The Tech Effect – How Faster Speeds Slow Down Your Business

Technology is getting faster. There’s now doubt about that. Hell, even the speed at which technology is getting faster is…um…getting faster. This world is only going to speed up, and there’s nothing we can do about that. The turtles of the world have no choice but to put on some roller skates and strap a rocket on their back if they want to get somewhere these days, that’s just how life is.

But – Is it for the best? Is the speed of technology actually helping to move things along? Or is everything that is popping up as a result of this effect actually slowing us down?

If you read the title, chances are you know where I stand on the issue, so I’ll come right out and say it. As technology is speeding up, our productivity seems to be going down the toilet. Things that used to take us 10 minutes now take us hours. Is it all our fault? Or is there someone else to blame?

Well my friends, I call this the Tech Effect. And it is, in fact, all your fault.

The Tech Effect

It may seem somewhat counter-intuitive at first and a little difficult to wrap your head around, but productivity both in the workplace and even at home seems to be a fraction of what it was just a few years ago. I’ll do my best to explain why.

So what exactly is the Tech Effect?

The tech effect is basically the decrease in productivity we get from having access to a greater number of resources.

You see, as sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and countless others continue to pop up, there are suddenly many more ways to spend our time. As email quickly becomes the preferred method of communication for the business world, we have to spend more time checking our inbox. And as technology gets faster and more accessible, we have more technology and access, which if left untamed can severely cripple the productivity of anyone.

It’s not really a matter of self-control either, it’s a matter of not recognizing this overwhelm and attention sucking leech as a legitimate problem. (That’s right, I said it!)

There’s nothing wrong with checking email every 10 minutes right? There’s nothing wrong with checking Facebook every 10 minutes right? There’s nothing wrong with checking Twitter every 10 minutes right?

I just would like to point out that if you were only on each of the above 3 services for 3 minutes each every 10 minutes, that means you only get 6 minutes of work done each hour.

Attention sucking leech doesn’t sound so outlandish now does it?

With smartphones now giving us the ability to check all of these new sources on the go, it’s an even bigger problem. Were constantly “in the loop” and can never seem to escape. Aside from having to check email and our social media accounts, we also create an addiction.

The Addiction to Information Flow

Every time someone says a word you don’t understand, you pull out your phone and look it up in the dictionary. Every time a thought pops into your head about a random subject, you pull out your phone and Google that subject. Every time you have a debate or disagreement on something in your field, you pull out your phone and look for sources to back up your position.

People these days are addicted to information, whether you want to admit it or not. As business owners, staying informed about our market is part of our job, but when that part of our job consumes more time and energy than others, it has to be limited or the business will suffer.

So how much is too much?

Too much is relative. Social media and email can be a big part of your business, so I am by no means telling you to limit access if your business requires it. I am simply encouraging you to understand how much time you and your team actually spends utilizing this technology.

The latest and greatest technology will probably save you time, but that technology also may not be necessary. If you need a central place to store company files, you don’t need a rack of brand new top-of-the-line servers. In the same way, if you need to connect with your audience, you don’t need an account on EVERY SINGLE social media service out there.

Each additional component you add to your digital life splits your attention up even further among the existing platforms. Instead, it is much more effective to have a central location where you focus the majority of your time and add the most value rather than many locations with a fraction of the attention.

Do it because it adds value, not because you’ve always done it.

So What’s the Solution?

How many times a day do you check your email? Social media? Your smartphone? That number is probably higher then you’d like to admit, but once you do there is a clear solution to the problem.

Limit your time and schedule that time into your day.

One thing I’ve noticed over the last year is that people are concentrating on the wrong things. Its not about utilizing every piece of technology you can find to make your business more effective, its about finding the most effective way of connecting with your audience. If your audience is all over the place, chances are your business needs help anyway.

I’ve outlined 3 basic things I think you should aim to do to try and improve in your business as it relates to services online:

• Set specific times or intervals to check email or social media sites
• Try prescheduling updates with a service like hootsuite or timely
• Turn off instant notifications that would interrupt your work routine

In addition to mapping out the “how” of your interaction, it also helps to focus your efforts in as few directions as possible (the “what”) to get the most out of your time and energy. Try asking yourself the following for each social media service, account or subscription you currently use:

• What value does this service add to my business?
• If I didn’t have/use this service, would it negatively impact my business?
• Where/what service is the majority of my audience, and would that be the best service for me to utilize?
• Is using this service the best use of my time, or can my time be better utilized elsewhere?

If you are willing to give yourself honest answers to the questions above and use some of the suggestions I’ve laid out for managing and monitoring your services of choice, I think you’ll do just fine.

If not, you suck.

Just kidding of course. Well not really, but it wouldn’t be politically correct to flat out tell you that you suck in an article. So, if you refuse to admit you have a problem and continue down the path of letting your time get stolen by things that don’t make an impact in your business, I’ll just tell you that you won’t be in business for long.

And at that point, I can legitimately say you suck.

So make a difference and do what’s best for your business: stop checking your email every time a new one pops into your inbox, and refuse to be interrupted by notifications and annoying dings. Get your work done and schedule your interactions with the digital world, and you will have a great year.

An hour of uninterrupted and highly focused time is far more beneficial and productive than a day of the opposite. Be the laser, not the light bulb

So what about you? How has the speed of technology and the ease of access affected your productivity?

---