I thought adding more AI tools would make me faster.
It didn’t. It made me slower.
I started by trying many different tools and wiring them together. For a while, it looked impressive. In reality, it became hard to manage, hard to trust, and hard to maintain. I even ended up with a half-baked n8n setup I didn’t want to touch.
Now my workflow is simpler:
- I use Codex as my main engine
- I use Claude sometimes for specific tasks
- OpenClaw is the only external tool I use to hook agents together
- Nothing else in the stack is “extra” unless it proves clear value
One turning point: I replaced my meeting app workflow and built my own with Codex. I’m not comfortable having sensitive meetings recorded by another random app, so I wanted more control.
Most of the standalone tools I used before are now just “skills” inside Codex or Claude.
Why less works better for me
- Fewer tools = fewer handoffs
- Fewer handoffs = less copy-paste/context loss
- Less context loss = better decisions and cleaner output
The trade-off
- Upside: speed, control, lower mental overhead
- Downside: fewer niche features from specialized apps
My bet is this trend will continue: fewer separate apps, more capability inside core AI workflows.
Less stack. More leverage.