by Ralph Mcallister

Created on: August 21, 2009   Last Updated: August 24, 2009

If you have lived through or observed a bad experience caused by a computer glitch or user error, you may think technology can be a waste of time. Observing young people, families and professionals today, you might disagree as you see that more is getting done in less time. Access to the loads of technology available has allowed people to accomplish more things faster, be it to pack daily schedules, leverage resources for increased income, or to save time used to spend with family. The use of technology is the enabler for this burst in capacity and ability.

Family life, with its scheduling and budgeting needs, is one fair way to show the apparent affects technology has on our time. Consider a typical suburban family, the Smiths; a middle class family with two kids and a dog. A week day typically consists of waking up to breakfast, getting to school and work and then coming home. Well, consider a wrench thrown into this typical daily pattern. When mom was making lunches for the kids, she unwittingly dropped her work ID badge into one of the lunch boxes, and the kids were on the bus to school already. She was almost out the door when she realized the ID was missing and remembered the last thing she was doing. She digs out her cell phone and calls little Nancy. Check your lunch boxes for my ID badge. If you find it, leave it in the office at school on your way in. Crisis averted, and the time to check in the office and have little Nancy or Jimmy called up so you can check the boxes yourself was saved. Not to mention the potential time wasted with driving to school on a sure notion, only to find the ID was wedged in between the seat cushion in the car. All thanks to that wonderful technology, the cellular phone.

Now, consider the daily grind is done, and the evening wide open for some relaxation. That is, until Mr. Smith remembers the end of the month is near and he has to do the budget and pay bills. Flashback to 1970 and imagine the time consumed in writing expenses and dues down in a budget book or check register, reviewing bank and credit statements, and writing and mailing checks out. For a family of four (don't forget the dog), it can grow into a huge task to manage all of this considering the additional expenses that accumulate on top of typical household expenses; such as band, braces, vet and health care costs. Cancel any plans Mr. Smith, because you're booked for the next ninety minutes, minimum. Now, come back to 2009 and watch as Mr. Smith, a

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