10 Ways to Quickly Optimize Your Smartphone Usage
Wherever I go, it is with me. Even when I sleep, it's right next to me. Sometimes I grab it and I have absolutely no idea why. It answers all my questions but it also wastes a lot of my time. It is my most important productivity tool and also my biggest time suck. It's part of my lifestyle and without it I'd be useless. I think. Maybe. I don't know.
I am speaking of course about my phone. Can you relate? I can forget my wallet or lock myself out of my house, run out of gas or get lost in a foreign city. As long as I have my phone on me, I can see myself out of any situation. But I can also expertly waste time better spent, scrolling endlessly.
Did you know that there is a "You're All Caught Up" notification on Instagram?
There is. And I simply must see it everyday at least once. Don't ask me why, I just must.
But, because I am trying to manage my time better to be the best version of me I can be and get all the things that I want, I am trying to use my phone more productively and I want to share what is working for me.
Behold! 10 ways to optimize your phone usage:
1. Delete Apps You Don't Need
Go to settings and look at the list of all the apps on your phone. When was the last time you used some of those? Delete them. Don't feel like you downloaded and now you HAVE to use it. Get rid of it and save some space on your phone.
2. Turn Off Notifications Except for Essential Apps
You don't need to know about every email that comes in or every Facebook post that your friends post or how many people like your Insta post at the moment that they like it. In the end these end up being major distractions. So, in settings, turn off notifications for ALL your apps and then go through the list and turn them on just for the most important ones. This will help with anxiety and attention span. I promise!
3. Do Not Disturb is Your Friend
Not every text needs an immediate reply. Most messages really don't. Want to read a book and actually get enough pages in? Set your phone to DND. Sleep as soon as you're in bed? Set DND. Driving? DND.
4. Use the Search Feature for Everything
Not just when you want to know what time it is in Australia. Need the calendar app? Search for it in the search bar. You'll get there much quicker than you would if you looked for it manually and you will also avoid getting distracted along the way.
5. Speech to Text or Audio Message
Quicker way to respond when you're driving or focused on something else but you want to keep the conversation going. Like when you're talking to a crush yah know ;-)
6. Analyze Screen Time
I love looking at data and analyzing trends and adjusting my behavior to get the numbers I want. It's the reason I wear a smartwatch and also the reason I constantly look at how I spend my screen time. This will help you know if you're spending your phone time wisely or if you could do better. Too much time on Instagram? Guilty! Work to check it a set number of times a day and see how much more efficient you are in other things
7. Organize Your Home Screen
Keep things simple on your home screen by only keeping the apps that help you achieve your goals. I want to improve the number of times I meditate so I keep a meditation app on my homescreen along with my email that's imperative for my work, my bank app, podcast app, and lightroom. Reducing the number of apps you see when you unlock your phone will reduce stress and anxiety.
8. Use the Timer to Stay Focused
Stay on schedule by using the timer feature on your phone. Set the timer for as long as you need. You may even want to set several timers or alerts if you like multiple reminders.
9. Use Your Headphones
Specially when it's loud and you need to stay focused. Play some white noise and stay focused on that task! It's also great to take calls hands-free.
10. Pocket
This one I just found out about. It's the easy way to keep all your favorite sites in one place or to bookmark an interesting article or video you might have seen. Instead of letting it get lost on a safari tab or a notes folder, find it easily in your Pocket app.
How do you keep your phone usage effective? Tell me in the comments :-)
And of course, check out my shop in the Shop tab up top for cute covers for your phone!