Musings
The Real Cost of Ownership Is Attention
Ownership is easy to underestimate because the beginning is usually the fun part. We evaluate things by what they cost, what they let us do, and whether they feel worth it in the moment. But the real cost often shows up later, after the novelty is gone. A homelab, a building, a product roadmap, a team process, a car, a dog routine, or even a hobby can all become systems that quietly consume attention. They need maintenance, context, follow-up, documentation, repair, and eventually the judgment to decide whether they still deserve to exist. The real cost of ownership is not just money or time. It is attention.
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