Adam Thomas, Principal Solution Architect
| I’m writing this just after grabbing my pants from yesterday that were hanging on the handle of the elliptical in my bedroom. A piece of exercise equipment that I used to use religiously, followed by a round of core exercises, all before I had breakfast. Now, I skip both breakfast and my exercise routine so I can sit at my desk in front of my computer screens to work while I drink my coffee because, if I don’t drink my coffee, then I’ll get a headache. |  |
It wouldn’t surprise me if this window into my morning shares a lot of similarities to yours or people you know. I read Popular Mechanics occasionally and they have segments in which they compare previous predictions made with what has actually happened. It’s both amusing and depressing to read about how much easier technology was supposed to make our lives. However, the reality is in BuzzFeed articles about all the anxiety the little iMessage bubble causes users when they see it but never get a text. Or the article I read in the Wall Street Journal about a Fortune 500 company that set up its email system to delete all employees’ emails while they’re out of the office, because catching up on emails after vacations was significantly impacting productivity.
Technology has not lived up to the ideal vision promoted 50 years ago. Instead, it generates copious amounts of anxiety, promotes “unhealthy” behaviors, and interrupts our quality time. TOPHAT’s slogan “Business Technology That Works” was a struggle to develop. However, when we look at the situations our clients present to us, many times, if the technology just worked as expected, the client wouldn’t have the frustration.
Technology has not lived up to the ideal vision promoted 50 years ago. Instead, it generates copious amounts of anxiety, promotes “unhealthy” behaviors, and interrupts our quality time. TOPHAT’s slogan “Business Technology That Works” was a struggle to develop. However, when we look at the situations our clients present to us, many times, if the technology just worked as expected, the client wouldn’t have the frustration.
One of the side effects of this frustration is what I call “Techno Flab.” It’s that “donut” many of us have because instead of exercising, we sat down to respond to an email. Or instead of mowing the lawn, we hired someone off of Angie’s List, and sat at home watching Netflix to unwind from a stressful day of sitting in an office either behind a computer screen or in a meeting room. Oh yeah, we didn’t “have time” to get ingredients and cook a healthy dinner so we just stopped by a drive-thru, added the meal to our credit card tab, and hurried home so we could “have time” to post a comment on Facebook, Tweet about our stressful day, and browse Amazon for materials to make the latest craft we saw on Pinterest.
Technology doesn’t have to slowly kill us though. While Apple may be the biggest offender by bringing technology into the palm of our hands via the iPhone, I also applaud their efforts to make a stylish “smart watch” that has a specific focus on how much of our time we spend on doing healthy activities. The first step to fighting Techno Flab is like anything else, we need to become aware of the problem and admit we need to change it. Hopefully, wearing a device on your wrist that both looks good and keeps track of the healthy activities you’re doing will help us become more aware of the issue I call Techno Flab.
I’m considering making more drastic changes to fight Techno Flab. I’m currently looking at the possibility of moving within walking distance of downtown Carmel or Zionsville. These communities have vibrant downtowns that will hopefully entice me to get out of my seat and get some exercise walking to wherever I’m headed. On a less drastic front, I also have several internal projects planned for this summer. These projects are specifically designed to reduce the overhead of running TOPHAT so I can focus on having quality time at work solving our clients’ issues and quality time at home living a healthy life.
I would encourage all business managers to do your own self-assessments. Identify gaps where technology could help, just like the Apple Watch will make us more aware of how effectively we’re achieving our healthy lifestyles. But more importantly, identify pain points where technology is causing frustration and stress. Those pain points are probably causing losses in productivity that are affecting the bottom line. As always, TOPHAT LTD is here to work with you. Together, we can move toward a brighter future in which technology works for us instead of us working against it.
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