The greatest time machine yet invented

The greatest invention and it’s not a Dr. Who prop.

Youngsters are, of course, to be encouraged to become very familiar with the computer which, in the absence of the development of a superior replacement, will play a major part in their education and in their adult lives. The problem here is that these youngsters seem to spend far too much time staring at a screen and pressing buttons rather than running around in the open air in the way that previous generations used to do.

Once these same youngsters start school and progress through their education, the advantages of a computer become ever clearer. Proprietary software programmes make it easier to research and to write and present work more clearly. Yet is the research available on the internet completely reliable? Is the spelling offered by the word processor completely correct for the environment in which the student is working? One such internet database states that it was George Bernard Shaw who first said, “America and England are two nations divided by a common language.”

Like it or not, we all seem more or less doomed to accepting some degree or other of computer usage during our corporate lives. It is meant to save us time and to allow us to operate more efficiently but, with many executives facing daily incoming email traffic that runs into the hundreds of messages, I must say I wonder. Is the communication overload mainly due to the fact that it is all too easy to send copies to fellow workers who, poor souls, are then obliged to read them just to see whether they are relevant to them or, far more likely, not.

It is in leisure time that the computer really comes into its own although, yet again, sitting in front of that addictive screen must be balanced against old fashioned pastimes such as taking the dog for a walk, playing golf, or even chatting to the family.

Use the computer to learn, to motivate the brain and, most importantly to manage your life so that you can strike that happy balance between being busy and being bored. Whatever happens, do not allow the computer to become the master of your time; use it to help you master your time so that you can get the most out of your life. It really is the greatest time machine yet invented and it keeps getting better and better.