We’re a few weeks in to the #NewYearNewMe and chances are we’ve already all lapsed on a resolution or two, but I took a look at some digital resolutions that might make 2018 a little more positive and productive.
Do it:
- Help your eyes – I know no one will actually reduce their screen time so why not just make it a little easier on your eyes? Use the night mode on your phone or pick up a pair of screen glasses, which will reduce the amount of blue light absorbed by our eyes and help prevent headaches or digital eye strain. (Here’s an Irish company with a great selection).
- Refresh your phone and reduce the noise – it’s the perfect time of year to look through your beloved phone and delete any unused apps, back up photos and clear out a lot of junk. To help reduce stress, turn off notifications for apps you don’t really need and maybe look at keeping busy apps in folders to minimise the unread bubbles on your home screen.
- Never let your phone die when you’re on the move – This year I discovered the wonderful world of backpacks that have charging ports on the side! These connect to your own battery pack in an internal pocket (so you choose the capacity), meaning you can charge your phone while you’re out and about, during your commute and you’ll never have to skip the gym because you have no music again.
- Good habits apps – There is a multitude of really helpful apps out there that help to keep track of your different goals, whether that’s helping create good habits or ditch the bad, you can track your goals daily or weekly, and digitally pat yourself on the back when you achieve them.
Drop it:
- First off, stop swiping away apps to help save your battery, it doesn’t do anything! It takes more battery to actively go in to the menu and close down each app than it does to let them run in the background, so leave that nonsense in 2017.
- FOMO follows – This year I have stopped following celebrities or influencers that I don’t care about but always followed just so I’d know what they’re up to. They don’t make me happy, add anything to my timeline and are just boring so the FOMO finally wore off enough to unfollow. Drop the unnecessary follows and your feed is instantly distilled to the stuff you actually like.
- Putting off your data backup – There really is no excuse any more, install a file backup app and every week/month, back that phone up. Back your laptop up quarterly and please, PLEASE, at least once a year, back everything up to an external hard drive and keep it somewhere safe.
- Most importantly – Do not watch Black Mirror alone, you’ll never look at technology the same way.
Written by Amy Long, Account Executive, Digital