Surely, the advances in technology have been remarkable. With digital video recorders, we can stop a championship football game easier than a holding penalty and go to the kitchen to grab a snack. Indeed, you don't even need a television to watch your favorite shows: You can sync the latest episode of "The Office" to your iPod, and off you go.

Technology advances have changed the world of business as well. Even the most old-fashioned executives use e-mail. With lightweight laptop computers and cellphones so sophisticated they can give directions to your next meeting, you can be online and connected 24/7/365. If Timothy Leary's instruction to "tune in, turn on and drop out" was the ode of the 1960s, the ode for the "000s" should be "turn on, log in and stay connected."

But are you more productive and efficient, or has technology overwhelmed you? Are you stuck in a quagmire of endless spam and instant messages? Worse yet, have you become a technology addict?

Limit multi-tasking. With all the technology we have at our disposal, it is easy to fall into the multi-tasking trap. How often have you been talking on the phone while checking your e-mail? Do you find yourself with so many open "windows" on your computer desktop you consider jumping out of a real one?

Efficiency experts will tell you that multi-tasking is the least efficient way to work. As you switch from task to task at a feverish pace, you may feel more productive. Instead you are wasting time by restarting each task, trying to figure out where you left off and regaining your train of thought. It is more effective to tackle one task at a time, giving that task your full attention for as long as you can. If you are on the phone, turn off your computer screen unless you specifically need information that is related to the phone call. If you are in a meeting, turn off your PDA until there is a break.

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