Working with what you have

Today we have many tools to help us do our work. Each has its advantages, and over time it’s natural to develop favorites. We learn their features, get to know their shortcuts, and build a way of working around them.

But what happens when we don’t have access to the tool we usually use?

I believe that if we know the basics and understand the concepts behind what we do, we should be able to adapt to other options and continue doing good work.

For example, if you’re used to editing video in Adobe Premiere and suddenly need to use DaVinci Resolve, you’ll have to get familiar with its interface and learn where its tools are. However, concepts like editing, pacing, and working with audio are still part of the same job.

The same can happen in programming. If you always work with WebStorm and have Visual Studio Code available on another project, there will be differences in the setup and how you do some things. But your knowledge of the language, logic, and project structure will help you move forward.

Of course, each tool has different capabilities and limitations, and adapting can take time. The idea isn’t to expect everything to work exactly the same way from day one, but to remember that our knowledge goes beyond the program we use.

That’s why I believe it’s important to learn the fundamentals of our craft. Tools may change, but those foundations help us adapt, solve problems, and maintain the quality of our work.

Photo by Patrik Michalicka on Unsplash.