If you think keeping the technology running smoothly in your house consumes a lot of time – you are correct!! But no need to retreat to the woods. Just be aware of the pros and cons of digital life, and keep reading Digital Zen to help sort through it all. And hopefully spend less time managing tech and more time enjoying life offline.

Some examples: just in the past month, I addressed the following problems and tasks related to home technology.

Internet went down

Sure, this happens. But when Comcast said service was restored and I still couldn’t get online despite rebooting all three related components – modem, WiFi hub, and booster – a lengthy phone call ensued. Turns out the modem I installed in December (replacing the Comcast rental modem, saving $10/month) needed to be “registered” with Comcast. Not sure why it worked for the last two months without being registered, but that was the fix.
Total time: 1 hour, minimum. Plus a lot of fretting.

Resync Nest Protect to WiFi

Finally got around to taking my three Nest Protects down from the ceiling and resyncing them to the new WiFi I installed two months ago. Which required a ladder to get the Nests down. Which explains the two month procrastination.
Total time: 45 minutes.

Setup Two-Factor Authentication

Carbonite recently added this security feature, and if you use Carbonite you should immediately add this extra layer of protection to your account.
Total time: 5 minutes.

iTunes Updates and Apps

The somewhat monthly update and purge of apps on both my iPhone and iPad. Made sure software on both devices was up-to-date, removed apps I don’t use, and read up on a few new apps I want to try and added them to my devices.
Total time: about an hour.

Setup Sonos Speakers

New gadgets always take time to figure out and setup. Downloaded and ran the Sonos desktop controller to setup my local music library. Played around with the different music streaming services and authorized Sonos to use the ones I want.
Total time: about an hour.

General Document Management

Don’t discount the time required to run a paperless life. If paper comes in and it’s important to keep (report cards from school, big ticket receipts and warranties, vision Rx from the doctor) it gets scanned and saved to Evernote. Monthly financial statements are downloaded and filed away. Documents are shredded and tossed.
Total time: who knows? The little tasks do add up.