There's no denying the working world has become totally gadget obsessed, but it is really helping us do more?

Image courtesy Nokia

Spend an hour in a city coffee shop, or in an airport, or even on a commuter train, and it doesn't take long to find evidence of just how much workers have come to love their high-tech devices. Everyone's staring at a smartphone or tablet, desperate to find out what's going on somewhere else lest they miss out.

I often fall into the same pattern myself. With a brief break between appointments, the first thing I do is reach for the phone to check for email, text or voice messages. The days of spending even a few short minutes each working day in quiet contemplation seem to be over.

Indeed, once-great phone company Nokia used the concept of 'micro moments' to sell its handsets. The message was simple - doing nothing is wasting time, so grab a handset and do some work!

But how much of what we are doing on our devices is actually making us more productive? How often does the email we respond to while walking down the street actually require such an immediate response? How often does it really make a difference?

Often, taking the time away from the desk to think bigger thoughts might actually be more beneficial.

So next time, right before you dive for your phone during that brief respite in the daily schedule, pause and consider whether checking it will really improve your productivity. You might occasionally decide to keep it in your pocket.