The big question was is technology working for us or against us?

Do we rely too much on technology today?

The discussion was interesting to say the least, give it a listen if you want.

What I took from the conversation is very simple.

Technology, and by technology I am talking about electronic technology that has evolved since roughly 1985, has created an artificial time environment that is not serving us well.

The nice thing about technology is it has blurred time and space creating the basis of a global village.

Through the global technology village we have access to people and ideas our grandparents could only dream of.

The downside is via this global village  we can transmit messages, ideas, content of any shape and form at the tap of a key.

And because technology has enabled instant delivery of content we are increasingly finding ourselves in a situation where responses, action, decisions are also expected instantly.

I think because we feel pressured by technology to speed up our interactions we are actually impairing our actions, reactions, responses and decisions.

We don’t tend to sit on email we deal with it in the here and now.

But I think more times than not we need to think, talk, ponder and debate, even if it is you alone, a response to an email before we ever start to respond.

But if you don’t get a response off fast then you get a reminder or the question, “did you get my email.”

Technology is great but I think we need to step back and remember it is a tool and the content and the thought that goes into the content is what is important and there is no rule or directive that says you can’t think a while before you fire off a reply.

Technology is great,don’t get me wrong, BUT we are failing in a epic way to manage the use of it in a manner that is healthy!

And the classic example of our failure to manage and live with technology is email!

We have lost control of out time and the reality of interactions, on a personal and professional level!

We are living in a crisis of expectations, unreasonable expectations.

Email, by design, is fast, immediate and rich in volume.

But what is happening is we are being forced, by technology, to be hyper connected to issues instead of taking time away to think and ponder a response.

Email gives the illusion of immediacy and to not answer as fast as a message is received seems to indicate some level of inferiority or disregard yet a fast response may be fraught with error and short sightedness.

Our communication technology is new and we need to re-educate ourselves, schools, industry and society in general about how to use these tools for their greatest advantage.

It is great to learn, apply, use technology on the fly BUT at some point we need to reflect and rethink the communication process and that point is now.

I am sure you are repeating those words, time theft and wondering what can I be talking about.

Well, if you are anything like me you spend a bit of time on the email. messages come in and people think, dream and hope really, that you will put your life on hold and tend to their needs!

Not so long ago, 15 years maybe, we got the mail a couple of times a day delivered to the office, a few memos and probably a stack of phone messages that we worked our way through and then re-started the next day!

Life was good, life was easy, life was organized and we lived with reasonable time expectations.

So why do we put up with the demands on our time that are unreasonable?

I want to go back to the better days!

Tim Ferriss author of the 4 hour work week he did this long ago, went back to the old way of dealing with demands on his time, he looks at his email once a day!

It is liberating in more ways than one!

This past weekend I did it!

Here is the new auto reply on my email account!

Thank you for contacting me via email.

I only look at my email account weekdays in the morning before 10am.

You can expect a response by tomorrow.

Alternatively weekdays I am in my office and can be reached at 00971 4-402-1455. Leave a message on the machine I do listen and return them.

I am also on twitter JAMESED_ME and Facebook, James Piecowye, these are alternative ways to contact me.

Again thank you for your message.

James

I cannot tell you the liberation I feel by just telling people that I own my time and I will get to their needs in good time!

And if a person really needs something they can call me, they can come to the office but they cannot just send an email and expect me to jump.

I fell like I have gone back to the future!