Paperwork. Email. Messages. Task lists. Phone calls. Meetings. Errands. School activities. Bills. Work. Friends. Family. It stacks up, each and every day.
Wait…there’s a solution over here. Have a 7-day trial of this, then it’s just $9.99 / month and this problem will be solved. But wait, there’s another option over here. And don’t forget about yet another option.
There’s always an “app for that.” We are always being pitched a new solution to the challenges of everyday life. Each day brings a new option and always a cost. The stack of life continues to climb higher and higher, until it threatens to topple and crush us.
When you turn on the news, check social media, or talk to the person next to you, the solution is always tech. Hearing tech, we tend to think about global companies headquartered in Silicon Valley, South Korea, China, and Taiwan. Some praise tech, while others hate tech. I don’t know if there’s anyone without a strong opinion on tech.
Strong opinions and ever increasing exposure aside, tech(nology) is almost never defined. Let’s start a solid foundation by using a dictionary definition.
n (plural technologies) the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry: advances in computer technology | recycling technologies. • machinery and equipment developed from the application of scientific knowledge: it will reduce the industry’s ability to spend money on new technology. • the branch of knowledge dealing with engineering or applied sciences.
Origin – early 17th century: from Greek tekhnologia ‘systematic treatment’
Apple Dictionary
When you look at this definition, unexpected things stand out: it’s not a new term; it’s about the use of scientific knowledge; it’s about more than computers. Items as old as the lever are examples of technology. While electronics, computers, and now AI are what come to mind, technology really is much more expansive.
The first computers I can remember using were the EPSON Equity (yes a computer, not a printer) that my dad purchased for our home and ran MS-DOS 3.1, and the occasional Apple II or Macintosh at school. Those were amazing for being able to create greeting cards using The Print Shop and our dot matrix printer. I also had a quintessential Millennial experience of playing Oregon Trail on an Apple II in school. We even had a proto-database in the DOS software Lotus Symphony that I used to track my voracious reading.
I often went to the local public library and read every book I could on computers. From the “For Dummies” series to historical narratives tracing back to Babbage’s analytical engine and difference engine, I read it all. I was absolutely enamored with the possibility of what computers could do. It felt like magic to me.
At that point I was able to start experimenting with .BAT files in DOS. I also played with Windows 3.1 on the next family computer. Reading about Linux opened my mind to how customizable computers could be. I even spent countless nights rebuilding the family computer after I had crashed it. (So many episodes of ESPN’s SportsCenter watched again and again as it re-aired overnight.)
During my college years in the early 2000’s, I began to tire of being an amateur sysadmin for myself and my family. Expertise at reinstalling the various flavors of Windows was no longer exciting. That work had become tedious.
I wanted a computer that “just works.”
In January of 2003, I bought my first Mac – an iBook G3. That felt like a major step forward in a quest to have my computer be something I used rather than managed.
Then, in 2008, another change occurred. I saw Iron Man – more specifically, J.A.R.V.I.S. Tony Stark’s interactions with J.A.R.V.I.S. were revelatory. It was an example of a technology well beyond Computer in Star Trek; J.A.R.V.I.S. was something personal, something… “alive.” At that moment, I had found what I wanted from a computer and technology. I wanted a partner to work alongside me.
That’s my vision of technology. Now let’s look at my life to understand what technology will do for me.
All through my life, I’ve been surrounded by medical need and caregiving. During my childhood, my brother required extensive, daily, hands-on medical care from doctors, nurses, therapists, aides, and my family. Not only was the direct care significant, but the administrative burden of record keeping, filling prescriptions for medication and supplies, and transport to and from appointments was well beyond what typical families experience.
Once I became a parent in my mid-20’s, I began to experience that from a new perspective as the spouse and parent of those with complex needs. At that point, I became overwhelmed with that load. Keeping track of everything was a full-contact sport that no one person can win. I had to find help, so I turned to the tools I understood – technology.
Now my journey of passion with technology continued and I was finding ways to balance a series of Moleskine notebooks, Palm PDA’s, and other gadgets, but I always felt like I was working for technology. I was molding myself to its capabilities, rather than experiencing the technology completing what I asked of it. Thinking about these efforts, I’ve always felt like “This Is Me Trying.”
Over the last year, I have begun to experiment with and adopt the AEI (Artificial Enough Intelligence – Joanna Stern, “I Am Not A Robot”) tools that are emerging. Anthropic’s Claude, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Google Gemini are becoming essential tools. They have capabilities that we have not experienced before. At times, you can even see a hint of the shadow of J.A.R.V.I.S. in them (particularly with the various voice modes).
Starting a voice chat while driving to brainstorm ideas, using the computer use features to have them configure apps and services on your computer, and having documentation created as you work through a task is completely new. This change has transformed my technology from something I manage or use to a collaborator and assistant.
Now as I juggle myriad responsibilities of a father, husband, caregiver, business owner, friend, and sometimes the role of Julie, your cruise director,” I’m not running around finding the notes from my last call. The account numbers are at my fingertips. I’m now prepared to make the call to the insurance company, the service agency, or the plumber. All without having to redo the same work again and again and again.
A mentor of mine once held up his iPhone and asked the group, “What job are you hiring this for?” That question has stuck with me over the years. I’m realizing that technology really is supposed to work for us and, in many ways, it’s our employee. We hire it for jobs. It’s not simply a device, app, or service – it’s something that is supposed to accomplish things for us.
So when we look at technology, we have to first look at our lives and identify the need. Then we can develop a job description which helps us understand what technology to hire and evaluate whether or not it meets the goal.
My technology now functions like a part-time assistant for many tasks. As an individual, hiring a professional to do this work for me is entirely out of reach. Now I can identify the Donkey Work (HT David Sparks) and work with my technology to find a solution that frees me up to focus on the things I care about.
In this series of thoughts on technology, we will explore this idea in greater detail by sharing more of my story and what I use. This will give us a framework for evaluating what technology is available, what individual needs we have, and how the two are going to be able to work together.
Together we are going to learn how to stack tech (and life) for each and every one of us.
All The Pieces 
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