Hammers and Tools

A few years ago everyone started using the phrase, "If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all your problems like nails." It made a lot of sense and people started re-evaluating what tools they were using for any type of job, not just home improvement projects.

At around this same time, my boss where I was working coined the phrase, "You can't build a skyscraper with a hammer." I was working for a company that had a really expensive software development tool that let small groups of programmers build really complex applications in a relatively short amount of time. The hammer and skyscraper metaphor made a lot of sense and opened several doors for the company.

Anyone who has ever worked on a seemingly simple home improvement project knows that the right tool can help keep the job simple. Not having the right tool can make it unbearably complex.

This past Friday I was working on a software project and was trying to build a skyscraper with a hammer. This meant I was going to be stuck writing a lot of code and I didn't ever think I was going to finish. Then I stumbled across several tools that made quick work of the project. Something that I expected to take a week took less than half an hour to complete and I could move on to other tasks.

So as you are working on your computer and seem to be running into a brick wall, remember to check your proverbial toolbox and see if you don't have a better tool to help with your task. If that doesn't work, you can always borrow a brick out of the wall you seem to be running into and smash your computer to bits. While it may not accomplish much, it can be very therapeutic.