Do I Have to Use Them All?

I recently began playing golf. (I've come to realize that up until a certain age, golf is the most boring, idiotic sport in the world, but suddenly one day you become infatuated with getting this little ball in a hole.) As a beginner, here I was with a bag full of different golf clubs, all with different numbers or names, and I had absolutely no idea when I was supposed to use which one. I also had no idea whether I was supposed to use all of them in any specific order. It was actually quite confusing.

As it turns out, each golf club is made for a specific purpose. A sand wedge is used to hit golf balls out of sand traps, drivers are used to hit balls long off the tee, and various irons can be used to give the ball just the right amount of lift or distance. A good golfer knows exactly which club to use in each situation.

Likewise, when using Adobe Creative Suite, a good designer knows exactly which program to use for each situation or task.

Some jobs call for using all the tools you've got. Yet some projects might require only one or two of them. The important thing to realize is that just because you have all of these tools, you don't have to use all of them for every project. Knowing each and every feature of each and every program is also something you might not need (at least, not right away), so don't get frustrated if learning all these applications seems like an insurmountable task. Getting a basic understanding of what each of these applications can do for you is enough to get you startedthe rest will come in time.