Not Getting Things Done! (with the help of technology)

Remember my last post about "Getting Things Done (with the help of technology)"? Well there's also the flip-side.  The truth is that not all technologies help us get things done efficiently and in a smart way. 

I'm pretty sure you can think of at least one or two technologies that have a negative impact on your productivity -- no I'm not talking about watching YouTube at work (that's for another post). I'm talking about using technology that over-complicates a process or task which in turn frustrates you. If you're an engineer or software developer I'm sure you'll be able to list at least a handful of tools or software products that you've had to use that made your day just that much more difficult.

"So, what should we do with bad technology?" you might be asking.

Well, if you're using bad technology that you bought yourself, it might be time to move on and look for something else or do it manually -- there's nothing worse than continuing to use bad technology because you don't want to admit that you've made a mistake -- the bigger mistake might be in sticking steadfastly by bad technology. 

If however, bad technology is imposed on you by your organization, you've got a few of options: 

• you can grin and bear it
• you can make a point of discussing the pain points with your boss and proposing alternatives
• you can contribute to making the technology better

The first option is always an option, though not my personal favorite. I know from personal experience and depending on how bad the technology is, that "grinning and bearing it" takes a serious toll on your sanity with prolonged exposure!

The second option of discussing the pain points with your boss is a good, pro-active option if you bring an alternative technology to the table -- managers tend to listen to griping employees if they bring solutions to the table.

The last option is my personal favorite (mainly because I'm into the whole open-source scene). If you have a chance to contribute to improving a technology (easily done in an open source project), not only will you improve a technology that's giving you problems, but your name will be known throughout the land (ok I'm exaggerating) as the guy who made things better.

The point of all this is to say that you don't have to accept the status quo with technology if it's creating more trouble than it solves. What I'm trying to say is...

Only you can prevent bad technology from taking over