Everyone is Different
Learning which technology will actually improve your life in some way is only a little bit about learning what the technology is capable of and a lot about learning about and being honest with yourself.
The app that was life-changing for your friend might not have any real impact on you. It’s not that the technology is any different - but your priorities, commitments, and preferences are. To state the obvious, everyone is different. We strive to find what works best for us.
But how do you know where to start? There are thousands of technologies, small and large, vying for your attention in media and advertising. If you have even the slightest amount of interest in everything presented to you, you’re bound to waste a whole lot of time and energy pursuing fads and ineffectual technologies. The key is to understand your own priorities first, and let that be your guide. Start with a major pain-point.
Not so many years ago, I had a difficult relationship with food. I didn’t feel comfortable cooking, I didn’t know how to grocery shop, but I was also concerned about my health and eating habits. It took me a while to truly come to terms with how much struggle I was enduring when I thought about planning for, preparing, and consuming food. This was my pain point, and it caused me a lot of anxiety and trouble.
I finally made my food problem enough of a priority that I was willing to pay someone to help me figure out what to do. I took a month-long online meal-prepping class. I had weekly menus and recipes provided to me and the experience was great. But then the month ended. Desperate not to slip back into the depths of my food anxiety, I began looking for a technology that could help me. Pain-point, meet technology.
The Meal Prep Planner I made using Google Sheets was successful in helping me not because of a slick interface (it was rough around the edges in the beginning and got prettier over time), but because it was a tool that helped me work through one of the most pressing personal issues I was facing at the time. I knew my struggle and was committed to improving my situation, so it made it easier for me to come back to the Meal Prep Planner time and time again, even after “relapse” stints of me under-utilizing it.
Ultimately, the Meal Prep Planner might not be for you what it was (and still is) for me. And that’s okay. By finding the right opportunities in our lives, we can more successfully bring in the tools that are right for the job, and truly make a positive impact in our lives in the long run. Identify your most pressing paint-point, let that be your focus, and trust that you will cross the other bridges when the time is right.
