My solution to this is to use a LTS type release that's reinstalled and configured once every few years for boring desktop work. Almost never add or remove any

My solution to this is to use a LTS type release that's reinstalled and configured once every few years for boring desktop work. Almost never add or remove any software, just apply updates weekly or so. For dev or other technical work I find a more up to date system that undergoes frequent changes and might break on occasion to be tolerable.