New Year’s resolutions typically range from saving more money and pumping the iron a little more frequently and aggressively at the gym to further strengthening your patience or eating healthier. But, what about for technologically savvy individuals who crave innovations to simply survive these days, what should they strive for in the New Year?
1. Never again look at smartphone, tablet at meals
Meals and specifically dinner time with your family should be a time in which not only you fill your stomach with food but fill your brain with knowledge on how the day to day activities went of those you love the most. Forget about technology while conversing with those near and dear; it will be around in a couple of hours for you to get your fix.
2. Stop having lengthy conversations out loud on mass transit
If you are someone who has to sit in the last remaining seat available on either a subway, train or bus, then you know how extremely annoying it can be to sit for the duration of your ride next to a “Chatty Kathy” or someone who really doesn’t know how to make a quick chat short and sweet and instead transitions the call into a never ending discussion that covers everything under the sun. So, be sure if your phone rings you make the talk as quick as possible or you might find yourself to be “that person”, receiving an overwhelming amount of dirty looks.
3. Turn these devices on silent during meetings
Something extremely distracting beyond colleagues bickering publicly at a meeting is the interruption caused by noises that come from any sort of next generation device including a smartphone, laptop or tablet. Before the meeting begins, remind yourself to silence all of your products or prepare to be the target of your already aggravated boss’ wrath.
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4. Get a smartphone if you don’t have one
Although this may just sound silly at this point, it is a fact that not everyone has access to a smartphone 24/7. Even though I am embarrassed to admit it, my boyfriend still uses a TracPhone where you have to actually go to a store and buy a card that you then active in order to fill up minutes on the device. So with 2013 now here, a smartphone is key to your overall productivity or even for just keeping you entertained throughout the day.
5. Learn your company’s BYOD policy
Bring your own device is a phenomenon these days that enables workers to use one device for both personal and business use. As each enterprise has its own rigorous mandates in place, it important to review them in order to adhere to these mandates at all times.
6. Refresh apps
If you haven’t used an application for a couple of weeks, it may be time to cut it loose completely. Always keeping an eye on outdated applications that are merely clogging up room on your phone will help you to eliminate those that don’t serve a purpose while trying out ones that could be a lifesaver in various situations.
7. Install a gated password and remain backed up via the cloud
If your device is lost or stolen, not only will your anxiety level be at a 10 but your confidential information could be wide open to attack. Hence, it is vital that you password protect your array of devices as well as store documents and files in the cloud that can be accessed from anywhere with an Internet connection at anytime.
While most make New Year’s resolutions, not nearly as many keep them for the duration of the 12-month period ahead. Stand apart from the pack and become a changed mobile user going forward!