A developer confesses to overusing Redux for managing API data, treating all application state the same. A senior colleague's question about managing server state prompted a rethink, leading to the adoption of TanStack Query (formerly React Query).

The core lesson is distinguishing between client state (UI-specific, synchronous) and server state (remote, async, shared). Redux excels for the former, but server state demands tools built for caching, background updates, and handling data that changes independently.

TanStack Query automates fetching, caching, and refetching with minimal code, solving problems developers often manually handle with `useEffect`. It doesn't replace Redux but eliminates the boilerplate for API interactions, letting developers focus on UI logic instead of async data plumbing.