Go Shorty...It's Your Birthday: 5 Techy Shortcuts for You

Don't let your tech device send you into maze mode.
(Photo taken from Labyrinth, the movie.)

It may not be your birthday, but I have some presents for you. Ever feel as though you are in a labyrinth trying to figure out how to wind your way around what should be a simple task on your tech device? You need a shortcut! We all could use tips to provide us more time for other things. I hope you have find many of these new and helpful.

iPhone/iPad:

1. Storage Wars: Every week it seems like one of my friends is laughing or complaining they don't have any room left on their phone, usually because of photos. So do this:

• Dropbox (FREE)--allows you to instantly upload to this cloud based app and you can download it to your PC. I have my account synced on all my devices so I can get to any of my files, pictures on any device, anywhere, anytime. After you download this free app, open it up and go to > settings > Camera Upload > swipe 'on'. Anytime you take a pic it will upload into your private account. It's really easy to make folders and delete any photos you do not want there. While it's private and secure, in two steps you can share a link to any of your folders (individually or grouped) with anyone outside of Dropbox. Plus, when you invite others to dropbox, you get more storage. FREE
• Open space: Wondering where all your space is going on your phone? Click settings > usage > then it will give you a list of what is taking up the most space (usually photos and music). You can decide if you want to delete an app or two or you will see how important it is to upload those pics somewhere else so you have more space for more fun.

2. Talk to me: Do NOT text and drive, ever, ever, ever. It's the 21st century. You can talk to your phone and it will text for you. Obviously Siri is the easiest, but there are other apps other there as well:

• Dragon Dictation (FREE): you can talk and it will dictate any thing you say. Students use this quite a bit for typing papers, etc.  Very simple and easy to use. It's a lifesaver for me when I have long emails to type or papers to write.
• Speak It! (1.99): This is the flip side of text to speech. Have some files you need to read, but short on time? Just copy and paste the text and this app will read it to you. Genius!

Keyboard:

3. You're in Ctrl: It still amazes me how many people do not know these easy control key shortcuts. Learn this alphabet, saves a lot of time.

• Zoom: If you cannot read the screen, don't squint. Just hold down the Ctrl key and then either + or - depending on if you want to zoom in or out of the image.

Mac: 

4. Your wish is my command: Much like the control key for PC keyboards, Mac has the command key. Check out Dan Rodney, an instructor, designer and "all around nice guy." He goes beyond the keystrokes and menu symbols.  Do yourself a favor and take just one minute to scan over all these shortcuts, pick a few to get started and instantly save your self time.

Battery Life: 

5. Jump start: You really can't save time on your mobile device if the battery is drained. Opt out of these features to save the juice, which will save you time.

• Face to Face: You might want to get closer to Siri but it's not necessary. Holding down the home button will save time and battery as opposed to holding the phone up to automatically speak with Siri. Go to Settings > General > Siri > then disable "raise to speak.:
• Getting jiggy with it:Turn off "parallax" motion on your interface. Every time you move or jiggle your phone you will see 3D icons sitting on your wallpaper. Looks cool but drains your battery. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Reduce Motion. 
• Keep the lights low: Turn off "auto brightness" adjust manually. Go to Settings > Wallpapers & Brightness > then you can turn off  "auto brightness" and manually reduce the brightness.

All this info for 50 cent...obviously, you could have more time to work out and rap like him. ;)

Unplug

Recently my witty and wonderful mother-in-law came back from a restful vacation with a gift for my daughter Molly, a new book! Knowing how much my children love books (and not just ibooks!), it was no surprise to see Molly's excitement as she asked me to read that book before bedtime. I'll be honest, bedtime reading is actually one of my favorite times with my kids. They love to 'read' to me and we love to read to them, especially with their growing interest in ibooks and various apps out there which encourage kids to read in a techy way. Tonight would be different, I would start thinking more about bedtime...withOUT technology.

"Goodnight Moon" is an all time favorite with many readers of all ages around the world. How clever of author Ann Droyd (love the author's name related to this story) to write a parody for the 'next generation titled, "Goodnight iPad".

I won't give away the whole story--go buy a copy (yes printed) for yourself.  In summary, it is a realistic view of many households today. Every human connected to their own little device in their own little world.  Images of parents, siblings of all ages playing, reading, using their interactive technology piece in some way as the 'fed up old woman' observes in one room all the random social activity happening without anyone actually being social with each other. Sound familiar?

Be honest-whether you live alone or not, everyone can relate to being a room with other humans and not even glancing their way as you interact with you smartphone, iPad, laptop, gaming system, etc. We all have been there and continue to engage in this type of activity.  Unfortunately, the consequence of  keeping up with our world results in the missed opportunities in having a face-to-face conversation with others. How about noticing what IS going on around us, instead of reading about it, blogging about it, texting about it, and gaming in a virtual world?

It's ok, I'm guilty, too

As you have probably predicted, the household eventually goes to sleep in the story, reluctantly unplugging themselves. How nice would it be to carve out a time each day to unplug, say 'Goodnight iPad' and be social withOUT social media?  Maybe there are those of you out there who practice this activity religiously--good for you. I know all of us could work on spending more 'real' time with each other.

Related to sleeping and technology, the National Sleep Foundation found from a recent survey (2011) that 47 million people are sleep-deprived.  When the group surveyed about 1,500 people across four generations — Gen Z (ages 13-18), Gen Y (ages 19-29), Gen X (ages 30-45) and Baby Boomers (ages 46-64) — they found that 95 percent frequently used some form of technology, from TV to texting, before bed. See the connection? I see in this more of a disconnection...

I challenge you (and myself) to UNPLUG yourself...you can start by reading "Goodnight iPad" (or one of your favorites) with someone special...then get some sleep!



Statistics from The National Sleep Foundation: http://www.everydayhealth.com/