Everyone has a smartphone, but only a fraction of people use it productively. Instead of using your smartphone for wasting time, you could be using it to stay productive and get more done, reducing your stress levels and creating a better work life. Today, we’ll give you three useful tips  on how to change the way you use your smartphone.

Make Productivity Front and Center

The first tip is pretty simple: choose productivity over distraction.  If you are like most people, your home screen is filled with the apps you use the most: These are usually Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Tik Tok, and Facebook. These five apps alone make up about seven-out-of-every-10 minutes of the 3.8 trillion hours spent in apps in 2021. That’s not to say you aren’t doing anything productive on those sites, but by-in-large, if you are contributing to that massive number, you are probably wasting more time than not.

One way to immediately boost productivity with your smartphone is by taking these apps off your homescreen and replacing them with apps that help build a more productive experience. Choosing current events apps, wellness apps, and other positive influences will change the way you use your phone, even if it’s just a touch. You will probably still use those other apps more than any other, but having these other apps at your literal fingertips everytime you unlock your phone, will get you to use them more.

Limit or Turn Off Notifications

Nothing can hinder productivity on a device more than getting constant notifications. It can take an average of 23 minutes to get back to your original task after being distracted by a notification. Unfortunately, even knowing that, people refuse to silence the notifications on their devices. Not to say that is that surprising, as people depend on their push notifications. However, knowing what we know about the importance of focus for productivity, this productivity-sapping culprit can reduce organizational productivity by over 30 percent. 

If you are struggling to focus on your work because you get a notification a minute, consider setting your phone to Do Not Disturb. This is an easy-to-navigate option in iOS and Android and can go a long way toward keeping your mind on your work, rather than on your five group chats and fantasy football updates. 

Don’t Extend Your Scrolling into Work

You know those times when you are on your lunch break or the few minutes before a meeting starts where almost everyone is scrolling through their phones looking at social media, replying to messages or playing games? They are necessary. What isn’t necessary is continuing to do so when you are on the clock or in a meeting. Sure, that recipe for spanakopita looks appealing, but if you are trying to boost your productivity, it can wait.

Unfortunately, a lot of people will not only read the recipe, they’ll watch the video and share it with their friends before getting down to business (which in turn creates notification distractions). You have to be mindful of the empty time you spend on your phone, especially if it is keeping you from improving your business.

Smartphones can be useful, but they can also present an outlet for distraction and waste a lot of time. Do you have any tips you can share that can help people be more productive with their smartphones? Leave your thoughts in the comments and check back soon for more productivity tips.