The Newbie-Stage Commitment Rule. Pick streaming software once. Stick with it for at least 6 months before considering a switch.

Why the commitment rule matters:

• Each streaming software has its own learning curve (scenes, sources, settings, plugins, hotkeys)
• Switching mid-career means relearning the entire workflow
• Custom configurations, scene collections, and overlays often don't transfer cleanly between software
• Time spent troubleshooting new software is time not spent streaming or growing

The commitment cost of switching:

• 20-40 hours of relearning the new software
• 2-4 streams of degraded production quality during the transition
• Risk of breaking your stream during the transition (broken alerts, missing sources, encoding issues)
• Audience confusion if your stream looks different overnight

When switching IS justified:

• Your current software fundamentally cannot do what you need (e.g., you need multi-platform simulcasting and your software doesn't support it)
• Your hardware changed dramatically and your old software no longer fits
• Your platform priorities shifted (Twitch-only → multi-platform)

The discipline: resist the temptation to chase "what does this other streamer use?" Most software differences are marginal. The hours you'd spend evaluating and switching are better spent improving content.

Pick once and master it. Switch only when forced.