A spell that turns your Smartphone into a Productivity Tool!

7 cups of coffee and 2 red bulls later, when you try immersing yourself in the work at hand, your cellphone beeps with another notification. Irritated at the number of messages and calls you receive in a day, you pick your cellphone up and turn it off. But the thought of you missing out on crucial information nags you all along and you end up switching it on in the next 10 minutes, only to receive more irrelevant notifications and phone calls. If only somehow you could turn your smartphone into a productivity tool! 

Such disruptions can get increasingly annoying, especially if you are trying hard to concentrate, get things done on time, and boost your productivity levels. There is a way out though! You will be surprised to know the hacks that can help you convert your smartphone into an efficient productivity tool. Read on to know how a few spells can turn things around:

1. Schedule your work/ assignments with your phone

In the hustle-bustle of the world that you live in, it gets difficult to keep up with things, manage time and prioritize tasks accordingly. As a repercussion, you either end up skipping deadlines or miss a task or two that should have otherwise topped your list of to-dos. To ensure that this does not happen and you have a record of all the important tasks, set reminders. Create a to-do list for yourself every morning and tick things off once you are done with them. You can also set alarms with labels to not miss out on major tasks of the day.

2. Let white noise soothe you

If you’re easily distracted by the continuous noise around you, you might need something that silences everything and helps you concentrate. But there are situations where you’re unable to switch places but still need that peace of mind to clear your muddled brain. Your cellphone can come to your rescue then! White noise is the noise created by combining sounds of different frequencies. In simpler words, it helps you mask all other sounds, thus helping you focus better and concentrate on the task at hand. 

3. Turn off your notifications

In case you’re reading this for the nth time and you still haven’t turned your notifications off, you might want to seriously consider this point. Often disrupting our concentration and focus in the times when we need it the most, text notifications and calls take you far away from productivity, distracting you to the point where you might even forget what you were up to. So, if you are in dire need to up your productivity game, you should (or should I say must?) access your settings tool right away and shut every unnecessary notification off. Trust me, it can work wonders for you!

4. Visual Voicemail

Technology has advanced to an extent that you can now tune your voice messages into texts and vice versa. Now that you know about this option, why not make use of it? There are tools that automatically convert voicemails into emails or messages. In order to save time and not get into the hassle of checking your voice mails, you can download the said apps and receive messages/ emails every time you get a voicemail. An in-built application for iPhone users, this feature can be availed on Android phones as well. A few downloadable apps that offer this feature are T-Mobile, AT&T, or Sprint.

5. Declutter your home screen

The more apps you have on your home screen, the more difficult it is for you to find them when you need an app the most. So, the first step to using your smartphone as a tool to enhance productivity will require you to eliminate all the unnecessary clutter you have on your home screen. Remove the apps that are no longer in use and the ones that lead to distraction, so that the next time you unlock your phone’s screen, you have a clear picture of the app you’re looking for and do not get lost in the mess. 

Smartphones are undoubtedly a great invention. From food to apparel to electronics and communication, they have made things easily accessible, mostly on a single tap. But as the famous proverb goes, “excess of anything is bad”, excessive use of cellphones is turning into a bane more than a boon. To not fall into this tangled mess and to use your smartphone as a productivity tool, find ways to make the most out of it. After all, you never know how useful this little device can be!