We know that technology can be a real headache, but with a little effort and practice you can get more done in less time.
Here are 10 tech tips and tricks to help you be more productive. These short cuts will save you time and make your life easier.
1. Change your wallpaper
The ability to change your wallpaper on your smartphone is a feature that most users don’t give much thought to, but it can be a cool way to spice up your phone. There are several ways to go about this, including turning any photo from your camera into a wallpaper and using a smartphone app to make a more impressive splash.
Apple’s iPhone has a few tricks up its sleeve when it comes to setting a wallpaper, including allowing you to set two different images as your home screen and lock screen wallpaper. The most impressive of these is the ability to choose a live wallpaper that moves with you and makes a dazzling display when it does. This is a great way to make your phone feel more like your own, and it’s also a nice touch if you’re looking to impress someone who’s just moved into your apartment or new job.
2. Turn off auto-correction
Auto-correct is a helpful writing aid that helps you avoid making embarrassing errors in emails and text messages. But it can also be a distraction.
If you’re not a fan of auto-correct, you can easily turn it off in any app that uses the feature. Whether you use Microsoft Word, SwiftKey, or Grammarly, there’s a simple way to turn off the auto-correction feature for good.
You can do this on a Windows computer by toggling off the Autocorrect and Highlight misspelled words options in the Typing menu. You can also disable the squiggly red underlines that appear underneath incorrectly-spelled words.
3. Change your password
Changing your password is one of the most important things you can do to protect your information online. However, most people don’t do this regularly enough to keep their accounts secure.
For this reason, National Password Day is a great opportunity to get on top of your security and ensure that your passwords are strong.
Ideally, your password should be at least 12 characters long and include letters, numbers and symbols. It should also be unique for every account you use.
4. Set up a backup
A backup is the best way to protect your important files from damage, theft, or device failure. It may be as simple as printing physical paper copies or setting up an automatic backup on the cloud.
The best backups are automatically updated on a regular schedule, typically daily or weekly. This can be as easy as using the built-in software on your computer or a cloud service that lets you choose how often you want your data to be backed up.
A good backup should be able to handle multiple copies of your files and make sure you have a copy on all your devices, including your PC, laptop, tablet, and phone. It should also be able to keep your data secure offsite so it’s less likely to get stolen or lost, and it should be easy to access if you need to retrieve your data in the event of an emergency.
5. Set a timer
A timer is a great way to help you stick to your schedule. It boosts productivity, keeps distractions at bay, builds momentum, and makes every break meaningful.
You can set a timer on your iPhone by tapping the Clock app and going to the Timer page. Then, swipe up and down to choose the time interval you want.
Timers are also a great way to manage your screen time. If you use social media apps like Instagram or TikTok, setting a timer for those will help you limit how long you spend on them. It will also tell you when you’ve reached your set limit.
6. Turn off notifications
Notifications are a way for apps to let you know something has happened. They can be messages, emails, or symbols that appear when the application wants you to pay attention.
Typically, an app asks you for permission to send notifications the first time you open it. You can then turn off the notifications you don’t want.
However, some apps use notifications to get your attention by sending you ads and other messages. These push notifications can be distracting and annoying, so it’s important to turn them off.
On iPhone, go to Settings and tap “Notifications.” Here you can disable notifications for any app or group of apps. This will stop them from showing up on your lock screen, playing sounds, or presenting banner alerts.
7. Change your screen brightness
One of the most important settings you can change on a laptop is screen brightness. It can make a big difference for your eyes and overall comfort.
Fortunately, there are a number of ways to adjust your screen brightness on Windows 10 and 11 computers. You can either change the brightness manually or have it automatically adjusted based on your lighting conditions.
If you use a desktop computer, you can also control your screen brightness through the display driver provided by your graphics card manufacturer. Your Intel, NVIDIA, or AMD video card may have a dedicated control panel that lets you change your brightness.
8. Turn off the sound
If you’re in a meeting, classroom or movie and don’t want to hear the sound of your keyboard keys, there are several ways to disable the keyboard clicks. These include using the physical mute button on your phone and changing the volume of the key clicks.
Most Android phones have master volume buttons on the side of the phone that control all of your device’s volume. These can be used to quickly silence all of the sounds on your device.
10. Turn off the auto-correction feature
Autocorrect can be helpful in some cases, but it also gets you into trouble if it alters your text in ways you don’t want it to. For example, it may try to change a word like “adn” to “and,” which can completely misinterpret what you’re trying to say.
However, it’s also possible to turn off the feature and get back control over your texts. Fortunately, it’s very easy to do on Android phones and tablets.
You can do this by opening the Settings app on your phone or tablet and selecting Languages & input under System. Next, select Virtual keyboard under Keyboard and input methods.
