Woke social media posts about how we’re melting our brains in front of screens, or black mirror-esque depictions of social media addiction might be a bit of hyperbole when it comes to today’s society, but there is some truth to the way that they represent our procrastinating, time-sink relationship with smartphones.
Sick of wasting your time doing menial, meaningless tasks on your phone, and want to become a little bit more productive? We’ve compiled a short guide with some suggestions on apps/ideas that you might want to try!
Saving money and investing
More than just a convenient way to use contactless payments securely through fingerprint scanning when you’re in a supermarket or out at the bar, your smartphone can quickly become a competent way for you to keep on top of your finances. Not only are there a range of different savings apps that you can get involved with to better understand and monitor your spending when you’re out and about (giving you regular notifications and advice tailored to your habits), but there are also investment apps and platforms if you want to put some of that saved money back into another venture and hopefully grow your funds even further.
Aside from the apps themselves, your phone (and any of your other electronic devices, for that matter) is a portal to whatever guides, videos and information on the internet that you can find. RWinvest, for example, offer a wealth of advice on the developing UK property market, all with support for you to be able to learn in the palm of your hand.
Getting started with that hobby you’ve been putting off
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative effect on many different industries, companies, and workers, and many are without work at the moment, stuck in their homes without much to do. If this sounds familiar, then why not make the most of a bad situation, and start using your phone to learn that language that you’ve always wanted to, or look up some guides on playing that instrument that you pretend to play when no one’s looking?
There are plenty of free apps on learning a language, for example, such as a Duolingo, which cuts learning into bite-sized chunks and gamifies the process to make it fun. It’s much more productive than the regular games that you might have installed.
Picking it up for a change
Social media is an important tool for keeping in touch with people that we love, but sometimes we can lose track of the reason we’re using it, and it can get in its own way a bit. Rather than sending your nan a like on Facebook, or messaging your friends a meme of a cat on a group chat, why not have some meaningful conversation for once, and give them a ring to see how they’re getting on? Many are already taking this sentiment and escalating it into group video chats with family and friends, or regularly scheduled pub quizzes instead of normal ones that are cancelled currently.
