SKIP SOCIAL MEDIA AND DO THESE THINGS ON YOUR PHONE INSTEAD

USING YOUR PHONE FOR PRODUCTIVITY

Do you ever find yourself scrolling social media on your phone while waiting in line or sitting somewhere waiting for something? When we pick up our phones out of boredom, we can get in the habit of clicking first on social media apps. However, you can retrain yourself to click on other apps first and leave social media as a last resort, or for when that is really what you want to be doing. There is nothing wrong with checking your social media apps, but sometimes we just click right on them when we might feel better getting something accomplished even if it’s just for a few minutes. Today I am going to share some ideas of things you can do on your phone instead of going straight to social media.

READ A BOOK

One of my favorite things to do on my phone when I have a few free minutes is to read. I read while walking from my car up to my office. Or when standing in line at a store. While waiting for gas to get pumped. It doesn’t seem like much time, but you can get through a book quicker than you think by reading a little bit each time you pick up your phone when you have a couple of minutes. And if you like to read, it’s much more rewarding than scrolling social media. Most libraries have an enormous amount of books for free through the Libby app. And if you are an Amazon Prime member you can pick a free book through the First Reads program every month. So, it will not cost you anything to find books to read!

DELETE PHOTOS AND SCREENSHOTS

Digital photos add up quickly. Now that our phones have such good-quality cameras, we take many more pictures than we would have in the past. It’s great that we can so easily take pictures, but when we don’t keep those photos organized and backed up or stored somewhere they can accumulate and get out of control pretty quickly. Do you really need 12 photos of the same shot? Pick the best one and delete the rest. Look through your pictures for those random screenshots you took and get rid of those too.

PLAN A MEAL

We all need to eat so maybe think about planning a meal. Even if you don’t like to do a full weekly meal plan, planning a meal for one night is always helpful. I use an app to plan my meals, so I am always in there planning meals for future days so that I can have more meals already planned as those future dates come. You don’t use a meal planning app to do this, it’s easy to make a few quick notes on your phone with some ideas of what you might want to make on a certain night. Planning a meal now makes your life a little bit easier when that day comes and you already know what’s for dinner!

GROCERY SHOP

If you do online grocery shopping, doing a little bit at a time is a great way to get your order ready and avoid the rush of having to get it all done at once. I like to look at what I need for the upcoming week and add a few things to the cart as I have a few spare moments instead of having to sit and do it all at once. Most apps also let you look at past purchases which can help you remember if you need to restock something like milk, eggs, bread, or lunch meat! You can even get a delivery or pickup scheduled.

FIND A NEW RECIPE

Search for a new recipe and plan a day to make it. I know I sometimes look up new recipes but then don’t make a point to add it to my meal plan. Try finding a new recipe and deciding when you will make it so that you can actually give it a try. I’m sure many of us save new recipes that we find, but then never actually get around to making them.

WRITE A TO-DO LIST

Have some things on your mind that you know you don’t want to forget, jot them down in the notes on your phone. If you use a more formal to-do list system in a physical format, you can always transfer the information later. But, by jotting it down in your phone you will be less likely to forget about those items. You can save yourself from thinking later about what that thing was that you needed to get done! Set reminders if needed for things you need to make sure you get done later on.

DELETE JUNK EMAILS

If you don’t keep up with your emails, the amount of junk in there can add up quickly. Take some time to delete some of those junk emails or unsubscribe to email accounts you no longer wish to receive messages from. You could also take time to respond to emails if needed. I don’t normally have any personal emails in my email that require responses. Most of the time the emails I have are either some type of transaction confirmation or just junk. So, there is usually a lot to delete.

DO RESEARCH FOR A VACATION

Do you have a vacation coming up?  Or thinking about planning one anytime in the future? I always find it fun to do research for a vacation even if it’s not for one that I have planned in the immediate future. Make some notes on your phone of the places you find. I love reading reviews for local restaurants, places to visit, and where to stay.

PLAN SOMETHING TO DO THIS WEEKEND

I love to search for local events and then put them on my calendar. Most of them I do find in the events section of Facebook, but as long as I stay right there I won’t end up scrolling posts. Look for a new local park or museum you have never been too. Maybe you can get yourself set up for a fun little adventure.

TRACK YOUR HEALTH AND FITNESS STATS

Depending on the phone you have, you probably have some health and fitness stats stored on there. If you enjoy this type of information it can be fun and informative to take a look at your activity levels and other info that might be included in the stats. Maybe you can make a plan to improve the stats! Most of us can usually do a little something to improve our health!

MANAGE YOUR FINANCES

Depending on how much of your banking is set up on your phone you can probably at the least do a little check-in. I like to just take a quick peek at my balances and remind myself of any charges that I might not have recorded yet. Check your retirement account balance (if the market is up!). Or just take a quick look at your checking or savings balances. The more we stay interactive with our finances the better we can manage them!

Thanks so much for checking in! If you would like to hear the podcast version of this topic check out Lola’s Frugal Life Podcast! Also, be sure to check out my other blog posts on this site!

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