If you’re like me, you live on your phone (also if you’re like me, you’re 5’10", ravishingly sexy, brilliant beyond belief, and yet compellingly modest). You have apps for this and apps for that. Indeed, you may be listening to this podcast or reading the transcript on your phone at this very moment.
But have you ever stopped to consider how much your smartphone drags down your productivity? We know all about notifications. It’s time for an appointment? Ping! Someone posted a most-read article about hairless albino mole rats? Ping! New email? Ping! Someone wants a shmoopie for an hour? Ping! Incoming call? Ping! Ping! Ping! In episode 445, we covered how to de-addictify your technology, and turning off notifications is one way.
Your Smartphone Drags Down Your Brain
Smartphones suck. They slow you down: the interface is inefficient and unusable. You have to take your mind off what you’re thinking about, and use genuine thought just to make sure you’re typing the right characters. One minute, you’re planning how to raise your Zombie army. The next minute, you’re trying to deal with the social ramifications of not noticing that autocorrect turned your text message saying “I missed you” into one saying “I kissed you.” Text messages are admissible evidence in court.
But even worse, for me, is just starting an app. You can imagine that a productivity geek has a bunch of apps. I have 288. Of those 288, probably only 20 get used regularly. But...which 20?
When you scroll through your screens and screens of icons, it seems like any given app is a "must keep." Even that game you downloaded six years ago, which has that animated character who reminds you of your childhood puppy Spot. You can’t delete that app! That would be like deleting Spot!
Speaking of which, I really want to launch the Spot Your Future Nemesis app, so I can get a head start on the competition. Which screen is it on, again?
Move Icons to the Front
In just a few days, you can quickly put everything you need at your fingertips. Literally.
Each time you use an app, drag its icon to your home screen of icons, the upper left position. The rest of the icons will shift over and down to make room. The one at the end of the page will move over to the next page.
The apps you use most frequently will stay towards the top and top-left of the screen. Soon you’ll know your most frequently used icons. But even better, soon they’ll all be clustered on your front page. No more swiping to other pages. Yay!
Freeze Them in Place
Once you’ve done this for about a week, you’ll have identified your top apps. Now you can stop doing this, and you’ll know right where your most used apps are on the front screen.
Once you have your most common apps on the front screen, look through your other screens. Group your remaining apps into folders, named so you can find them quickly. For example, Photo apps, Messaging apps, Music apps, and so on.
Then when you need a less-frequently-used app, you can find the relevant folder and drag out the app you need.
Keep each folder small—one screen of icons at most. Otherwise finding an icon will mean scrolling to the right screen, opening the folder, then scrolling through the folder before you get to the icon you need. By that time, whatever you were thinking about will be thoroughly interrupted.
Create Folders on Your Home Screen
In the event that you use so many apps so frequently that the front page can’t hold them all, consider creating a folder on the front screen. This means you’ll have to open the folder to launch any of those apps, but it might be worth it.
Rather than trying to organize all the icons on your smartphone the way you think you’ll use them, organize them how you really do use them.
Group related apps together. If you regularly use both Zombie Locator 1.0 and Zindr (the app for meeting Local Zombies for in-person Board Games), you may create a front-screen folder called Zombie Recruiting and put both apps in it. That buys you one more available slot on the all-important front screen.
Do It Again When You’re Swiping a Lot
Over times, your needs change. Some apps become more important, some less. Sure, Zindr might deserve to stay in the top left spot of your home screen, but perhaps Maps had fallen to your second screen, since you rarely use it. But when you go traveling, you use it a lot, so you’re always swiping over to the second screen to get to it.
When you’re swiping past the home screen more than a couple of times a day, restart the migration procedure. Your apps will quickly settle on the new set that you use most often.
Rather than trying to organize all the icons on your smartphone the way you think you’ll use them, organize them how you really do use them. Every time you use an app, move it to the upper left slot on screen one. Over time, your most used apps will be at your beck and call. Want to use Spot Your Future Nemesis app immediately followed by the Zombie Army Targeting app? They’ll both be right there, on your home screen, easy to tap.
And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. If they do, show them the Zombie Army Targeting app and give them a chance to change their opinion.
I’m Stever Robbins. Follow GetItDoneGuy on Twitter and Facebook. If you have projects that are stalled or taking too long, check out my “Get-it-Done Groups” accountability groups. Learn more at http://SteverRobbins.com.
Image of smartphone apps © Shutterstock
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