There is no doubt that smartphones have brought a lot of good to our lives. It’s actually quite amazing how the cell phone progressed in about a 20-year period. We went from those bulky gray phones in 1990 to the bulky blue Nokia phones in 2000 to smartphones in 2010. In the last ten years the changes have slowed though. And maybe that’s just the technology hitting the inevitable point where it’s just not possible to change that much anymore.
Maybe it’s a good time to reflect on how smartphones can help us and how they can hurt us. When it comes to running a business, time is possibly the most valuable resource. And a smartphone is ultimately designed to steal your time. So you have to be careful with how you use it.
Let’s say that you are looking to use your smartphone less as you operate your business. Here are a few thoughts on how to make that happen.
1. Scheduled Email Messaging
It could be email. It could be texting. It could be Slack. It could be another instant messaging service. The key to it all is scheduling. And with email I like that you don’t need to be on your phone to do it. I guess the others are the same way.
It’s beneficial to not have your email open all the time when you’re doing other things for your company. Keep it closed. Open it at select times during the day. Develop routines and those that you work with will pick up on those routines. They will set their expectations for when you will respond and all will be mostly well.
2. Time Thieve Awareness
There are some major time thieves in the world today. There is a good overview in this article. I’ve observed many of these in business owners and operators. They add things to their daily routines without removing other items. They give their attention to anything and everything. They strive for perfection to the point of not delivering anything. And they look at all information instead of creating filters for incoming information.
And guess what, the smartphone doesn’t help with any of those thieves. It’s actually seemingly designed to steal your time and those four things are all affected. Especially attention and information. The phone can provide an unlimited amount of things that will steal your attention and provide your mind with information.
3. Priority Obsession
Business operators have to be obsessed with priorities. We all have only a small number of things we can do and focus on. When something new comes along we have to be obsessive over whether it’s worth out time. Worth putting something else on the back burner.
Figure out what your business priorities are. Figure out what your priorities are for what you should be doing. Be open to moving those priorities around, but don’t be loose with letting new things in. Because something will get pushed out if that happens whether you want it to or not.
4. Scheduled Calls
It’s worth bringing out on its own even though I mentioned it earlier. Scheduling phone calls is a great thing. For one, it creates a little barrier to making a call. If you’re the one that wants to call and you have to schedule it, you’re going to take a moment to think if it’s really worth that little extra effort. And if someone wants to call you they have to consider the same thing.
Interruptions are an incredible thing today. Especially with smartphones. We react like trained animals every time our phone makes a noise. And even when it doesn’t make a noise we check it for new notifications. It’s crazy.
Scheduling use seems like the only way to avoid this type of behavior.
5. Routines With Audits And Red Flags
Routines are the key to life. They’re the key to business. Yes, you have to be open to change. That’s where regular audits come in. Every six months or so it’s good to look at your daily and weekly routines. See how they align with your goals. See if any poor habits have crept in. Then get back on track. And if you do want to make a change, make it. then stick with it.
Also try to include some red flags. Most successful people in business have daily snapshots of what is going on in various areas of the company. It’s kind of like the vital monitor in the hospital. Things are mostly the same and when something isn’t there is an alarm. Doing this for your business allows you the best chance to know when something isn’t quite right. Then you can step in and try to fix it.
Conclusion
It is possible to work without a smartphone. It’s even possible to run a business without a smartphone. Maybe you don’t need to toss it in the trash. But you can put it in the drawer and only use it when you need it. For those scheduled calls. For using GPS to get to somewhere new. But really, is there anything else that you can’t do on your computer during work hours?