How to Use Your Phone for Good

I can’t remember life without a microwave, but I can definitely remember life without a home computer, smart phones (or even just cell phones), streaming movies, iPods and digital music, Amazon, GPS and FitBits.  In the late 90’s when AOL Instant Messenger was a novelty, I thought I was hot stuff, typing to my then-boyfriend/now-husband in real time from my dorm room when he was several hours away in his college dorm.   Who knew that in a few years, the chat window on my huge computer monitor would be replaced by text messages on a pocket sized device?  For those of us old enough to remember when at least some of our daily lives were analog instead of digital, the pace of change in technology can be overwhelming.   It’s hard to keep up, and some don’t even want to.  I am just old enough that I wasn’t immersed in social media during my youth (thank goodness!) so I understand the older generations’ confusion about the appeal of some technology, but yet I enjoy it and don’t want to be left out.  Technology is supposed to allow us to be more productive, stay better connected, and even be healthier.  Do you feel like you’re accomplishing these things with your technology?
​
I saw the new Jumanji movie last weekend, and there was a line that cracked me up, but my kids just didn’t understand.  One of the characters new to Jumanji whose phone had disappeared when she was transported into the game kept asking if anyone had seen her phone, then continued to complain about not having her phone, and incessantly talked about her phone!  The character who’d been in Jumanji for the past 20 years, said, “The word ‘phone’ must mean something different in the future.”  

​We are connected, if not addicted, to our phones.  Some because of games (Candy Crush, anyone?), others because of how it ties them to their work, some who feel the need to document everything with photos or videos, and many who live for the rush of seeing how many likes they got on social media.  Our phones can distract us from spending face time with our families, and that's what prompted me to craft my "Be Present" box for when I need a physical barrier between me and my phone.  Read how to make your own "Be Present" box here. ​

---

​As many negatives as there are about smart phones, there are so many positives that can really help us accomplish the things we want to do.  I want to share how I use my phone for productivity, keeping me connected with my friends and family, and improving my health and well-being.  Full disclosure - I’m an iPhone person, so this will be Apple-leaning, but many of the apps are available for other types of phones as well.  

Productivity 

• Calendar - depending on your workplace’s policies you may be able to view your work calendar from your personal phone.  You can overlay a personal calendar (like a Google Calendar) as well so you can see everything you have going on in one view.  Because you can see your entire schedule at once, you can schedule appointments on the spot.
• Camera/Photos - instead of taking notes or trying to remember something, you can take a picture.  You can do this for things like handwritten lists, product labels, a business card, etc.
• Calculator - you never know when you may want to figure the unit price of something!
• Voice Recorder - sometimes our best thoughts come from talking to ourselves!
• Contacts - you can sync contacts from multiple platforms and have them accessible to you on the go.  Make sure to include something identifying about a new contact like 'Bobby Sue's Mom' so you can remember who they are in the future.
• Clock/Timer/Stopwatch - use this for alarms, timing yourself, and of course being on time!  I use this feature often in my quest to get better at time!
• News - stay in the know on the go.  I have the Feedly app where you can select types of news you'd like to see.  There are also email subscriptions like the Skimm which will send you a daily digest of what's new.
• Financial apps - most financial institutions offer mobile apps that include functions like checking balances, transferring money, and depositing checks by taking a picture of them.  There's barely a need to go to a branch anymore.
• Cloud Storage apps - Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. offer the ability to access your files anywhere.  You can even create new documents on the fly using Google Docs and Google Sheets
• Evernote - keep all your notes in one place.  Use for things like keeping track of the brand and shade of foundation you use, store images of receipts, and never be without your kids’ sports schedules.  I also use it to remind me of various tasks with the badge reminders on my phone.
• Nozbe - keep track of your to do list and projects. The app syncs with the desktop application so you can add tasks easily when you are away from your office.
• Google Home - connects with the Google Home speakers. (Christmas gift!) The best part is this app tracks the shopping list you spoke into the speaker at home so you know what you need when you’re at the store!
• Google Maps - don’t take this for granted.  My GPS stopped working on my old phone, and I realized how much time this saves me from not getting lost!
• Mail - similar to your calendar, if your workplace allows, you can check work emails as well as personal emails from your phone.  You can set up multiple mailboxes and view each mailbox individually or get a global look at all your incoming messages.  You can delete, flag and folder messages right from your phone!
• Amazon - I use the app all the time to purchase something I think  of that I will need before the next time I could get to a physical store to buy it.  Or I use it to do price comparison while I'm shopping in a physical store.
• Siri - I love Siri.  She calls me Fancy Pants (because my kids got a hold of my phone and told her to!)  I use her to check my calendar, add appointments, read and send texts, send emails, and start podcasts all while I'm commuting to work.  She makes my 2 hours a day on the road, much more productive and keeps me safe.  The 'Hey Siri' feature makes it completely hands (and eyes) off!

Keeping Connected

• Social Media - Facebook, Messenger, Pinterest, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram are fun ways to keep up with friends and family who you wouldn't be able to see in person nearly as often as you do online.
• Text - how many times does just a quick text from a friend brighten your day?  Or a cute video of a grandchild make a grandparent smile?
• Facetime/Skype - video chatting is great, especially for faraway relatives.  This one could even go in the productivity category because video conferencing can be used for work purposes as well.
• Camera/Photos - sharing our lives through photos/video makes us feel like we’re experiencing things with our loved ones even when they aren't with us.  
• Contacts - keeping everyone’s numbers in your phone with their name (and whose mom or dad they are) helps us reach out to people when we want to without having to dig for their contact information.   I love it when I think I wonder if I have Billy's mom's number to invite him to a birthday party? And when  I search my contacts for Billy's mom, I find that I put her in as "Jane Doe met at MOPS in 2009 Billy's mom"

Health and Well-Being 

• FitBit - if you have a FitBit, the app is where you can see your step history, track your sleep, participate in challenges, etc.
• MyFitnessPal - a great app for calorie counting and tracking weight loss progress.  The best feature is that you can use your phone to scan UPCs on products and it will automatically fill in the nutrition information for you!
• Podcasts - so many entertaining and inspiring podcasts that you can listen to while you do other things like exercise, clean or drive.  To learn more about how to find podcasts, subscribe to them and organize them for easy listening, watch this video for iOS 11 or click here for iOS 10.
• Goodreads - track what books you’ve read and want to read.  There’s even a social feature so you can see what books friends recommend.  
• Bible Gateway  - I use this for morning devotions with my kids and it's so easy to use!
• Music apps - Pandora, Amazon Music, Spotify, etc.  Music always cheers me up especially when I can listen to what I want, when I want - for free!

​​That’s a LOT of apps - so how do we keep them organized and accessible?  I've seen some people's phones that have several screens full of apps that they have to swipe through to find what they want.  It's so easy to organize apps into folders based on app category.  You literally just drag and drop and name your folders something descriptive like "Finances" or "Social Media."  This will allow you to fit many apps on your main screen.  You can also reorder apps in a logical way based on how you use them and when you want to access them!   Check out this video on how to organize your apps:

Do you have other apps that you recommend or thoughts about how to keep your phone as a productive tool instead of a distraction?  Please share with us in the comments!

---