After roughly 2 years, I’m retiring RileyStrong.com from a Wordpress site and converting to this simpler Tumblr format.  It’s sad to think the last blog post I had was 10 months ago, but I’m hoping the simpler format of Tumblr will encourage more frequent posts, somewhere in between full-on blog post and a tweet.

The move to Tumblr is part of my overall initiative to simplify my day-to-day technology.  I’ve uninstalled apps, removed plugins, switched my company’s development tool from a huge enterprise application to Trello, and stripped down my Mac Dock to finder, reminders, and my browser.  With fewer and better tools, I can focus on what matters.

The features race in software is over.  We can ignore the 5% of power users needing all sorts of crazy advanced features and make sure 95% of people can actually use the product.  There’s all kinds of examples of this:

  • Basecamp.  Super simple project management.  No you don’t need exchange integration for your TODO list.  They are definitely one of the pioneers of saying no to customers.
  • Google Docs.  Don’t mess with files. Share seamlessly.  So what if you can make your pie chart look perfect.
  • Mint.  Helps me understand my money in layman’s terms.  I only have half a semester of accounting experience.
  • Trello (for software dev).  Let your process dictate to the tool.  Not visa versa.
  • Apple. They products pass the “can my grandma use it?” test. ‘nuff said.
  • …And the list goes on.  But you get the idea.

So I encourage you: always look for the simplest product - not the most advanced.  Life’s complicated enough!