Most of us pick up the phone immediately when it rings. It's a habit that most people can't resist. Still, if you want to get more work done, remember that the phone is meant to help you, not to interrupt you all the time. If you want to be more productive and have more control over your time, then this is what you need to do. Here are 7 tips to help you be more productive with your phone.
1. Don't answer the phone while you're busy - This one is easy. It doesn't matter if you're in the shower or eating, don't answer the phone while you're busy.
2. Turn off your phone – Yes, you can actually turn off your phone, although it's rare these days for everyone to actually do this. But if you really need uninterrupted time, just turn the device off.
3. Use Do Not Disturb Mode - Do Not Disturb Mode is a nice feature to make sure you don't hear your phone ringing and buzzing when you shouldn't. You can even let your “favorite” calls through. Do Not Disturb is even better than Silent Mode, as it stops those notifications you don't need right away.
4. Let it go to Voicemail- Every phone has a personal assistant ready to deal with callers, it's called Voicemail. Still, most people don't use this feature. Let calls go to voicemail and then you can see what messages you actually get. You'll be surprised how many phone calls you didn't have to pay attention to right away.
5. Block unwanted calls – If you get requests or calls from people you don't want to hear, block them. Add them to your “blocked callers” list and they won't interrupt you.
6. Reply with a text – If you can't answer a call, you can often reply with a single tap. For example, with the iPhone, you can send a text message explaining your situation to the caller.
7. Only answer callers you know - Ignore all calls you receive from numbers that are not in your address book. If you don't know who is calling, don't answer. And again, if it's someone who needs you, they can leave a message.
Good luck!
