Frank Childs

The technology we use everyday in our office is usually very vital to our work and our livelihood. I think we can all agree on that. However, it seems that all too often it can get in the way of what we are trying to accomplish and can complicate and add stress to our daily lives. Below are two or three ideas that I believe can help us to simplify our lives.

1. Do not be a perfectionist or too detail oriented. The modern day technology is not perfect and it never will be. If you are like I used to be, these things can easily add stress. For example, I would try to accomplish certain tasks using my computer on the network that provided file and printer sharing, Internet access, and all the rest. It was not uncommon for one thing or another not to work correctly or not at all, but very often that would not interfere with the main task I was trying to completely. Subconsciously I would think: “By golly, this is supposed to work and I am going to make it work before I move on.” You can see the problem here and that a significant amount of time is wasted working on something that is not important at the moment.

2. Know when and choose to recognize early when your current technology solution is not adequate. Don't waste time thinking it is supposed to work when it becomes obvious it won't. Here is an example regarding the use of my smart phone device. I have found that if all I have for Internet access is the 3G network by AT&T or Verizon, it is not adequate for many things. So instead of waiting for things to load and get frustrated, I wait until I can get a faster Wi Fi connection or get on the network at the office or at home.

3. This last suggestion applies to anyone who works in an office or at a business that relies on technology, which is pretty much all of us. We all need to do a better job of being aware what processes are critical and what are not. To understand what I mean by this, let me explain. I define critical processes as those services provided by server computers and software that many people on the company network use during the day and if those services were to become unavailable for whatever reason then many people are affected and are unable to do their work. The end result is that the business ends up losing a lot of money.

   The way to prevent this is to put in place solutions that guarantee up time and can limit or prevent downtime. If we can do a better job of understanding what is critical and what is not and only invest in these business continuity solutions for those services that are truly critical, it becomes much more affordable and cost effective. It we can prevent only one significant event or disaster from occurring then the costs to implement this solution has more then paid for itself. Not to mention all the lives that are simplified because others did not have to be involved in the recovery of a failed server under duress which involves all the employees who can't work, the business owners who are losing money, the IT team and other service providers trying to get everything backup under extreme pressure.

In conclusion, let me ask a question. Isn't the idea of technology to simplify our lives anyway? We get so dependent on it, that it is easy to fall into the trap of getting stressed and frustrated when things don't work like they should. However, I believe that if we approach things the right away and are more realistic in our expectations and goals for technology, we will all be happier and not have to deal with near as much stress and anxiety as many of us do now.