I pay attention whenever I hear anyone talking about increased stress in our lives, but I tune out quickly when I hear that I should carve out more time for myself, take up Yoga or simply do less. There’s nothing wrong with that advice, except it’s never worked before, and it’s not exactly like this advice is waiting for its time to come. If anything, its time has past – for one thing, it’s takes no clear-eyed view at the challenging present.

Think back ten years: Did you have a laptop that you could travel with? Was the Internet present in your life 24/7? How about your cell phone? Like all technologies which take two to tango, even if you had a cell phone, few other people did. But now, we’re hooked up, compute-ready and constantly-accessible. Wherever we are, those technical tar babies: the cell phone, the Internet and the laptop, just won’t go away.

So let me share with you my own secrets to avoid technology stress. Maybe they’ll help.

Sometimes more important than the existence of a technology, is the status of how well it works. Old technology that limps along, or like some loner school kid, works well on its own but not with others, can be even more stressful than the fact you’re lugging it around.

So every year, I do a Techno-Quality-of-Life Review. I schedule it during the first business week in January, not only because I can remember to do it then, but my post-holiday sense of impoverishment keeps extravagant solutions at bay.

I simply ask myself: What new technology have I added in the past year? Is it working for me? Am I using all the features that I could? Is my life better for it, or is it more complicated?

Than I look at the rest of my techno-debris: Do I use them less now than I did a year ago? Or in different ways? Do I already own something that could replace it? Am I being tied down because it’s just too old? Is there new tech that’s really much better?

Laugh if you will, but I get out a big sheet of paper, draw circles and arrows, and write it all down.

You might call it a techno-map of my consumer electronics terrain.

In retrospect, the results have been gratifying. One year, I dumped my PDA. It was too big and too heavy, I couldn’t read it in most lights, and it took forever to record an appointment, especially when the little stick took refuge in the nether regions of my purse.

Another year I got a new cell phone simply because the new ones had batteries that could now last for hours and I could program the ringer so that I knew my kids were calling. Everyone else got put on stun.

And since I’m on a roll, let me throw in a couple of general tips, as well: Never buy Serial No. 1 of anything. They’ll figure out what’s weak in the first go-round, and fix in the next. And most importantly, never upgrade software versions unless you absolutely have to. If you need to, it may be time to buy a whole new computer. And then, you should bite the bullet and buy the biggest, baddest, hottest, slickest technology you can find with the newest complement of totally-compatible software. You’ll be stress-free knowing it will work harmoniously for a good long time.

And don’t worry about when the “next time” is. Your annual Techno-Quality-of-Life Review will tell you. Just think of it as an intense Yoga session for all your gadgets.

I'm Moira Gunn. This is Five Minutes.