There’s no doubt about it – the world feels like it’s spinning out of control when it comes to finding time to harmoniously balance the demands of home, work, school and family. It seems that with every advance in technology, the opportunity to be tagged by someone else’s demands grows more frequent.

Gone are the days when someone would tell you they were mailing you something (like a bill) and you knew you had at least several days before you had to worry about acting on it. Now, with technology functioning at hyperactive speeds, it seems that e-bills are debiting bank accounts quicker than account holders can log on.

So how do you slow things down to a pace that will allow you to at least catch your breath between tasks? Here are a few tips to consider:

* Contrary to popular opinion, watching television for a brief time each day can actually be beneficial. If you know that laughter helps you de-stress, but you’re typically too busy Wednesday nights to watch that comedy that makes you cry laughing tears, then why not record it to watch when it’s more convenient? With advances in cable and satellite television technology, like the ones offered at Direct Star TV, you can record television shows to watch on your timetable, not someone else’s. That act alone – taking control of your own time – can work wonders to reduce stress levels and add balance to the household.

* You’ve heard the concept of multitasking, right? Well, how about taking that concept to a level beyond professional time and budget management. If you don’t know about “bundling,” it’s a term that means saving money in a multitasking-inspired way. Just as you can save money by bundling all your family members on one gym membership, you can save money and time by bundling some of your home’s technology needs on one plan. Using Direct Star as an example again, you can purchase your Internet service, television service and phone service from them and reduce monthly expenses. You probably will agree that saving money alone can serve as a major stress reducer, not to mention the time you’ll save by paying one bill instead of three (or more). Visit www.directstartv.com for more information about this useful bundling plan and time saver.

* The concept of bundling services can be transferred to the notion of bundling your interfamily communications, as well. By making sure that you use group e-mail blasts and texting to all family members, you’ll be assured that Cody knows he needs to pick up Britt after school, and Britt knows that she should look for his car instead of her sister’s in the parking lot. And should Cody break down en route and group text the whole family, everyone will know to revert to Plan B with one simple communication. Likewise, if you bundle (or group) text your spouse to pick up pork chops on the way home, the whole family will know what to expect for dinner and will plan their afternoon snacking around that useful piece of information (or make sure Cosmo the Collie is nearby if pork chops happen to be on Cody’s list of least favorite meals).

Light-heartedness aside, you get the idea to start thinking in a multipronged way when it comes to managing your time. To do anything less than that means you might be more likely than ever to be tagged — yet again — by lightning-fast advances in technology.