How Smart is Your Phone?

Devices that we now call Smartphones have been around for more than ten years. These once bulky and heavy devices were designed to simplify our lives and help us to become untethered. Certainly in the beginning that is what they did. When combined with mobile email and mobile telephone service it was as though we were free to roam as far away from our desk and offices as our needs or desires would take us. This new found freedom would allow us to be in touch with the office while also being out and about. Smartphones opened up a world of possibilities that had never before been imagined by the knowledge worker.

Today Smartphones are ubiquitous. They are not just in the hands of busy corporate executives, but they are carried by soccer moms, college students and the very fortunate High School students that are lucky enough to have an iPhone or a BlackBerry. With such an explosion of these devices, one would believe that the masses have been finally released to fulfill their potential. Having been freed from their desk and offices, people could live their dreams, and perhaps achieve their highest priorities. Unfortunately, this is not how the story goes.

Smartphones have actually become invasive. Families have set up rules for when the devices may be used in the home; couples have worked through major misunderstandings when their BlackBerry has been closer than a lover. Traffic laws have been created to prevent drivers from typing while driving and rarely a day goes by that you don’t see someone walking the street while reading or texting on a device but not paying attention as they walk. There is little wonder that BlackBerry devices are also referred to as “CrackBerries”.

It seems that Smartphones are not living up to their intended purpose which was to free our lives. These devices were intended to help us to become more productive and to save us time. Today the average user is actually less productive as a result of falling victim to excessive multi-tasking and responding to the many distractions that the devices bring into their day. One could argue that our Smartphones are not making us any smarter, and perhaps are even making us dumber. We are not achieving our full potential with these devices and we are not maximizing the potential of these powerful tools as they were intended.

We must begin to see our Smartphones as productivity tools. These are modern versions of the paper datebook or planner. Those wonderful tools that were extremely popular in the 70s and 80s really did work effectively. As we have moved to a more electronic society we have moved away from paper seeing it as outdated and inefficient. Despite this many Smartphone users also use paper tools in a variety of ways many of which are redundant thereby further reducing their intended productivity. The solution in my opinion is to maximize the use of our electronic tools and use paper in a way that blends the best of both worlds. I often reflect on one of Stephen Covey’s quotes “Technology and tools are useful and powerful when they are your servant and not your master”. I have learned that too many of us are spending time serving our technology and tools rather than having those tools serve us. Most Smartphones today come with minimal instructions beyond how to set up the device to send and receive messages. The result of this limited information is that most people have minimal knowledge about how to effectively use their device. There is certainly a need for further instruction.

Smartphones today have the capacity to access useful tools beyond email. There are GPS functions, Instant Messaging capacity, web browsing, social networking, and RSS feeds to name just a few. Add to these advanced voice mail functionality and online access to your email, and the devices we carry around are really portals to a vast world of greater productivity. How do we learn to really use these devices? You could access any number of web pages which demonstrate the many tips and tricks available, but a more comprehensive solution seems to be missing.

Last year I began to wonder how I could use my BlackBerry Bold in a powerful and more productive way. I recognized that even though I considered myself a “techie” I was probably only using my BlackBerry in limited ways. I tinkered with what a few of my colleagues now refer to as the “Harvey System” which combines paper planning tools with my BlackBerry in a way that was not redundant. But even that seemed not to really address my needs as a mobile professional. As I observed others and began asking questions I found that most people were having similar experiences. This led to the development of a program that we now call Time Management for BlackBerry. This program uses FranklinCovey’s LiveClicks portal to teach BlackBerry users to use their BlackBerry as their primary tool for Time Management. The program is designed for those that own the BlackBerry Curve, Bold, 8900 Curve, Storm, and even the new BlackBerry Tour. The concepts are simple yet in less than two hours users learn how to maximize the functionality of their devices and build systems that can save up to two hours each day.

There is little question that Smartphones are an important part of everyday life. However, they tend to generate more distraction rather than lend themselves to increased productivity. In order to effectively harness the full power of your BlackBerry you must learn to combine proven concepts for effectively managing tasks, processing messages, and planning your weeks and days. It is a worthwhile investment of less than two hours of your time to learn to be more productive using your BlackBerry. For further information go to: http://www.franklincovey.com/tc/events/liveclicks