Information flows, and you can explain your ideas in ways that would be impossible with pens and pap

Information flows, and you can explain your ideas in ways that would be impossible with pens and paper.

Our world is changing rapidly, and putting more demands on us every day. We're under pressure to be faster, smarter, and more connected. Computers have percolated into most homes and workplaces, and not just basic models either. Knowing how to use them isn't optional at all anymore—from leveraging social websites like Facebook to whipping out our Blackberries for every little thing, we're quickly getting used to a living with a lot of bells and whistles. The pace at which high-tech equipment is becoming the norm is just staggering. Even school children today are making PowerPoint presentations instead of writing on chart paper!

When technology is truly working for you, it's a joy to use. Information flows freely, and you can explain and demonstrate your ideas in ways that would be totally impossible with pens, paper and other low-tech means. The whole world opens up in ways that illustrate how true it is when people talk about the planet shrinking and walls coming down everywhere.

It's a heady feeling that isn't restricted to the tech-savvy anymore. Students who can afford their own laptops find that they don't need to bother with outdated desktops in labs anymore—they can work at their own speed and convenience. Office workers are buying their own smartphones to stay connected and hard drives to take backups, even if companies don't issue them officially.  It isn't too uncommon to see personal Internet dongles at the office as well, and more than a few enterprising workers have been known to plug unauthorized Wi-Fi routers in at their desks just so they can check their mail on their phones while on breaks.

Individuals today can outfit themselves with the kind of tech power that only offices used to be able to provide a few years ago. They're willingly spending their own money on gadgets for themselves and their homes—things an office has traditionally been expected to provide to its senior staff—simply to stay ahead. And they're discovering that not being constrained by the tools of a workplace extends to the environment they work in as well. If you don't have to use a desktop, why are you forced to sit at a desk? Work can get done anywhere, even at home.

Smart workers get noticed for being dynamic and adapting to new technology, not for adding twenty animations to every slideshow. They're motivated to do better, reach further, and grab every chance that comes along. They stand out in comparison to their peers who are still struggling to process yesterday's news.