Snow White and the 7 & 1/2 Habits

"When there's too much to do, don't let it bother you, forget your troubles.....and whistle while you work..."

While whistling (not too loudly, though...don't want to bother others), I thought about which lifelong learning habit is easiest for me. I decided on habit 6: Use technology to your advantage. With technology advancing every minute, how can you not use it to your advantage?! It amazes me every day to think what I would do without my cell phone or iPod and then think back to the days when we had telephones with dials and Walkmen and think "How did we live like that?!?" I am lost now if I ever leave the house without my cell phone, but yet somehow we survived "back then" without any means of communication outside of the home. I suppose it is all just a sign of the times...a sign of the constant and ever-changing technology now available to us. With the endless possibilities out there, of course I am going to take advantage of everything!! I mean, "Google" is my favorite word!!

With such a wide array of information available at your finger tips, the only limitations are what we create. The internet, the technology out there, it allows me to learn, to be more creative, to utilize tools that may not have ever been available till now. It is an amazing thought and one I know will always continue to grow.


Despite my enthusiasm for habit 6, I also find it to be the hardest. Because there is so much technology available, that can also be a detriment. Which is the best program? Which piece of equipment suites me best? What do I want out of the device? There are so many things to consider now with anything you buy or anything that you use it makes my head spin at times!

For example, I was recently in the market for a new digital camera. I had an idea of what I was looking for so I decided to do some research online. I was able to find so much information that it eventually became too much information...an overwhelming amount of information!! So what was once an advantage, the ability to research online, quickly became a disadvantage for me because I was flooded with information that I didn't know what to do with.

What I find hardest with habit 6 is knowing how to get the most out of the available technology, not just using what I know. I now have a new digital camera that I am still learning to love (I have not thrown the box out yet...the return window is still open :) ). There is so much that this camera can do (though it still can't make me eggs in the morning...I'm sure that will be next) that I don't know if I will ever fully learn or understand its possibilities and that is hard for me to come to terms with. However, I know it is the truth...as scary as it may be.

"Come on get smart, tune up and start, to whistle while you work..."