Carrying On

There isn’t always “an app for that”

September 16, 2010 at 9:36 am Mike Daly Leave a comment

by Mike

My son is turning 7. He wants an iPad for his birthday. My latest BlackBerry – RIP – just succumbed to the abuse I afflicted on it for the past three years. Even that outdated dinosaur had 10x (or more) computing power than probably all the computers I used in college, combined. Each of the Daly automobiles has a GPS device that safely guides us to the next ball game or Chuck E. Cheese. It’s amazing how dependent we’ve become on our technology, professionally and personally.

I recently read an interesting article on TechCrunch discussing a scientific experiment during which the Provost of Harrisburg University of Science and Technology will block all of his students from the use of social websites and applications for an entire week. They are calling it a social media detox of sorts. In another story author Paul Carr discusses his departure from the social networks likening it to his decision to quit drinking.

This brings up an interesting question. While it might not be so difficult to abandon a great deal of the frivolous personal technologies, would it be possible to do the same with your business solutions. I may be a contrarian in that I’d prefer my trusty Bud Light calculator to an Excel spreadsheet any day of the week. But email?  Forget about it. That’s a lifeline I’d never be able to abandon.

Full disclosure: This picture of this low-tech technique comes courtesy of the amazingly high-tech camera on my mobile.

So, as I come to the conclusion that technology is simply necessary, I am happy to leave you with a low-tech tip that any business traveler will appreciate. It will keep you looking sharp and ready to conquer the world (always important in sales) and will significantly boost your productivity. Oh, by the way, there’s no app for this.

I recently spotted this sign at the Denver International Airport, and it’s changed my life. Ever since I’ve been employing “The Wrinkle-free Roll” (TWR) I’ve been able to sleep later; avoiding the 20 minutes usually spent trying to make my crumpled shirt look acceptable. Partners, customers and prospects alike have noticed a difference about me, but they haven’t yet linked it to my newly, crisp shirts. In a few short weeks, we’ll see if TWR will have a positive effect my quarterly numbers! If you have any favorite low-tech tips, shoot them over to us at Carrying On and we’ll be happy to incorporate them in a future blog posting.

Entry filed under: Business Travel, Mike's musings, Mobile, TAP. Tags: 1st Bank, BlackBerry, Bud Light, Carrying On, Chuck E. Cheese, DEN, Denver International Airport, GPS, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, iPad, Paul Carr, social media detox, Social network, TechCrunch, The Wrinkle-free roll.