Last Updated on April 13, 2016 by Larious
There’s a word that you’re going to be hearing a lot more often as we go forward, and that word is “friction.” Technologists all over the world are celebrating the fact that we’ve all got supercomputers in our pockets. But they’re lamenting the fact that smart devices have led to a deluge of interruptions. We’re bombarded by notifications, emails and texts all day long. And it can distract us from our work.
This is what is known as friction – it’s the time and effort cost of using technology. And people are hard at work trying to make that cost come down
It’s still going to be a few years before our phones can read our minds. But until that day comes, are our Smartphones already doing to make our working days more productive?
Identifying Nuisance Calls
Nothing dents your productivity more than annoying calls from people trying to sell you things we don’t want. But it’s a problem that few business owners can avoid. They end up giving out personal details to so many organizations that it’s impossible to track who leaked the number.
But now there are apps out there that will actually track who called you and where they called you from. CallerSmart is an app that tells you who is calling you using its user-generated database of nuisance numbers. App details for CallerSmart can be found online.
Planning Your Time
In the past people relied on secretaries for time management. And some people still do. But if you don’t have your own secretary, not to worry. Your smartphone has you covered.
Time planning apps, like the aptly named Time Planner, help you manage your time. What’s good about Time Planner is that it can track how much of your time you spend on particular tasks. It’ll then output a little pie chart showing you how you’re spending your time.
You can also add in your own time frames for completing certain activities. And plan out things like travel times.
Use Distractions To Your Advantage
Few people can work all day long at work like robots. We all need a few minutes away from the grind to recoup our energy. But with modern smartphones, we can make our procrastination productive. Apps like Any.do can be used to make lists of the things you’ve still got left to do in the day. Planning ahead using Any.do allows you to structure your goals and track progress. The app can be found on the Play Store as well as on the Apple market.
Blot Out Distractions
Many people find that they work better when they’re completely cut off from the outside world. And apps are getting savvy to this. You may have noticed that sites like YouTube are replete with concentration music and so-called “alpha waves.”
Now Smartphone apps like SimplyNoise can help you get in the zone just using your Smartphone. You can play white noise, pink noise, and any other noise you want to blot out distractions. And the app is going cheap on Google Play too.
