It’s no secret that people are becoming more hooked to smartphones—and there are numbers to prove it. As of 2018, there are already 2.53 billion smartphone users around the world and it is projected to grow to 2.87 billion by 2020. China leads the smartphone industry with a projection that there will be 675 million smartphone users in the country by 2019. In the United States, the number of Americans using smartphones is expected to increase from 223 million in 2017 to 247.5 million by 2019.
Smartphones have become more than just a device for calling, texting and sending emails. In fact, smartphones are now indispensable tools for living because of everything that they can do—from showing directions, getting your latest social media fix, checking film reviews, reading your work (and personal) email, checking the news, tracking your fitness, listening to music, watching TV and more besides. However, there’s still much more that can be done with your handset. You can use it productively too…
- Get some work done
Using your smartphone while at the dinner table may not be the best idea, especially if you’re eating with the family. We’re not doing to recommend using your phone whilst you’re enjoying quality time with the family or the friends who matter most to you. But, if you find yourself eating alone at home or somewhere else, you can use that time to get some work done while enjoying your meal. I tend to do this quite a bit, reviewing work documents while snacking on lunch. It at least means that I can go out of the office and continue to read that all-important PDF.
Not only that, but don’t forget that any smartphone will let you answer emails or edit documents on the go. There’s a big move into “cloud” services and software, so you tend to find that loading and editing a Word document doesn’t always involve you paying to install software. If you need to keep in touch with colleagues, apps like Viber, Messenger and WhatsApp offer free video calling services, so you don’t need to pay for expensive calls or video meetings.
- Expand your knowledge
I couldn’t always get a paid-for training course in my old job, so I tended to use my lunch-hour to read books and do online courses instead. A lot of these can be done on your phone, so it just takes an hour sat in a local cafe and your can grow your skills, get a better job and earn more money. Yes, you’ll have to pay for the course a lot of the time, but you can use that course to get an accreditation, and that accreditation will put you in a better position with your employer or whatever job you apply for next.
- Learn something, try new things
We all have that bucketlist of things that we want to do in our lifetime, but there are times when our lack of knowledge or experience in those areas hinder us from ticking off the items in our list. Like those work-courses, you can also use the thousands of websites to gather information on the things that you’ve never tried but wanted to. For instance, if you’ve been interested in online gambling, you can visit blackjack strategy where you’ll find reviews on online casinos and tips from gambling experts. You can check out the website while drinking your morning coffee or before you go to bed.
- Stick with your schedule
Time management is always a challenge. I can’t seem to fit it all in. My phone is basically my organizer. Alarms wake me up at different times depending whether it’s the weekend or a weekday, then I have calendar appointments for everything from meetings, to getting the milk on the way home, to birthdays and more. Without this, I’d be properly lost.
- Doodle your thoughts
Amazing ideas can come out of nowhere. I tend to have ideas when I’m just about to fall asleep, so I either tend to email myself or doodle them down quickly on the phone. It could be ideas, or you may suddenly remember that “thing” you had to sort out tomorrow. Whack it down quickly using a drawing app.
- Watch or read the news
Do you always miss the news because you’re up early or come home late at night? You can still keep yourself updated with what’s happening around the world through apps that let you read or watch the news. Newspapers have made the move to digital, and you can subscribe or pay for quality journalism rather than ad-filled click-bait.
The usability and flexibility of smartphones means that you can do much more than just browse and digest information. You can also move forward in your career, learn more and keep track of your life.