Stories from the Sandbox

The Weekly Newsletter for Solopreneurs Driving Growth Through Story

Hey there, Reader!

Quick question: Have you ever tried to hold the attention of a six-month-old Labrador Retriever? Or of any puppy, for that matter?

I've spent 99% of my time this summer trying to do that with my pup, Colby. He's sweet. He's smart. And he's SUPER cute.

But he has an attention span that's shorter than the goldfish Ted Lasso so adeptly uses as a metaphor to keep his AFC Richmond team moving forward.

Everything is a shiny object worthy of Colby's attention — even if it's only for a millisecond. Bugs. Frogs. Pieces of trash. Pine cones. Other dogs. People. Cats. Squirrels. Birds. Rabbits. Smells. Sounds. Food. Leaves. Twigs. Toys. Butterflies. Dragonflies. Treats. Everything.

I've been experiencing my own Shiny Object Syndrome when it comes to all of the new AI tools (or updates to existing ones) that seem to be coming out every 15 minutes.

Notifications are constantly popping up in my inbox about this new tool or that new tool that "DOES IT BETTER THAN ANY OTHER TOOL."

All this does is fan the FOMO flames inside of me. And this leads to me arguing with myself about whether I should or shouldn't buy whatever AI tool I happen to be looking at.

But I've decided enough is enough. I've wasted enough time trying to keep up with every single new tool in this AI-crazed world. Because newsflash: It's an IMPOSSIBLE task! And I've come to realize that this is perfectly okay.

If you're experiencing FOMO, too, here are some tips to stop the madness:

Know Your Needs: Before you go purchase the latest AI-powered video tool that's the latest and greatest, ask yourself, "Do I really need this?" If you're not producing video content, then the answer would be, "HELL NO!" The same is true for any other tool that does something you just don't need.

Pick A Lane: No single AI tool will do everything you need. But before you start adding tool after tool, try this: Pick one tool, experiment with it, learn how to really use it, and then — after you've given it a fair shot — decide whether it's one you want to keep using. (And, by fair shot, I'd define that as at least the length of the free trial period.)

Seriously. You really don't need four text-to-image tools or five text-generating tools to create content for your blog.

Freely Use Free Trials: Fortunately, most AI tools offer a free trial period of at least seven days. AND many don't even require you to enter your credit card info. Take advantage of these opportunities to test drive the tech.

If, and ONLY if, you find that you're using the tool, enjoying it, and getting results from it should you actually purchase it or subscribe to it.

Keep Your Tech Stack Short: The term "tech stack" is being thrown around out there like rice used to be thrown at weddings before people started hearing that rice makes birds explode. (It doesn't, by the way. But I'm still on the side of "don't throw rice." Have you ever tried cleaning it up?)

Basically, "tech stack" refers to the technology you use to run your business. So, if you're buying (but probably not using) a gazillion AI tools because you're dealing with your own case of FOMO, your tech stack is going to be as high as Jack's beanstalk. That worked for Jack. But it won't work for you. It'll become unmanageable AND expensive.

Try using one tool per task. You can always switch to another tool. Just don't add extra ones unless it's absolutely necessary.

Give these ideas a try and let me know if they work for you. AI should help you streamline your content creation process — not complicate it.