Funny Smartphone Abuse

As I continue the process of deciding whether or not to get a smartphone, there are a few sites that have expressed some similar sentiments, mostly in the form of humorous rants.

The funniest of the bunch is PleaseShutUp.com, which has a hilarious collection of graphics and videos on the craziness that comes with inappropriate cellphone use.  It gives some graphical “advice” on using text messaging instead of a live conversation in critical moments e.g. giving your marriage vows, sitting on the toilet or hanging from the rings in gymnastics.

A recent post on the ZNet blog entitled “Smartphones Are Turning Us Into Idiots” is a colorful rant on the bad habits we are developing by paying more attention to the little screen on the phone than the people, or environment, around us.

They are both funny, in a smart, insightful way, and without saying it they ask the question: “Is there no end in sight?”

My Site Redesigns Are Complete

If you are a frequent visitor to this site you’ll have noticed that it looks a lot different.   This upgrade has been coming for some time, and I also made a similar change over at the MyTimeDesign website at http://mytimedesign.com.

I decided to really look for some designs that would help visitors focus on the purpose of each site, without some of the distractions I have been writing about lately.

If you have a moment, let me know what you think.

By the way, in case you have been looking for news of the next offering of MyTimeDesign 2.0.Professional, check out that site and make sure that your name is on the early notification list.  I plan to offer the program again (by application) in the next few weeks.  The group will intentionally be kept small.

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I’m Not Crazy, But I Am Quite Alone

According to a recent survey carried in the New York Times, the number one use of smartphones is to play games.

Number 2 is to check the weather.

As you may know, I have been scratching my head wondering whether or not I should buy a smartphone, because I cannot clearly see where they have been designed for the purposes of boosting people’s productivity.

Apparently, I’m not alone — “productivity” ranks a lowly 10th on the list of smartphone uses with a puny 22%, right below “Sports.”

Clearly, the manufacturers are giving people what they want.

Or are they?

Obviously, I’m not getting what I want and neither are those companies who are buying them for their employees, who must look at research like this and wonder what the payback is for the US$100 a month they are paying in subscription fees.

Would a more intelligent design make a difference?

The article can be found here: How Do People Use Their Smartphones?

Here’s the graphic from the article.

Question and Answer Page on Facebook

I just put up a new page on Facebook in which I have an opportunity to answer questions from the general public on any topic related to time management.

I’d love to hear from those of you who have any questions that I could help answer from a Time Management 2.0 perspective, or just to hear another perspective that could be useful.

Click on the graphic or on the following link to be taken to the Facebook page — Q: time management
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Lessons from GMail’s Priority Inbox

You may have read my prior post on the reasons why GMail’s Priority Inbox doesn’t deliver on the promises it makes (even though it is a _very_ nice innovation.) If not, click on my article entitled: Why GMail Priority Inbox Won’t Work.

I wrote a followup article for the Stepcase Lifehack website that goes a bit further, and shares some of what I have learned from looking at new technologies and how they should be incorporated into one’s personal system.

Click here to be taken to:  Lessons on Email Processing from GMail’s Priority Inbox.

Choosing My First Smartphone (for Productivity’s Sake)

If you are a frequent reader of this site you will know that I have questioned at length the unproductive practices and habits that have arisen around smartphones.

With that in mind, I have decided to start a quest to discover whether or not I can boost my productivity with a Blackberry, iPhone, Android or one of the newer devices.  I am going to share the process with readers, and I kicked this off with a new article over at the Stepcase Lifehack website, entitled:  How I’m Getting a Smartphone, While Avoiding Crazy Habits.

I may choose not to make a purchase, by the way… find out more by reading the article.

P.S. I just made a video to help describe what I’m doing by trying to make a “smartphone decision.”

Wish me luck!