5 Everyday Tech Upgrades to Streamline Your Life
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Change is tough. Even if we know there’s a better, more streamlined experience on the other side, there’s often something that prevents us from making that little adjustment and disrupting our everyday routines.
We get it. We’re all creatures of habit. As one study found, monkeys were more likely than humans to adopt new strategies to achieve their goals. In fact, one-third of humans resisted using a shortcut and opted to stick with their old approach, even if it was less efficient. Meanwhile, a 2020 study from University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt found that people who ultimately made a change were overwhelmingly more content than those who didn’t.
Just think about how many people go for months or even years with a cracked phone screen. They must know that getting a new phone or screen would drastically improve their experience, but they just can’t bring themselves to break the status quo. Even if they can easily afford a device upgrade, they’d rather read their texts through a web of split glass than make a simple trip to the Apple store. Or, even more easily, just go online and place an order to come directly to their home.
And that’s just one all-too-common example. To better illustrate how us silly humans are so adverse to change, here are five helpful examples of simple tech upgrades that are tough to make but can ultimately streamline your life.
1. Installing a new device update
It’s easy to keep clicking “Remind me tomorrow” when your phone or computer announces that a new update is available. But when you finally install that new iOS or app upgrade, you can enjoy new features and bug fixes that make your device more enjoyable to use.
2. Cleaning out your hard drive
How many of us have let old files pile up on our computers only to be left asking, “Why is this thing so slow?!” Probably too many. Sure, it might take a few minutes, or even — gasp! — an hour, but spring cleaning your device every now and then can streamline its performance and make your life easier.
3. Turning your smartphone into a remote
Many digital streaming devices like Apple TV let you use your smartphone as a remote, helping you quickly log into different apps and navigate your favorite media. Also, it saves you from fretting over lost remotes or drained batteries. Chances are, your phone is already in your hand or pocket and easily accessible. But, of course, setting this up takes a few minutes and a willingness to sync your devices.
4. Setting up a password manager
These days, we all have usernames and passwords for countless platforms. And those passwords only get more complex as we’re asked to add numbers and special characters to boost security. So it’s tough to remember which password goes to which platform, and when they were last updated. Setting up a password manager might seem like a pain, but this one simple solution can save a lot of headache going forward.
5. Upgrading your project management platform
Too many project managers are being slowed down by clunky, outdated, and inefficient tools. As we found in a recent survey, 70% of project managers struggle with a lack of visibility into their portfolio, 54% with manual dual data entry, and 23% with unnecessary status update meetings.
But, of course, they often stick with their obsolete tool because it’s the devil they know. They think spending those extra minutes fixing data entries and manually following up about tasks is still better than taking the time to switch to a new platform. The problem is that those minutes add up to hours, which can add up to days wasted on administrative chores that don’t actually move the needle.
That is to say, upgrading your PPM solution may feel like a hassle. However switching to an adaptive platform that anticipates your needs — instead of forcing you to play catchup — can save you valuable time and resources, and get you back on track to meeting your goals.
Ready to defy human nature and actually make the change you need to streamline your project management? Book a demo with Proggio.
