Most of us have a love/hate relationship with technology. Sure, it makes our lives more convenient and gives us capabilities our ancestors could only dream about, but it also seems to selectively choose not to work during critical moments – and it never quite functions as smoothly as we’d like.
To a degree, technology frustrations are natural. As we grow to become more familiar with technology and more productive using it, small bugs, glitches, and inefficiencies become magnified.
That said, technology frustrations can severely impact both your productivity and morale. And at a certain point, it’s imperative to upgrade to better technologies.
Available Technologies
Laptops for work come in many varieties, shapes, and sizes. There are heavy-duty laptops with impressive tech specs to help you tackle almost any conceivable task. There are also lightweight, portable laptops with extended battery life to help you stay productive on the go.
As long as you have the budget to pay for it, there’s a perfect solution for you as well. You just have to find it – and be willing to let go of whatever combination of technologies is driving you insane.
The Productivity Impact of Bad Technologies
Let’s take a look at just how impactful bad technology can be. “Bad” technology, for our purposes, is any technology that doesn’t allow you to be as productive as you think you can be. This is often due to limitations in hardware or software, which become more notable as your technologies get older and older.
These are some of the things you may notice.
- Inaccessibility and hard limits. There may be hard limits in place for what your computer can run and what it can reasonably handle. For example, if your computer gets older and slower, it may one day no longer be able to boot up a resource-intensive program like a video editing program. Your computer may also not meet the minimum spec requirements for certain apps and platforms. This can completely shut you out of certain functions.
- Slowdown. Aging technology also tends to experience a slowdown. It takes longer for programs to open, responsiveness declines, and it may take you 30 seconds or longer just to open a simple web page in some cases. This artificially increases the time it takes for you to do practically anything with your machine.
- Crashes, glitches, and interruptions. Crashes, glitches, and other interruptions can greatly derail your day. If you’re forced to reboot your computer and reopen all your programs and windows, you could instantly be set back 10 minutes. Sure, 10 minutes isn’t that long, but do this a few times a day and suddenly it feels like peak productivity is a distant, unreachable dream.
- Distraction and breaks in flow. It takes up to 23 minutes to fully recover from even a single distraction. If your technology prevents you from achieving flow, or if it pulls you away from a task you’re immersed in, it can cost you greatly.
- Irritation and mood. Don’t underestimate the impact that bad technology can have on your mood and overall morale. It’s irritating and frustrating to deal with problematic technologies, and this, too, can impact your productivity.
Immediate Fixes
There are some immediate fixes you can try, especially if you suspect your laptop is the root of the problem.
- Reboot. You’d be surprised how many issues a simple reboot can fix.
- Update. In some cases, you can clear up issues by installing the latest updates. This is especially true for software platforms that have benefited from bug fixes and new features.
- Run an antivirus scan. In many cases, slowdown is attributable to malware. Now is a good opportunity to run an antivirus scan and clean up any issues that might be affecting your machine.
- Clean up unnecessary programs. Excessive programs can also cause slowdown and other issues. Programs take up space and hog resources, so consider uninstalling anything you don’t truly need. Also, make sure you disable startup programs that aren’t necessary.
- Upgrade. Various upgrades can make your machine run faster and more reliably. For example, you might consider upgrading to more RAM, or Random Access Memory.
Buying Better Equipment
If you’re in charge of buying and managing your own equipment, the solution could be buying better equipment. Consider evaluating the current condition and performance capabilities of your laptop, and begin shopping for a replacement.
Making the Ask
If your work technology is provided to you, consider making a request for an upgrade.
- Remain objective. Remain as objective as possible when describing the issues you’re having and presenting possible solutions. You can acknowledge your frustrations; just don’t allow those frustrations to change your presentation.
- Be specific. If you have a full plan in place, you’ll have a much easier time getting the results you want. Make a specific ask and be able to justify your reasoning for the request.
- Make a value pitch. Explain why upgrading your technology is going to be beneficial for the business. The laptop may cost $1,000, but if it allows you to get more done every day, it will pay for itself after just a few months.
You deserve better technology to achieve your peak performance and boost your morale simultaneously. Frustrations may seem superficial, but if you allow them to encroach on your work, it could eventually compromise your success.
