Last week, our furnace went on the fritz. I’m a pretty mechanical guy and I enjoy learning new technology. But there is a limit. When the heat goes out, you just want to get warm again. When we had a new furnace installed three years ago, it came with a “smart thermostat.” This device could tell me the weather in Bangkok, tell the coffee maker to start brewing and warm up my car if I gave it the keys.
I did all the things I knew to do to diagnose this problem. As I said, I’m pretty mechanical. But when it comes to rebooting a smart thermostat I, like most people, am at a loss. I got online and ended up interacting with a bot that was about as helpful as my Roomba. When that didn’t work, I spent some time on YouTube searching for an answer. Then I had an idea. I drove down to Home Depot, purchased a dumb thermostat and an hour later the house was warming up again.
So, what’s my point? Today’s technological conveniences can be intoxicating, and for many it’s the only world they’ve ever known. But how many hours do we lose every year and how much heartburn do we experience because this app or that stops working, or doesn’t update properly, or has its functions or dashboard reorganized supposedly for our convenience? As I said, I am not technology challenged. But I have also learned over time that most software overpromises and underdelivers.
You may or may not be as mechanically inclined as I am, but I would encourage you to take a close look at every software application or digital-dependent device before you decide to purchase it. Many are not worth the hype. We have become a world where digital technology is forced on us, not because it’s all that much better than the analog version, but because it allows the firm making it to track our use and sell us upgrades. I don’t need the vacuum cleaner manufacturer tracking how many square feet I’ve cleaned so it can send me periodic supplies of bags and filters. And I certainly don’t want to give them my credit card number to enable them to do so.
We humans are impulsive. When we’re hit with an appealing sales pitch, a friend’s recommendation, or a bunch of people raving about something online, we tend to jump in without thinking about the unintended consequences. Then we spend a bunch of time extricating ourselves from something that’s more trouble than it’s worth.
So here the three questions I ask before committing to one of those “must have” conveniences:
#1. Exactly how will this make my life more productive, less expensive or more balanced? Whatever it is, it needs to clearly fit into one or more of these categories. Because everyone else thinks it is a great idea is not a category.
#2. Who else says this is a good idea? The internet is now full of fake recommendations. Drill down on the two- and three-star reviews. What specifically were their concerns? Might they be yours as well? If a friend makes a recommendation, does that person have the same needs as you?
#3. What commitments am I roping myself into by purchasing this? How many times have we all been blindsided by the fine print, requirements or limitations we did not realize would cost us bucks and heartburn? It can be so easy to skim the boilerplate. It can be so hard to get out of it.
If you have answered these three questions and still feel good about committing, move forward. But sign on to the shortest term possible. Spending $500 for a one-year subscription to save $100 is not as wise as paying monthly for a time to make sure it was a good decision.
What other strategies do you use to deal with the temptations of convenience? Send an email to bobw@commonsenseenterprises.net or comment on this post. We’d all like to know.