Sweet, sweet, technological procrastination

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I once gave a talk titled “Using technology to procrastinate”. An idea that I have used since my sophomore year in high school. We had a big research paper due, and it had to be typed. While my peers were writing out their paper long hand to be typed like suckers, I was using a word processor. Not only was I able to write the paper and basically type it at the same time, I was able to put off finishing it until the last day. Which meant, instead of using technology to make my work better, I used it to procrastinate and turn in a mediocre paper at the last minute.

This story comes back to haunt me time and time again. In today’s world, when I’m asked for help, instead of saying, “No, I’m trying to do the best on my current tasks”, I’m more likely to say, “Yes”, and in the back of my mind work on how I can use my technology skills to deliver. My workload increases, and I start to have quality vs quantity issues.

We need to look at technology as a tool to help us do the best job, not at using technology to take on more and more jobs.