Musings from the CU Suite

Feb 05, 2019

Controlling Your Smartphone

Written by Anthony Demangone, Powered by NAFCU

Like a broken record, I tend to repeat things. 

One such thing is this: All of us control more than we believe in our lives, but we focus on things outside of our command.

That's why I loved this article from Better Humans: How to set up your iPhone for productivity. 

I never thought about how I set up my phone. If I added an app, I just ... well, added it. I wasn't strategic.  The article woke me up. We SHOULD be in charge of our phone's settings.  And you can tweak it to improve things. 

While the article focused on iPhones, I'm sure the ideas would work for any smartphone.

I'll let you read it, but here are a few tips. 

  • Turn off notifications from all apps, unless they fit into what you want to achieve. 
  • If an app doesn't fit into what you want out of life or what you aspire to achieve this year, delete it or move it to a secondary screen. 
  • If there are apps that do push you toward what you want to achieve, put them front and center on your primary phone screen. 

Here's what my new set-up looks like:

my phone homescreen

  • Podcasts are front and center. As are activity and health apps. I have a calorie counter front and center. (If you know me, you know I battle my weight. Which I will overcome!) 
  • One Drop helps me monitor my blood sugar.
  • Feedly helps me read more. 
  • Kindle makes me read more. (Moving it to the front screen really has upped my reading.)
  • Touchnote reminds me to send postcards to friends and family. 
  • Social media? I need to move to a secondary screen to find it. 

Did that article change things? Not a lot. But a little. 

In the right direction. 

What does your smartphone look like?

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About the Author

Anthony Demangone, Executive Vice President and COO, NAFCU

Anthony Demangone, NCCO is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at NAFCU, where he oversees day-to-day operations and manages the association's education, marketing, membership, human resources, building facilities, finance and information technology functions. He also authors NAFCU's executive blog, Musings from the CU Suite and co-authored "Managing and Leading Well," a book for credit union leaders, with NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger.

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