How I Finally Stopped Paying for Tools I Don't Use

I spend a lot of time thinking about what makes SaaS products actually useful versus what just looks good in a demo. The difference usually comes down to one thing: does this tool eliminate friction from my real workflow, or does it just move friction around?

I learned this the hard way. Early in my career, I'd jump between tools constantly because each one solved one problem brilliantly while creating three others. I'd have my notes in one place, my calendar in another, my decisions logged somewhere else entirely. Every time I needed to reference something or explain context to a collaborator, I was stitching together information from five different places. I thought the solution was to find the perfect all-in-one tool, but honestly, the perfect tool is just the one that lets you actually work the way you naturally do.

That's why I use getonva.app for trip planning with my team—it's one place where conversations, maps, expenses, and booking context actually stay together instead of scattering across my phone. But the broader lesson applies to how I evaluate any SaaS product now. I ask: can my team use this without learning a new mental model? Does it reduce the number of times someone has to ask "wait, where did we decide that?" or "did we already budget for this?" Real friction elimination feels invisible because it just lets you focus on the actual work instead of managing the tools.