New Tools Are Sexy. But Results Come from Routine.
Why chasing new marketing tools often distracts from real progress. Build stable systems, embrace routine, and focus on what actually drives results.
Hey marketer! 👋🏻
Let’s talk about something we don’t discuss often enough. Marketing isn’t always just creative ideas and exciting campaigns. Most of the time, you’re actually doing the same things over and over. Writing website copy, setting up campaigns, reporting results, optimizing, analyzing... And then the same thing all over again. Same apps, same channels, same routine.
And you know what? That’s completely okay.
Why Are We So Tempted to Try Something New?
You’ve probably heard this before. The human brain is literally wired to seek novelty. When you come across something new - a new app, a new workflow, a new tool feature - your brain releases dopamine. The same neurotransmitter that gives you that feeling of reward and pleasure.
That’s why it’s so tempting to try that new project management app. That’s why we love experimenting with new channels or switching tools. It’s not your fault - it’s your nature. Your brain is simply telling you: “Hey, here’s something new! This could be interesting!”
There’s an evolutionary reason for it too. Novelty helps survival, develops creativity and learning ability. Routine without new stimuli leads to fatigue and loss of interest. That’s why we tend to change things around us - even if it’s just small stuff.
The Trap We Fall Into
Here’s the catch though. Ultimately, this chase for novelty is often just distraction on the path to results. Unnecessary detours that pull you away from what you really need to do.
I’m super susceptible to this myself. I love exploring new apps, improving work organization processes, reorganizing my task management system. And yeah, having knowledge and practical experience with various tools has paid off many times. But when we’re talking about work efficiency and achieving goals, it’s often better to just have a proven, tested setup and run the routine.
Routine is paradoxically more comfortable for your brain. When you don’t have to constantly figure out “how you’ll do it,” you can focus on “what you’ll do.” And the energy you’d otherwise burn exploring dead ends can be devoted to moving forward.
What Tiago Forte Says About This
Tiago Forte, author of Building a Second Brain, has an interesting rule. For key daily work applications, he only chooses ones that are time-tested - on the market for at least five years.
Why? Because young apps from startups often aren’t reliable. They can be shut down, bought out, or significantly changed. And then you lose your data or it disrupts your entire workflow.
He once put it this way in an interview: “Every beta app disappoints me sooner or later... That’s exactly why I prefer using things that have been on the market for at least five years... It’s like a hammer, you want it to work the same way every day.”
This rule doesn’t apply to everything, of course. For experiments or as supplementary tools, you can try anything. But where an app is critical - notes, task management, calendar, campaign tools - there, stability beats novelty.
What This Means for Marketing Work
Marketing is repetitive work. Yeah, occasionally that exciting moment comes - a great campaign idea, unexpected success. But most of the time you’re just doing routine:
Writing copy for the same platforms
Setting up similar campaigns as last month
Analyzing data in the same tools
Reporting results to the same people
Optimizing based on similar metrics
Creating product descriptions, building more websites
And then someone shows you a new AI tool for content creation. Or a new app for social media management. Or a new automation platform. And suddenly you want to redo everything.
But wait. Change for the sake of change won’t move you forward. You only move forward when you replace something that doesn’t work with something that works better. Or when you add something that actually saves you time or improves results.
How to Handle This Practically
Build a Stable Foundation
For critical work tools, choose ones you can trust. Tools that have been around for years, work reliably, and once you learn them properly, you’ll stick with them for a long time.
Experiment, But in a Controlled Way
Try new things, but wisely. Before switching your entire team to a new tool, try it yourself. Before changing your entire work system, test it on a small project. And most importantly - give the old system a chance to work before you throw it away.
Routine Isn’t the Enemy
Yes, routine can be boring. But routine is also efficient. When you have an established process, you don’t have to think about it. You save mental energy for things that really need it - creativity, strategy, problem-solving.
Routine Doesn’t Exclude Learning
Having an established system doesn’t mean doing things the same way as five years ago. Education and learning new approaches is necessary - marketing evolves quickly and whoever doesn’t move falls behind. The difference is in how you implement changes. Instead of a revolution every month, you choose controlled improvement. Learned a new technique? Great, test it on one project. Discovered a better approach? Fine, try it first on a smaller campaign. Experiment with the small bets method - if it works out, scale it up. If not, you haven’t disrupted anything. It’s about finding balance between stability and development.
Boredom Won’t Be Solved by a New Tool
If your work bores you, a new app won’t solve it. Maybe for a week or two, until you get used to it. And then everything will be the same again. You solve boredom by finding meaning in what you do. Or trying to look at it from a new angle. That works best for me. When I catch myself wanting to tear everything down and start over, I try to figure out how I could make that particular project even sexier, so I’d enjoy working on it.
💡 What This Means
Marketing is work. Creative, yes. But still work. And every job has its stereotypical moments. That’s normal and there’s nothing wrong with it.
Your brain will keep whispering to you that it would be nice to try something new. That’s its nature. But it’s up to you to recognize when change is useful and when it’s just distraction.
A stable system, proven tools, and established routine give you space to do what really matters - moving your projects forward and achieving results. Because that’s the real goal, not having the newest app.
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So next time you’re tempted by that new AI platform or revolutionary automation tool - stop. Ask yourself: Will this actually solve a problem for me? Or am I just looking for distraction from routine?
Sometimes the answer is “yes, this will help me.” But more often the answer is “no, I’m just bored and need dopamine.”
And that’s okay. Just grab a coffee, distract yourself with something else (maybe go for a run), and then continue where you left off. 😉
Stay consistent, stay focused.
Jan Barborik
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