As you may have seen, I don’t like myself. What I mean by that is as I write this, I have a full-time job, run a Digital Agency, volunteer at the Hyve International startup, and a Youth Leader at my local church. With everything and sometimes everyone pulling me in every direction except towards a go-kart track, I have needed to take multiple steps to stay as productive as humanly possible. I have shared several videos on staying productive which I will link below, but I wanted to share a couple of useful steps you can do on your phone (hopefully an iPhone) to stay productive right now. Let’s get to it:

1. Multiple app screens. Assuming you are not the type of person who has ordered your icons based on the colour of the app icons or, worse still, alphabetically, you have probably organised them by the web browser, Instagram, settings, music…and everything else is somewhere on there, sometimes in folders. Although it is a popular method, it isn’t the most efficient. Instead, separate your home screens and keep the apps you need in one place. This is my current home screen. The first page is my most frequent personal apps, the second page are my business apps, then my apps I use for church, followed by everything else. This does more for me than adding an extra scroll, it allows for better separation between modes when I am working. Am I doing Ark stuff, or Youth Leader stuff? And whichever it is, I can swipe accordingly. (If you want to know any more about my apps, please message me. I will happily create an in-depth keynote presentation on why you should also use that app.

2. Actionable Notifications. I have excellent news for you. 35 people just liked your last Instagram post. But I am going to tell you individually at random times, 35 times. That’s what you want, right? Well usually it’s a no, but you never really got round to changing it, and I don’t blame you. But on the path to productivity central, you should. Consider which apps actually need your attention. I am an avid Reddit user, but there is no real reason why Reddit should ever need to notify me of anything. Turn of all notifications on apps that, don’t really need your attention. On all the other apps that you actually use more regularly, only turn on notifications that you can, or should do something about. I am not entirely fussed when one of my friends is going live on Instagram. Maybe I should be, but I am really not. I am more fussed when they send me a direct message. So I have set up my notifications accordingly. I only receive notifications on things that I want to and can do something about.

3. Widgets. I love this one because it is a combination of both efficiency and laziness, the best combination possible. Seeing your plan for the day, the weather, your tasks for the day, and others will allow you to see relevant at a glance, without opening up any apps. A gentle warning though: remember, these are purely short, relevant information for your day. There can be a desire to add additional information that isn’t crucial or more information on the widgets that you already have. My general rule is, due tomorrow, view tomorrow.

4. Wallpaper. Consider changing your wallpaper to something that inspires you. It could be a goal you plan to achieve, a lifestyle you want to live, a place you want to live or even a single words of inspiration. Mine, for example, is a custom-built go-kart. Or a picture of my kids, depending on who’s reading this. Also, consider changing your wallpaper regularly, so it doesn’t become monotonous and continues to have a similar impact to when you first chose it.

So there you have it, Lyndon’s List on how you can be more productive on your phone right now. As always, there are many other steps you can take, but these are some of the important ones I would recommend.