able to pick up one after a minimum evaluation of needs and requirements and start building with the minimum of fuss and biases. The epicenter is not "which framework" but solving business and personal problems.
Another friend of the list, Saar, wrote in with this comment:
In order to solve a problem (in this case using some kind of tool like Notion/Obsidian) you first need to know what problem you have and there is no better way to know if you have a problem and what is it than doing the manual labor of just writing.
Both Saar & Hiro highlight some important points. As software developers, we're often attracted to tinkering, comparing, & optimizing to find the best option.
But when it comes time to pick a tool, what matters most is - Do I really have a problem? What is the problem? And does this tool solve the problem?
Beyond that, you're optimizing for functionality you don't really need!
(P.S. - this applies to your code & building new fetures as well. Are you building solutions to fake problems?)