Ideas
6 min read
The best tools are the ones you forget
A good pencil, a sharp knife, a text editor that opens in a second. On tools that disappear into the work.
Idris Kaan
Filed under
Ideas
Longer thinking on habits, tools and attention.
The tools I love most are the ones I never think about. They are there, they work, and my attention stays on the work.
A good tool has three habits. It starts instantly. It does one thing without asking. And it looks the same next year as it does today.
Software rarely manages the third. Every update moves a button, and every moved button costs a little attention.
So I keep a short list of tools that have not changed in five years, and I protect it. It is the most productive list I own.
Written by
Idris Kaan
Idris is a product designer in Rotterdam. He writes about tools, screens and the habits they shape.
