If you ran DOS with WordStar and Lotus 1-2-3, you could solve 98 percent of the world's productivity-tools needs at less cost and with less crashing. Scott McNealy, CEO Sun Microsystems Inc.

Maybe McNealy is exaggerating. But not by much. In fact, McNealy pointed out one of the major impediments to productivity in the digital age.

Computers have promised many benefits. Faster access to information, the ability for everyone to perform tasks once relegated to specialists, and more. But computers have also failed to deliver on a number of those promises. One of the most striking failures is in the realm of productivity. Instead of helping us do our jobs faster and more efficiently, computers have in fact slowed us down. We're not getting the most out of computers and software; they're getting the better of us.

While productivity in the information age seems like an oxymoron, it isn't. You can increase yours with a little discipline and some subtle changes to the way you work. But before you can become truly productive, you must shatter the many barriers to productivity put up by both people and their software.