We need to ask ourselves one important question every single time we reach for another "technology fix": Do I really need this?
We've been told that technology will save us time. Why, then, do people feel they have less time than ever before? Because they do!
That's right - they have less time than ever before despite cell phones, text messaging, computers and a host of other gadgets available to us today. Why? Because people are not in charge of their time. They believe the "hype" that this gadget will save us time and that software will organize us and that new iPhone will keep everything at our fingertips. Does it? Yes and no. We do have our emails wherever we go and the internet and call functions. What does it cost to have all of this to use wherever we go?
It costs a lot of time! Not to mention the money and added stress of always "being on deck" every minute of every day. If you feel you have no time, track the amount of time you are spending chasing the latest technology. You'll be amazed how much time you spend finding it and learning how to use it before you can actually use it.
For instance, Twitter is now the rage as is Facebook. Facebook is amazingly difficult passed the bare bones minimum and they don't answer emails either when there's a problem.
I wanted to master at least one of these social media sites and learn to use it well. I chose Twitter.
There are a ton of applications related to Twitter - it's not enough just to tweet! I have just read an excellent eBook and listened to a few videos in the last couple of days only about Twitter. Here are some of the applications I found just in those two sources: listorious, twittas, bit.ly manage my tweets, Twellow, socialoomph, twitbacks, twiveaway, twitter feed, buzzom, bettween, pingfm, etc.
How can any one person who has a job, home life, friends, a health program and me time possibly ever learn each one of these plus tweet plus do Facebook plus text plus phone plus use the computer for other things - where will the time come from? Are these application any good? Sure - each one has a particular purpose but together they chew up a lot of time.
It's abundantly clear that we have to start taking charge of our time! We must start asking ourselves what we really need and only then find the gadget to fill that need. One person I know recently threw out his television. His comment was, "I'm happy to get my life back". I think the same applies to all the other gadgets - we need to "take our lives back" and live - get out in nature, meet with friends at the coffee shop without our cell phones going off, play with kids, take time to reflect on our lives, create some plans for our lives and all other things which will reconnect us with ourselves, our friends and families and our "live" community "next door". Another person I know returned her cell phone. She now has a pay-as-you-go phone. She has saved herself a lot of money every month and yet has the phone in case of emergencies or should she need to call someone - the keyword there is "need". She has the less expensive landline at home with an answering machine.
Every time we are tempted to go after another application, another cell phone, another piece of software or hardware, let's realize the amount of time it will take to learn it and use it - is it worth it? What will we have to give up to introduce this new thing into our lives? When it comes to time and technology, we must, if we are to reduce our stress and add more pleasure to our lives, take charge of our time.
