The beginning of the year is a time for new resolutions. With technology filling so much of our lives, now is the perfect time to make a few techno-resolutions. By resolving to use technology more effectively in the year ahead, you're taking important steps toward greater productivity and satisfaction in your personal and work life.

Here are a few ideas to get you thinking…

•  Attend a seminar. Pick a few computer skills you'd like to learn and enroll yourself in a short-term workshop or seminar.

•  Block sites. If junk mail and Web site pop-ups are on the rise, enter the offending addresses into your e-mail program and browser settings as spam.

•  Block time for routine tasks. Computers can become time-wasters if you don't plan your computer time carefully. Pick an hour each day, or some other combination of time blocks, and use that time to consolidate all your routine computer work.

•  Build relationships. Join at least one social networking site and use it to keep in touch with old and new friends. Periodically post an account of what you're doing, as well as photos and images of your comings-and-goings.

•  Have some fun. Set aside an hour or two a week for online games, conversations with friends, online television or other pastimes that divert and enrich.

•  Establish monthly maintenance tasks. Make a list of computer-related tasks that need to be performed monthly, and post a computer-based reminder to complete them on the last day of each month. These tasks can include updating of financial or budget information, cleanup of old messages, deletion of old files, and backups to compact disks.

•  File taxes. Today you can obtain almost any personal or business tax form online, or file and pay taxes online as well – a great time-saver.

•  Forget failure. If you're not able to make something work, don't fret. Input the error code into a search engine and get a prospective solution back. Or log on to one of the online discussion boards (they exist for virtually every kind of software) for help with a thorny problem.

•  Get a check-up. At least once a year, bring in a computer technician to check your system speed, security software and settings, run tests for viruses and other malware, and advise you on what you can do to run at peak efficiency.

•  Greet others. Keep your birthday, anniversary and special occasion list in handy online form. And whenever a special date occurs, use one of the many free online greeting cards available to send best wishes.

•  Learn. Enroll in an online continuing education class. Tens of thousands of short-term courses, complete with interactive discussions, online learning tools, and extensive bibliographies are available to you, often at very low cost. You can foster a new hobby or avocation this way, or pick up valuable new business skills.

•  Link to organizations. List the organizations you belong to or wish to affiliate with. Create a link to your LinkedIn or Facebook page, and then follow important news and information.

•  Manage your time. Use Outlook, or another computer-based or online scheduling system, to track appointments and tasks, store information about contacts, and track where you're spending time.

•  Organize your computer workspace. Be sure your chair is set at a comfortable and ergonomically safe angle, and place it on a static-free pad. Store reference books, printer stationery and other materials in nearby desktop organizers or cabinets. Keep your work area well-lighted.

•  Organize your computer. Build your internal computer directories and files around a pattern that's logical for you: work responsibilities … people you regularly meet … or simply alphabetical. If your computer currently contains a mish-mash of files, spend an afternoon cleaning up and reorganizing; you'll save countless hours of time in the year ahead.

•  Read. Identify the top five online periodicals or webzines you'd like to read – or the top five subjects you'd like to learn more about in the year ahead. Then, using content aggregators, subscribe to the online resources that can bring you what you want every day or every week. And remember, also, that you can obtain a growing number of books online as well.

•  Sell. Whether you sell products, services or ideas, the computer is one of the best prospecting and sales tools available to you. Use trade or consumer data sites to identify and qualify prospective customers, and set the stage for initial contacts.

•  Set goals. Want to transfer paper files to digital form? Upgrade your skills or speed? Learn a new application? Set month-by-month techno-goals for yourself, and then set out to reach them.

•  Speed-key. Many computer users don't make full use of their systems because they can't keyboard fast enough. If you fall into this category, use one of the online “typing” programs to learn keyboarding skills, or boost your speed.

•  Talk to others. Your computer can provide remote access, and even video access between multiple locations – a great online meeting and communication tool. Use it!

•  Track investments. Consider maintaining historical records of personal or business investments with a simple spreadsheet. And think about using one of the online investment tracking utilities to keep you up-to-date on investment values.

•  Write your personal technology “mission statement.” Describe how you want to use technology more productively in the next year, and let this statement guide you in your online adventures in the months ahead.