"Quality, not quantity." ~Unknown
We live in an age of many screens. TV's, computers, tablets, smartphones, billboards (many are digital now), and jumbo tron screens rule our view wherever we go. We have options for what we want to see and include on most of the screens. We have the option of downloading literally hundreds of thousands of apps.
This can create a device with so many screens filled with all the apps that it can be difficult to keep track of where everything is.
We also have to decide how and when we use all of these apps. Once we download them (many were free) we feel a slight urgency to use them, even if we're still not sure how. We just decided to grab it while it was free.
With so many apps and so many screens we can find ourselves overloaded and bogged down. Using all of these apps and figuring out ways they can make life 'better' takes time and energy.
Instead, we should think about what aspects of our lives, schedules, and work could be improved and then find a system or tool that helps us with it. Finding one thing/app/system at a time lets us focus more clearly and intentionally as opposed to finding a bunch of 'stuff' then trying to force it in somewhere.
For example, if you find yourself writing lots of post-it notes and sticking them all over the place, what is a tool or system that could help you manage this? Many smartphones have a notetaking app that you could write down a note any time you needed, then email it to yourself so you can take care of that idea when you're sitting at your desk or are on a computer where it would be easier and more efficient to work on.
Also, if you find yourself constantly sending emails to yourself with files attached so you can access them on a different computer, consider using DropBox. Keep all of your files that you are currently 'Working On' in a folder inside of DropBox and you'll always have your necessary files with you on any device.
If you search the Internet a lot and want to save many of the pages for later reading or sharing, consider Instapaper or Evernote. These applications allow you to save your link and article (among other things) and access them on any computer or device.
There are many, many more apps and systems out there that can help you do the things you do each day, better. The trick is weeding through all of the things that are not necessary to find what is. Just as a gem hunter looks for valuable minerals in the dirt and does not keep all of the dirt, instead he only takes what is valuable and leaves everything else behind.
You should do this, too. Consider one screen for all of the apps you have, this will allow you to focus on what's truly going to help you, and not take away time and energy. Just as Twitter limits you to one hundred and forty characters, limit yourself to one screen and see what happens!
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| Image by TJ Wolfe |