Mobile Phones and Productivity: Make them work for you : Sharyn Munro VA

Sometimes, when you’re trying to get work done, the mobile phone can be your biggest challenge to productivity and concentration. On the other hand, there are a heap of apps and other tools available that can make your life much, much more productive. Here’s a few of my favourite tips to prevent your mobile from being a distraction, and some of my favourite apps to help with productivity.

Just a note that most of this is written about functions and apps available on Android phones. I’m sure a lot, if not all are also available on the iPhone, most are also probably available on Windows phones as well, and possibly on Blackberry although I really don’t have a clue about the Blackberry OS. The most important thing, is to use the app that you feel is the best fit for you.

To prevent your phone from becoming a distraction when you’re trying to work

Turn social media notifications off. If you’re one of those people who can’t ignore them, turn the notifications off. If you don’t want to do that, at least turn the volume down.
Use ringtones. Each of my clients has their own ringtone plus I have a ringtone for friends and another for my family – so whenever my phone rings, I have at least a vague idea of who it is. If I’m busy and it’s a friend or family member I can happily let it go to voicemail. If it’s a client, I can make a decision to answer or not depending on which one it is, and the likelihood that they’re ringing about something urgent or something less time sensitive.
Don’t work with your phone right in front of you if you’re going to stop and look at it every time it lights up, beeps, vibrates or if it hasn’t done anything for a few minutes and you just want to check it’s still working. Yes, I mention it because I do it. On the other hand, if I can’t see it, I don’t care.

11 Must-have apps

A good Timer/Alarm/Stopwatch app – because who still wears a watch? And also, it looks really unprofessional to count “one-pink-elephant, two-pink-elephant” in public, particularly if your lips move while you count.
Camera/Video recorder – for obvious reasons, plus some not so obvious reasons like so you can take a photo of a receipt rather than having to keep and store the paper copy.
Audio Recorder – to make notes for yourself, to record instructions for your Virtual Assistant or to dictate correspondence while you’re driving.
Flashlight – for when it’s dark and you need to see stuff.
An address book that can connect to your social media accounts – because then you don’t have to type everyone into your phone. Also, when an online contact rings you, you know who it is before answering (and it makes it much easier to remember who a new contact is when their profile pic pops up on an incoming call).
Dropbox – store things you need when you’re out and about so you can easily access them when needed, also lets you make changes on the fly and have them still available on your desktop & to your team.
Calendar/Diary app – To tell you where you should be right now. I also use it to store notes (like shopping lists) so if I happen to be out and have a few minutes, I can just go to the shopping list and grab what I need. If you want to put random notes (i.e. I want a box that’s 34cm cubed, looks good and is waterproof), you can set a note at a random day in the future like your birthday so you remember it. Then if you see pretty boxes somewhere, you can just check the note for sizes or any other relevant information. Saves having to come back later once you’ve checked.
Mail – to get your emails while you’re on the go. I don’t suggest adding all your email accounts unless you’re super-duper important, but I think it’s always a good idea to be able to check the main address clients and prospects will use to contact you at any time.
Maps – For 2 reasons. Firstly so you know how to get from wherever you are now to wherever you’re supposed to be. Secondly, if you’re using Google maps, you can store addresses and routes to save time and typing as I mentioned a couple of weeks back.
Banking – So you never get caught short, you can get your banking details at any time and you can make payments on the spot. If you’re in Australia and looking for a new bank, the ANZ banking app is awesome!
Evernote – To use for project management, to store notes, to store articles and for your to-do list and reminders.

Lastly, I also highly recommend getting an android and basking in the Google-ness of it all. You’ll have your Gmail, Maps, Drive, Google+, Photos etc. Although, I’m sure if you’re a fan of iPhone, Windows, Blackberry or anything else you’ll probably find they have a similar organic core that is really worth learning how to harness.

Just for interest sake, I’ve included a screenshot of my phone setup below. The things I use most, or need to access quickly are on the home screen, the next most used things on the first screen to the right (because that’s how I scroll), the calendar and email take up the next 2 screens, then settings, a “I’m really bored” screen with news & radio, then lastly (the first screen to the left of home) is games & social media which are great for when you’re in a queue, on public transport or at a party where you don’t know anyone and want to act like you’re not a total loser.