iPhone Tip of the Week: Productivity Apps

Happy Wednesday!

Today's tip:
Be productive. Really, isn't that an everyday tip? But here's how your iPhone can help.

My personal preference? the 30/30 app

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If you guys are anything like us, your phone is one of the most time-wasting devices you own. Yes, it allows us to avoid looking around awkwardly at other people on the shuttle. But sometimes we get too caught up with playing Candy Crush that it seriously invades our homework time.

Your phone doesn't have to be your enemy!

This is what I use to stay on task:

30/30

30/30 is essentially a timer with a clean interface and labels. When you first open it, you are given a quick and easy summary of all the app can do. Use the 'Zoom in' gesture to create a new task and double-click any task to edit the title, color, time, and icon. When you are ready to start the timer, just click on the large 'play' button. Swipe the task to the left to move it to the bottom, and swipe it to the right to delete. It doesn't get any easier!

I don't know why it works. Purely psychological, I assume. Giving myself an hour time limit on homework is waaaay less daunting than working on homework indefinitely. Having my breaks scheduled helps so much. Really. I no longer have days where I have to work on homework for hours. Use this and you can actually do a little bit each day!


Mentally, it's less like this:
"Nook I don't want to start this project!! It's gonna take foreverrr...."


and more like this:
"Ok. I only have to do this for an hour and then I can stop/take a break/quit/throw in the towel."

Of course, if you're going to use this app the night before a huge assignment is due, it may not have the same motivating effect, though allotting 5 minute breaks every hour still helps. It even has a built in add/subtract minutes feature in case you want to go over time in some areas and shorten time in others.

You could just as easily tell yourself "I will only take a break for 15 minutes." But let's be real. It doesn't have the same effect.

Just try it out! It's free!

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Smartphones can be used for calls, texts, email, social networking, and games. Don't forget about letting them be your personal assistant, motivator, reminder, information tracker, lifeline, etc. Comment if you want to recommend apps that you love!


Your Good Friends in the Search for Everything, Kayla & Angela :)