5 tips for keeping up with technology (even if you don’t want to)
21st August, 2017
Being across the newest technology is vital for running a profitable, relevant and efficient business – but keeping up can be a hassle coupled with a burden.
Technology can be a friend in business providing you with a competitive advantage, an opportunity for greater profits or by enabling you to work from anywhere in the globe.
But it seems new tech solutions come out every single day – so while it pays to keep up it can be difficult to do so.
In fact, for many people, reading up on the latest seemingly irrelevant gadget or gizmo is the last thing they want to do.
As a reluctant technology enthusiast myself, I’ve had to find ways over my 18 years in business to do just that.
Here are some of my tips that may work for you too.
1. Find a technology buddy
Most of things I’ve learnt about technology I’ve learnt through another person.
Hanging out with people who know more about technology than you is a great way to learn. Who do you know in your circles who likes technology?
This could be someone within your own family, workplace or other business colleagues or suppliers.
See if you can team up with them and look and learn from what they do and what they are using.
Most people who love technology are happy to show you how things work, and that can be one way of fast-tracking your knowledge.
2. Identify a problem you’d like solved
If you don’t enjoy learning about new technology then a sure-fire way to boost your love for it is to identify a problem or challenge you have in your business that can be fixed through technology.
This might be automating a manual repetitive task or reducing the time you spend clearing out your email by adding some short cuts or rules or reducing duplication.
It’s much easier to discover new technology when you have a problem that you’d like to have fixed.
It might even give you the incentive to research new technologies to find a solution to your problem.
3. Create a habit of trying new technology
Try a new technology at the start of each season or as a new year’s resolution or if you are super keen at the start of each month.
It could be downloading and using a new app or learning a new function on an existing technology or trying something new on social media.
Creating the habit of trying new things will keep you up to date with you even realising it.
4. Buy the latest version
With new versions of technology coming out all the time, it can be difficult to stay up to date.
One shortcut I’ve learnt is to always get the latest version of the technology possible when you purchase.
This might be the latest software, hardware, operating system or mobile phone.
It takes time to learn a new technology and it is more efficient to learn something that has a shelf life of two to three years.
This helps you to save time as well as stay ahead of the pack.
5. Allow time
Schedule some time in your calendar to review technologies on a regular basis.
If you’re implementing a new solution, always allow enough time to learn it and get the most from it.
It’s best to implement one new technology at a time.
Consider implementing new technologies in your downtime or at the start of the business year before you get into full swing.