Using the Right Tools For the Job

I love cleaning. I do. Transforming something that is messy and unorganized into something that makes sense makes me incredibly happen. Finding order in the chaos. I find that aside from working out, it is the activity that really helps me clear my mind and problem solve. 

When I was younger I would clean with anything I had access to, regardless of if it was the right thing to be using. I also had a lot more free time and less responsibility. As I’ve gotten older and more experienced, I’ve put more of a priority into finding the right tool for the job. As much as I enjoy the activity, I still want to do it as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

I recently invested in a steam cleaner that has a multitude of attachments, most of which I’m still not sure how to use.  The time that I would spend spraying and scrubbing and scraping have been cut drastically back and the results are much more satisfying. As I’m writing this, the weather has turned warm and it’s a great opportunity to open a couple of windows. Instead of my usual routine of scrubbing window screens with a sponge that gets torn up and then picking pieces of said sponge out of the screen, I plugged in the steam cleaner, did the dishes while it warmed up, and then steamed the screens for a minute using the scraper attachment. Bing, bang, boom – I was done. Double the work in half the time. 

Think about how this applies to your job. Are you using the right tools, or are you still doing things the hard way  – muddling along with whatever you have on hand? How do you figure out of you’re using the right tools for the job? 

What is your goal?

How do you know if you’re using the right tools if you’re unclear on what it is you’re trying to accomplish? What is the question you’re trying to answer? What is your goal? For instance, if you’re tasked with figuring out if your website is generating and leads or revenue, you need to know what metrics to track, how often, and how to measure whether or not you’re having an impact. We can get overwhelmed with collecting too much information and lose sight of what’s important. Once you know the overall goal, every decision you make should trackback to supporting that goal. This will help you determine if you have the right tools on hand. 

Learn more about Goals, KPIs, and Metrics here: https://www.trustinsights.ai/blog/2019/07/understanding-goals-kpis-and-metrics/

What tools are you using? 

A lot of times we see companies using multiple software tools and each tool can only solve one problem at a time. This is a waste of time and money, and you can do better. Using your KPI map, you can start to narrow down the tools you absolutely need, versus what you happen to be paying for. Having more tools does not equal more efficiency. Having the right tool or tools is the end goal. 

What resources are you using? 

Think about time and budget. How much time does it take you to complete a task with each tool? Is it a long, laborious process that is repetitive and prone to error? Does the task eat up a lot of your time, meaning you can’t focus on more valuable things? 

Do you have any opportunities for change?

If you don’t have the authority to make a change right away, make sure you’re documenting the process and the time that is required for each task you’re completing. Doing this will help you make the case for why finding the right tool for the job is important. You may even find that the cost of the right tool is less expensive than your time to complete the task with the wrong tool. 

At the end of the day, you can accomplish any task using any tool – but if you’re using the wrong tools you may be wasting valuable time.