The average American checks their smartphone about 344 times per day, about once every 4 minutes, and spends a total of about 5.4 hours on their device each day. That’s a lot of time! If your cell phone isn’t optimized perfectly for you, that could be 5.4 hours of confusion and frustration. Successfully organizing and customizing your device to cater to your specific needs can make your days run smoother and your life easier.
So, how exactly can you make your smartphone smarter? Here are a few tips and tricks for bettering your experience with your device.
Adjust The Settings and Preferences on Your Smartphone
Smartphones nowadays have many options available that will allow you to adjust displays, layouts, etc. Many of these can be found in your phone’s accessibility or display and brightness settings. These setting options are designed to make the use of your phone easier in whichever way you may need. There are often settings that, once activated by the user, will speak certain words on the screen out loud, magnify the screen, or adjust font sizes to be larger for people who need visual aid or just save your from reaching for your reading glasses every time you use your phone! On certain devices, there are also options for voice control, subtitles and captioning, and many other options that can be turned on or off if needed.
There are also features like do not disturb, which blocks notifications when activated, allowing the user to not be interrupted by a buzz or ringtone from their phone during meetings, client appointments, or when you just need some quiet, uninterrupted time to focus on a project. Plus, generally phones will allow you to change your time display preferences, keyboard shortcuts, font settings, language and region settings, and the dictionary your phone uses. These are all features you can utilize to customize your phone precisely for you so you get the most benefit and easy use of it. If you are curious about any preference settings, take a look at your settings app- chances are, there is an option available to adjust whatever you need changed and quite possibly an brief tutorial to help walk you through the options and how to change them.
A few more notable customization settings include timers, to keep track of billable time or set a deadline for yourself on a task, and screen time monitors, including parental controls and app limits — many adults are finding they benefit from setting limits for themselves, as they would their kids, on how long and when they can access their phones these days! You will find that you are able to set different ringtones for different contacts in your phone, have your phone’s flash alert you of incoming notifications, autocorrection features, low battery or battery saver modes, dark/light themes and customizable wallpapers, and many, many more. In the end, though your phone may look the same as many others, you can truly make it yours and help you to work better and faster based on the way you choose to set it up.
More Smartphone Features
In some cases, your phone could be used to send and receive faxes, which could be handy in the workplace. You may be able to use your phone’s camera to snap a picture of a document in front of you and fax it to your desired recipient. You can also use features like Zoom, Teams, Skype, WhatsApp, or Facebook to make and receive messages and calls in the workplace. You may just need to ask your workplace what applications are available for use – there may be tools at your disposal that you aren’t aware of – or if there are any restrictions regarding the use of any of these applications or tools. If you are a person that needs to use your phone to snap pictures as part of your job responsibilities, you may find features in the camera that will help you to quickly and cleanly edit out unwanted distractions or items in the background, or to correct the lighting after the fact. Or, use your phone’s camera to snap images of receipts to import into an application for expense reimbursement or to detail an expense report.
Organize and Create a Personalized Layout
Smartphones usually allow you to move the applications on your screen and organize them in a way that best fits your needs. You can create folders for groups of apps you would like to keep close together, or you can position related apps near each other on specific pages. You should also always delete any unnecessary or unused apps, which clears up space on your device, plus removes some risk from unwanted access by apps to things like your contact list or photo rolls. Decluttering your phone can seriously improve your experience, such as clearing out old or unwanted apps, photos, notes, messages, etc. Organizing your device just makes it that much better for you.
You can also set up widgets, which give you access to information from your apps at-a-glance. You should use these widgets for your most used or more important applications. That way, they are easy to find and easy to use. Also, always remember to take advantage of the quick settings features on your phone, which are usually easily accessible panels with things like volume and brightness adjustment, and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi options.
Increase The Security and Safety of Your Smartphone
The most basic of security settings on your device is the password required to open your phone, which can be a number sequence, and word or phrase, your fingerprint, facial recognition, a dot pattern, and others. This is the first line of defense used for protecting the contents of your device. Make sure to set up the password option on your device and create a password that no one could easily guess (avoid “password” or “1234”). Also, always use caution when downloading new apps that may be unsafe and opening or interacting with unverified emails.
If you are ever in an emergency situation, your phone should have settings for easily contacting 911 and setting up ICE (in case of emergency) contacts. You can log details such as your blood type, allergies, and/or whether or not you’re an organ doner in the case that someone would need access to that information and you were unable to give it to them. This information is incredibly useful to a first responder tending to you in the event of an emergency.
Your phone is also used for two-factor authentication for many websites and software programs you may need to log into as added security. There are applications that can be installed on your phone to provide a changing list of verification codes to verify identity, or sometimes a text message will be sent to your phone with that code to enter.
Take Advantage and Benefit from the Offerings Available
Smartphones are designed to help you with day-to-day life. You can surf the web, check the weather, use the calendar to keep track of your schedule, write down notes, set alarms and reminders — and even use it as a phone and call people! — all with a device you can keep in your pocket. Make the most of it by doing a little research and investigating just how powerful a tool it can be for you and how to make the most of its capabilities.
We don’t make specific recommendations on applications, settings or tools here as there are many, many to choose from that work, so it’s not so much a matter of recommending one to you as you finding the one that meets your needs and suits you best! But a little searching in these areas may net for you a far more powerful tool in your pocket than you might have realized before!
Read our last post here: Personal Relationships in Business Still Matter | Blue Oak
