3 minute read
Work Smarter: How to Fully Utilize Your Smart Phone
PRACTICE POINTERS
BY BONNIE C. FRAASE
Advertisement
In the sixth grade, I wanted two things: A Franklin Covey planner and a cell phone. The planner would organize my daily life, from math quizzes to basketball practices and pizza parties. A cell phone would open the world of T-9 texting—a stunning advance beyond the landline phone call. These days, the planner and the cell phone are one and the same, and the cell phone has come a long way from T-9 texting. Today, with work-from-home measures in place, smart phone utilization is not only convenient, it is necessary.
But many lawyers underutilize their phones. In the frantic dash to respond to partners’ emails, clients’ calls, and friends’ text messages, the smartphone’s functionality is reduced to basic communication. By taking a few minutes to manage her phone’s storage and settings, a lawyer can maximize her smart phone utilization.
First, take a look at your phone storage. Oftentimes, we don’t notice our phone storage is at capacity until it is time to save a large file. Do not be caught in the lurch! Take a moment to audit your phone storage before it is a problem. On an iPhone, navigate to Settings/General/ iPhone Storage. Notice (1) how much storage is available and (2) where most of your storage is spent.
Looking at the numbers, it may be difficult to assess the size of a single photo or message. Managing gigabytes is like baking a cake with measurements in grams and liters—the scale is not intuitive. To avoid confusion, focus on the proportional share of data storage attributed to different uses. Oftentimes, the lion’s share of your phone storage goes to apps, photos, and text message attachments. Consider: how many apps do you use daily? Weekly? Monthly? If you haven’t used an app this month, delete it. Then, review your large attachments. Save what you want and delete the rest. Like cleaning out a closet or a sock drawer, clearing out your phone storage can create a moment of clarity and catharsis. In deleting old photos and messages, you let go of unnecessary clutter and take hold of forgotten memories. All that, and you ensure you can download the critical discovery document when necessary!
Second, organize apps and download new ones. With the newfound storage space, you have capacity to download new apps. Did you know that both Westlaw and Lexis have apps? Cell phones are a long way from slip copies, but both apps are user-friendly—though, admittedly, not as friendly as a law librarian! If you are a solo practitioner or small-firm practitioner seeking a timekeeper, consider Harvest. Harvest allows you to track billable hours on your phone or your computer, so your timekeeping is both convenient and consistent. Those looking to build a more collaborative office culture may consider Slack. Slack allows you to communicate with coworkers outside of your inbox—preventing a three-hour chat from generating a 300-message email thread. You may also download companion apps for frequently used computer software like Microsoft Word or Dropbox.
Third, manage your notifications. Now that you have the proper content on your phone, make the most of it. How often do you dismiss unwanted notifications from otherwise useful apps? (Think: receiving airline notifications when not traveling.) To manage such situations on an iPhone, navigate to Settings/ Notifications. Scroll through the apps and tap on the frequent-notification offenders. Turn the notifications completely off or customize their appearance to your liking. By eliminating unwanted notifications, you can more easily spot and reply to important alerts. And, when you really need to complete a motion or brief, flick on “Do Not Disturb” mode and enjoy distraction-free focus without any notifications.
Finally, don’t forget to recharge. The ultimate goal of optimizing phone usage is to reduce time spent on your phone. Constant connectivity is advantageous, but eventually your phone battery needs to charge and your mind needs a break, too. On the first day of my Texas Supreme Court clerkship, my judge whipped out a flip phone and sent a T-9 text, letting his family know when he would be home. Sometimes, the simplest message is the most important. AL
Bonnie C. Fraase is a law clerk at the Texas Supreme Court. She is a graduate of Virginia Law (J.D., 2019) and Baylor University (B.A., 2015).
