In these days of constant information, we sometimes feel chained to technology. All the hours technology was supposed to save us are now consumed with that same technology. This can be bad for our relationships and families. In fact, I’ve been delving into a few books on the topic that I may share at a later date. However, I believe if we manage it instead of letting it manage us, technology can help us to be better women, wives, mothers and business owners. My management of technology is still very much a work in progress. However, I want to share a few ways my smart phone, particularly, is helping me and some boundaries I am setting to make sure it doesn’t take over my life.
The Lock and Home Screen on my phone reads:
”If you’re always getting ready for the next thing, how will you ever enjoy this thing?”
I want to always remember to live in the moment and not to let the smart phone eat up my moments. For that reason, I only keep the apps that I use often on the first page of my phone screen. I keep less used apps and all time-wasting apps (i.e. social media, games, shopping) on the second page. Those that tempt me to waste the most time are buried in folders so they aren’t as easy to open mindlessly.
Other than the basic Gmail, Weather, Google Maps, Yellow Pages, and Calculator, here are the apps that help me keep track of things the best:
Errands
I know that Google calendar or Notes can do most of this, but I find this app to be simpler for me. It combines my to-do list with a calendar of sorts along with checklists to get it all done. I am a paper calendar/planner kind of gal, but I don’t always carry it with me. On the Errands app, I can put a task in that needs to get done as soon as I think of it. I can set a date for it so it will pop up and remind me on that day. That helps me get rid of mental clutter. When I enter a task, I can add notes to it and make the notes a checklist. This helps me break down large projects into small steps. I can also make tasks recurring. I combine these two features to have a master grocery list that repeats each week on grocery day. I just go through and check off the things I already have. Then, I take that list to the store with me and check off the rest as I shop.
Good Budget
I am the one that keeps the finances straight for our home. However, I still like to keep my husband in the loop on what money we have, what bills are paid, etc. So, we use this free app to keep our budget on our phones and sync it to each other. Once I enter everything in our checkbook and balance it each week, I just enter those things into the budget app. When I put in our paychecks, I split the money into simple categories in the app. We can see at a glance not just what our balance is but how much we have left in each budget category. A few extra minutes to enter each transaction on my phone makes us more aware of our spending.
Notes
I am mostly a paper and pencil girl like I said, but sometimes those just aren’t handy. So, I do use my notes for things I want to remember, especially things that are online that I want to come back to. However, I just realized recently that I can sync notes with my husband’s phone. Since we’ve never been successful with syncing a calendar app and my calendar overwhelms him anyway, I just put the basics of my calendar that are pertinent to him in a note and share it with him. Both of us can update it and it saves a lot of texts like “What’s going on Friday night? Do we have plans?”
Library App
Our local library is our second home. We visit at least once a week and sometimes more. While my kids do like to browse through the books, we find that most books we want just aren’t there on the shelves. I research books I like and good books for my kids and order them ahead of time through the app. We have 16 libraries in our system plus we can loan from libraries outside the system. I rarely look through the shelves, but I just go in and pick up the books held for us. The app also alerts me when they are in so I don’t make a trip for nothing.
WalMart App
Since WalMart has started free grocery pickup, I do my grocery shopping there most weeks. I pull up my list from my Errands app, schedule a time to pick up, order and pay for my groceries on the app. I check in so they know I’ve arrived, and they just load my groceries into the back of the car. It’s something I wish they had when my kids were small! It saves me time and impulse buys. I also love Aldi so I sometimes shop there with one big trip, then fill in with WalMart the rest of the month.
Bank App
I do my weekly banking using my computer and my phone. I keep my bank’s app on my phone so I can keep up with bill-paying and budget even when I’m out of town. The best part is Mobile Deposit. I don’t have to go in the bank to deposit paychecks anymore. I can deposit checks at 1 AM if I need to, and the bank will get to them when they open. This saves me so much time!
There are other apps I use to simplify my life like when ordering pizza, checking on our business sales or updating notes for our co-op group, but I won’t bore you with all of them. I dislike video and phone games, but here are a few “fun” apps I use. I’ll share them and also the boundaries I set on them.
Feedly
I do like to keep up with some blogs online, but I never remember to check them when I’m on my computer. With Feedly, I just set up all the ones I’m interested in following. When I am waiting in line or just want to relax and read randomly (rather than a book), I’ll open it and star the posts I actually want to read. When I want something to read, I just go through that list and read what I have saved.
Podcasts
I know there are different ways to listen to podcasts, but the Apple Podcasts app is simplest for me. Just like the blogs I subscribe to in Feedly, I subscribe to the podcasts I want to hear. When I have a long drive by myself, am folding laundry or cooking dinner, I will pull up a podcast and listen and learn as I do mindless chores.
Spotify/Pandora
I like to listen to music so I have both of these on my phone. Pandora is good for if I want to listen to a category of music but not specific songs. I can pull it up at home with Alexa easily and it is synced automatically in my car. I like to turn on a quiet music station an hour before I go to sleep. It turns off and I know it’s time for lights out. On Spotify, I can add artists or songs I like and categorize them in playlists like Workout Music, Studying Music or Bad Day Music. I listen to both Pandora and Spotify in my car since I have a lovely Bluetooth hookup now.
YouTube and Facebook
These are the two apps most likely to be time wasters. I suspect that I’m not the only one that has this issue! I believe they both have value but that they both need boundaries. On YouTube, I subscribe to channels that are helpful to me. I mostly watch things to help me learn something, so I don’t feel it generally wastes my time. However, I could still spend hours on this app if I don’t watch. I choose one night a week to just sit with headphones and watch the videos I want to watch from my subscriptions. That way I have plenty of content for my “YouTube” night and I don’t waste pockets of time all through the week.
Facebook gets a bad rap for gossip, mindless scrolling and comparison. I think all of those are real dangers and should be addressed. If someone is a gossip or I am tempted to compare too much when I see her posts, I just unfriend or unfollow. Mindless scrolling happens when we are bored or unmotivated. I still succumb to this, but I try to redirect to one of the more useful apps like Feedly or to a real book. What I love about Facebook is the memories. It reminds me of small moments with my kids that I might never think about. That’s why my Facebook friends sometimes see random things about my kids. Just keep scrolling…it will mean something to me in 3 or 5 years.
Facebook is also known for being a medium for affairs. I don’t discount this. I don’t think it causes them because our sinful hearts do that. However, it does make it easier in moments of temptation or even just curiosity. Some of my friends have joint accounts with their spouses. I think that is a great option if it works well for them. My husband and I have chosen not to do that for several reasons:
1) We think it conveys to others that we cannot trust each other. We don’t like to send that message. It puzzles me when some wives have joint accounts with their spouses but let their teens have their own accounts. It kind of makes me feel like they trust their impressionable teens more than the spouse with which they’ve spent years. It also seems like many who have joint accounts have one spouse who is literally never on Facebook. That seems to defeat the accountability purpose. I’m sure there are good reasons for it in some cases. We have just chosen not to go that route.
2) It is awkward to share with a friend if they don’t know who is responding, me or my husband. With a joint account, you either have to guess from context who is speaking or sign your name to every post or message.
3) My husband and I have very different friends and interests. I did not marry my husband because we were very similar. Opposites attract after all. He rarely comments on Facebook and if he does, it has something to do with very guy-like interests. I like to chat with my friends and comment on their posts sometimes and most of my feed has to do with my interests. Facebook does that on purpose, I know. It might be fun to have a joint account just to get them really confused. 🙂 Another advantage is we don’t have to see workout or beach photos of our spouse’s friends. Sometimes those have a modesty level of comfort different from our own.
While we don’t have a joint account, we do feel accountability is important. No passwords on any of our apps are private from each other so either of us could look at the other’s phone and any apps within it any time. We also do not friend anyone on Facebook of the opposite sex unless it is a family member. We feel like that is more effective than a joint account to keep temptation at bay.
So, technology is a great help to me in managing my life and my home and my work. I hope this helps you with some new ideas. Please share in the comments or in an e-mail to me some apps that help you make your life better!