We live in an age where technology is pervasive, and at times invasive. There are very few realms of life where the effects of technology are not felt. Overall, it’s a good thing – after all, you wouldn’t be reading this, and I wouldn’t have a job, if it wasn’t for technology. And for the most part, it makes our lives simpler. But there are times when that’s not the case.

Like we said in the Tech Tip Tuesday post earlier this week, choosing to live simply means using the tool that will be the most effective for the job at hand. How do you know know which tool to use? Consider this definition, slightly adapted from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: Simplicity is achieved when there is nothing left to add and nothing left to take away. The simplest tool to use is the one that goes just as far as you need it to, and no further. While technology certainly will fit the bill sometimes, there are other times when the best thing that you can do is turn off your phone, shut down the lid of your laptop, hit pause on the iPod, and just sit down with paper and the writing utensil of your choice. So here’s five areas of life where you might want to consider shutting off technology for simplicity’s sake…

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