Technological advances like cell phones, beepers, personal fax machines, computers, and modems have blurred the line between our work lives and the rest of our lives. We can do more work and faster, because it is literally possible to almost never be out of touch with the office. However, overuse of these technical devices can sometimes lead to increased stress, burnout, and inappropriate behavior.

SYMPTOMS OF BURNOUT. When we aren't working at home or on the road, we're likely using our technical devices to speed up many of the things we do in our personal lives, like banking and shopping. While these devices can help save time, they can also tend to help to fill it up with the additional stress of more and more work ... less and less patience with ourselves and others ... and more and more susceptibility to burnout. If this sounds at all familiar, ask yourself the following questions:

Do you pick up the cell phone the minute you pull out of the driveway?

When was your last vacation? If it was within the last two years, was your laptop among the most important pieces of your luggage? And was your calling card bill larger than your hotel bill?

Speaking of laptops, do you take yours to your son's or daughter's soccer games?

Did you fly into a rage the last time you got a "transmisson error" in the middle of a 50 page fax?

- Ditto when the printer jammed at midnight?

- Ditto when the paper plate collapsed, dumping your breakfast burrito all over your keyboard?

Do you get frustrated when people don't talk fast enough, drive fast enough, or provide service fast enough?

When you're in a conversation, do you tend to finish the other person's sentences?

Do you wake up at 3 a.m. to add to the "to do" list on your personal electronic organizer?

Do you agree to deadlines that are impossible to meet without working weekends?

You get the picture. The down side of our technological efficiencies is that unless we're careful, we can just as efficiently become intolerant of down time, impatient with events or people that come around more slowly than we expect, and just plain out of control of our lives.

SHARING OUR INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR. Aggravation, anger, annoyance, and anxiety are just a few of the negatives that are a result of the burnout we're experiencing. And, unfortunately, we share our inappropriate behavior, often through poor decision making, with people around us.

Don't think the people around us aren't noticing that we're responsible for the negative atmosphere, because impatience tends to draw extreme and obvious action from us-doing too much or too little to resolve situations or issues. For example, it's such a "sense of urgency" gone haywire that spawns 6 a.m. "problem solving" sessions when there may not be a problem at all.

Also, intolerance of others who don't communicate with us as quickly as we want can lead to poor decisions, causing us to jump to conclusions without getting the whole story.

CORRECTING THE SITUATION. Use your time-saving technology to slow down. When you're saving time, save some for doing nothing at all. If that's too hard, reduce the number of things you do concurrently-like turning off the cell phone and enjoying the scenery on the drive to work for a few days a week. When you get used to that, try leaving the lap top at the office over night, or, if you're really getting good, over a weekend. With people and problems, don't act or decide until you have all of the facts.

Finally, and perhaps the most difficult of all to do these days, come to grips with the idea that you just might not be indispensable. Many times, things work out just fine if you turn off the machines and let nature take its course.