• Harvard Business Review, Wednesday, June 16, 2010 1:24 PM

Why did author and consultant Peter Bregman just return his iPad? Because it's "too good," "too easy," and "too accessible," not to mention, "too fast and too long-lasting," Begman explains in the Harvard Business Review. "For the most part, it does everything I could want ... Which, as it turns out, is a problem." Why? Quite simply, because the device was quickly taking over Bregman's life.

"Any free moment becomes a potential iPad moment." Furthermore, he argues that the device virtually illuminates the potential for consumption-less downtime, which, for Bregman, is when he does his best thinking. "My best ideas come to me when I am unproductive," he says. "When I am running but not listening to my iPod. When I am sitting, doing nothing, waiting for someone ... They are the moments in which we, often unconsciously, organize our minds, make sense of our lives, and connect the dots." Sound silly? Well, the dilemma Bregman describes could soon represent the most common technological challenge we face.

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