Technology is a good servant but a bad
master. Allow technology to take the reins in your life and you will find
yourself careening down an avalanche of unproductivity, loss of family &
friends and poor health. The lines have been blurred when it comes to the lines
between work & life. Seriously. I love the solutions technology brings to
my life as a creative. I use my gadgets and social media to connect to
customers, readers, international markets, display my accessories online,
tweet, create events, connect with family and friends in and outside Ghana,
blog on lifestyle topics, send emails to all my contacts, etc. The list is
amazingly endless.
Often times, I get asked the question of
how I get the time to do the things that I do. My reply, most of the time is
BALANCE. Without balance its very much impossible to do anything. Technology is
one of the things I use to balance my work and life. Its not an easy thing to
do but like everything else practise makes perfect!
Here are some cool ways I use technology to
balance my work-life.
·
Video-Conferencing
Being able to connect with my work
colleagues in different locations enables me to save energy which would have
been zapped through travel stress. There are many video-conferencing
applications like Skype and also many laptops come with their own in-built
camera and video conferencing applications. This leaves me with a lot of time
to work on other issues whilst at work instead of waiting long hours at the
airport.
·
Mobile Technology
Mobile technology has come a long way from
making just phone calls and sending text messages to practically being a world
on its own. Thanks to smartphones life will never be the same again . There is
an app for everything! You name it! From lifestyle apps to Productivity apps,
its all there. I make sure that I have relevant apps which will enable me to
live a balanced life. Reminder apps, To-do list apps, utility apps etc are a
few which I incorporate into my daily life. As I schedule things to do for the
day, I sync these unto some apps to ensure that reminders will get me going on
the next item for the day. I love to run as part of my health regime so I have
Nike+ app which I use to monitor my runs. As a blogger, I have an app called Buffer
which enables me to schedule blogs and tweets. Isnt that cool? At the scheduled
time, the app sends out the tweet or blog. During my usual Saturday marketing,
I create my grocery list on Clear and I use this scratch out items bought and
also to prioritise my to-do lists. Relying on your mind alone is futile, one is
bound to forget something one way or the other that’s why reminders are good.
They will keep beeping until you get cracking. I even use reminders to alert me
about a friend’s birthday or anniversary that way I don’t get accused for
forgetting J . Having fun is very important and by checking Facebook and Twitter
on the happenings in the city, I am able to attend cool events at various
hangouts like Republic Bar and Grill. My Christian life has been affected by
technology. In a good way of course. With my Bible app from YouVersion I have
access to different versions of the Bible which really makes it easy to
understand verses. I am also able to pick Devotional Study plans in the app and
I also get reminders when I am not catching up on my study plan for the week.
·
Emails
Its so much easier connecting with
different clients in different time zones across the globe with just a click of
a button called ‘Send’. Email enables me to be in different places at the same
time. I can catch up with family living abroad and also communicate with
clients on purchased items on my online store.
Technology really helps in multi-tasking
and to do things which used to be nigh impossible with just clicks and taps. It
has ways to help in being flexible and being in control. What one has to watch
out for is allowing technology to take over one’s life. I know how to switch
off when I need to. For example, going out on a date means leaving my phone
within the recess of my handbag and turning it on silent. I don’t allow work
emails to interrupt my social life unless it’s an emergency then it can wait
till Monday. I pick up a ‘real’ book to read and turn my phone off during this
period. I love the Do Not Disturb function on my iPhone which I turn on when
meditating on the Bible. Some people do not know how to switch off and can
respond to work emails even at midnight! Set appropriate boundaries when it
comes to social media, work emails, etc before you find yourself trapped in a
no-man’s land!
After work hours, life begins.
How are you using technology to maintain a good work-life balance? Tell us the secret ;)
This post is part of Blu’s LiveBlu Forum, a social commentary on work-life balance in Ghana. Join the discussion at: http://blughana.wordpress.