A million ways to Sunday is the hyperbolic version of the original idiom, which was “six ways to Sunday.”
That checks out, because today’s culture hyperbolizes just about everything.
The original (with “six”) appears in the English language in the 1800’s and early 1900s. It means “all possible ways” or “in countless different ways.” For example, “If we sign that, they can screw us a million ways to Sunday.”
Computers, phones, and now AI provide us with a million ways to Sunday to do the things we need to do. In fact, you could argue that there are too many ways. For any given task, we can run squarely into decision paralysis.
You probably know the general-purpose tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and Perplexity. They work remarkably well for lots of things.
But do you know how many task-specific AI tools exist now (estimates for 2025)?
- AI Image Tools: 300
- AI Business Tools: 1580
- AI Automation Tools: 475
- AI Productivity Tools: 640
- AI Video Tools: 200
- AI Art Generators: 120
- AI Text Generators: 300
- AI Code Tools: 200
- AI Audio Generators: 150
- Misc AI tools: 600
That’s about 4500 different applications and tools to help you do what you need to do.
This is the very definition of a million ways to Sunday. How could you possibly know which is the best tool for your task?
You can’t, so just pick one or two and go with it. Throw a dart. Listen to your colleague. Read the unsolicited email you just got. Do an old-fashioned Google search. Ask ChatGPT or Claude. Whatever. Don’t get stuck in decision paralysis. Pick and go.
Just because there are a million ways to Sunday doesn’t mean you have to confuse choice with progress.
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