For a lot of us, our world is on our smartphone. It’s the morning alarm, tells you what the weather is like, and reminds you about important meetings and events for the day ahead. By lunchtime, you’ve used it to check directions and reply to messages. Maybe you’ve used it to pay for something at the till.
But how organised is your phone? Are your apps all in order? Or is it time to create a workable system? When you focus on tools that make things smoother, your phone supports how you actually live.
Clear the Clutter
Take a good look at your home screen. You’ll probably spot apps you downloaded and haven’t used in a while. If so, you’re not alone. With over eight billion smartphones worldwide, you won’t be the only one with a cluttered device.
That clutter slows you down because you waste time scanning for the icon you need. Plus, these long-forgotten apps take up valuable space on your phone.
Be firm about deleting any app you haven’t opened in the past six months. As you clear space, group your remaining essentials by purpose so your screen reflects your routine. Sticking to a few core categories can cover the essentials and get you organised.
Here are some category ideas to make this process easy:
1. Commute essentials
For your commuting folder, add a reliable navigation app with live traffic and transport updates. Real-time data shows delays as they happen, so you can reroute before you get stuck or choose a later service if your train or other public transport is running late.
As well as a nav app, this is a suitable folder for your weather apps so that you know what the roads are like, plus train bookings or bus schedules. Choose apps that make it easy to buy tickets and check timings.
2. Money and spending
A good banking app tracks transactions instantly. When you see clearly where your money goes, you can adjust your habits to suit your budget – and this brings us to the next app that’s ideal for this folder. Having a good quality, easy-to-use budgeting app can make it easy to see where your money goes each month.
Make sure you enable instant transaction notifications so you can review each payment as it happens and update your budget through the month so you can track your spending.
3. Gaming and downtime
As well as the practical apps that help manage the big things, it’s important to have some balance. This folder can include games you like to play, music apps, or social content.
You might have a bingo app on your device or brain training games. Or this could be where you store all your news content where you get the headlines. Plan out what could work here and remove anything that you’re not likely to play or look at again.
4. Diary and planners
Opt for a simple, cloud-synced notes and diary app to give your thoughts and upcoming meetings a permanent home. Whether you use this for your weekly food shop or weekend plans, you won’t have to worry about forgetting the important stuff.
Because your notes sync across devices, you can add an item on your laptop and check it on your phone while in the supermarket. Pin your most urgent task to the top of your list so it stays visible throughout the day.
