We have all wanted one. Not something that can do “A & B”. But a fancy tool that can do “A & B” and do “C,D, & F” while having “X,Y, & Z” in case you need it. Yes, our fancy tools cost more. We understand it because, we are told (and then believe), they can do so much more.
When purchasing a fancy tool, the assumption is automatically made that we will be more productive. Things will become easier to do. They will take less time.
But this is rarely the case for many reasons.
1) We never learn how to use all of the features on our fancy tool.
2) We don’t think about all of the time that will be needed to learn about those features.
3) We are never placed in situations where the extensive features on our fancy tool will be needed.
4) We never practice enough with the new features to even be considered as useful when we need them.
5) To have skill in using any tool, we need to understand how to push it to its boundaries, discover where are its boundaries and when it will be able to accomplish something when the tool doesn’t appear to be sufficient. With a fancy tool, because of everything above, we may never get a chance to find its boundaries.
You see we have as much (or more) to do with how much we benefit from the many features of a tool. Buying a fancy tool is far from enough to make its extensive features useful.
If you need the fancy tool to show others your status than go ahead and buy it. (That will be ok until they ask you how it works).
You can work at learning to use all of the features of the fancy tool so that your assumption that the fancy tool will make you finish things quicker and easier will be true and you will be more productive.
Or you can think twice about buying the fancy tool and settle for something not quite as expensive but easier to learn and use. Chances are you will go deeper into understanding it because it is easier to use and in the end this will (ironically) make you more productive and save you time.
(Stuff is never quite as simple as we first think. Never.)