Have you had a lap dance lately? No, not that kind, but one that can wreak just as much havoc in your family if you aren’t careful with it. I lap-danced in 2010, and I’m reflecting on whether I am better for it. It’s a dance that happens in my easy chair, with my laptop, books and files on my lap.

One of the things that I bought myself in this year was a lap desk. You know, a hardwood surface on one side for writing or for your computer to sit on while you are in your easy chair, and a pillow-like back side so that it “settles” solidly on your lap fitting to the shape of your legs. In fact, I didn’t just buy myself one, I bought two: one to go beside my easy chair in front of the fireplace in the hearth room, and one beside my other easy chair in front of the fireplace in the bedroom.

Is my lap desk a blessing or a curse? I think it’s both. It’s a blessing in that I can sit comfortably in front of the fire, in an easy chair, with the family and dogs all around, and do work. It’s a curse in that at the end of my day when I should be resting, decompressing, and being all about my wife and kids, I can get caught up in work because it’s so easy to access my computer or notebooks “for just a minute” while I’m sitting with the family, and then three hours later I’m still working away.

I keep trying to find balance. I think I’m doing OK, not great, but neither am I failing. It’s no sin to work on your lap desk in the evening, but its no virtue either.

Would I buy a lap desk again? Yes. But its kinda like having narcotics in the medicine cabinet. Both the narcotic and the lap desk need to be used properly and not misused so that they make your life better instead of digging you a deeper hole.

We’ve all got cell phones, laptops, etc., that are simultaneous blessings and curses. What’s the slightly unusual thing you have—like my lapdesk—that is a tiger you have to keep in its cage? Tell me about it at clicking here.