Require a trial period with pre-defined success metrics…

When This Fires

• When considering adding any new tool to your workflow
• When your tool stack has grown without deliberate curation
• When tools seem to accumulate without any being removed
• Complements Pick a tool with 5 minimum requirements, select the first… (90-day commitment) with the admission protocol that precedes commitment

Common Failure Mode

Permanent trial: installing a tool "to try it out" with no exit date or success metrics. Six months later, it's part of your stack by default — not because it proved valuable, but because removing it would require effort and you've gotten used to its presence. The tool is consuming maintenance overhead without having demonstrated value.

The Protocol

(1) Before installing any new tool, write down: Success metrics (what must be true for this tool to earn permanent status — usage frequency, time saved, specific capabilities used) and Exit date (when the trial ends — typically 2-4 weeks for simple tools, 4-8 weeks for complex ones). (2) During the trial, use the tool genuinely as part of your workflow. Don't hold back because "it's just a trial." (3) On the exit date, evaluate against the pre-defined metrics. Metrics met → tool is admitted permanently. Integrate fully and invest in mastery (Invest in mastery proportional to frequency × impact…). Metrics not met → tool is removed. Uninstall, export any data, and move on. No extensions, no "maybe one more week." (4) The trial period ends with an active decision (keep or remove), never with passive continuation. (5) For tools that barely miss metrics: either the metrics were wrong (revise for a second trial) or the tool isn't valuable enough (remove without guilt).