Are Your Gadgets Stealing Your Time or Making You Productive?

Do you love gadgets? Is everything in your smart home connected to the Internet of Things? Can you turn on your lights, adjust your thermostat, and play Tetris — all on your watch?

There are seemingly endless gadgets and apps available. And while some are designed to make you a more productive person, others are just time wasters.

The question is - which are you using? The efficiency boosters or the time wasters?

Worse yet - are you allowing the productivity gadgets in your life to turn into black holes of time and efficiency?

These are fair questions. The modern world is full of distractions. And guys love their gadgets. Use these tips to take an honest look at your own time management and make sure you’re not wasting time with your tech toys.

Setting Limits

Are you able to set limits for yourself when it comes to your gadgets and tech? If you struggle to make it an entire hour without checking your phone (let alone 15 minutes), chances are it’s stealing time from you.

When you set limits on the time you spend on gadgets, you become more productive. You might need to make some adjustments to prevent your devices from pulling you away from those limits.

For example, do your tablet, phone, and smartwatch all ding and vibrate whenever you get an email?

Since those emails are probably best left for later, why not set your phone to Do Not Disturb during the most productive parts of your workday? Or when you’re enjoying a meal with friends?

You can still check your notifications later, but the limits you impose will lead to greater focus, better productivity, and an increased sense of being in the moment.

Tech Congestion

You don’t need every productivity app, every smart assistant, and every gadget.

Sure, having the latest and greatest in tech can be exciting. And many of those devices can significantly improve your efficiency - both at home and in the office.

But too many tools leads to tech congestion. You wind up becoming a slave to your devices. In the end, they each demand more time from you than you have to give. It’s no good - and you end up in serious time debt.

Fight this tendency to crowd your life with tech. Before you purchase a new device or app, ask yourself a few questions:

• How will this make me more productive?
• Is this fulfilling a need in my life or is just superfluous?
• Have I been getting fine without this or am I really struggling and need a solution? 

Just because your favorite tech blogger or a friend at work insists that you need a new device or app, doesn’t mean you really do. Worry about your needs and your habits first. Make productivity a priority over simply amassing more technology.

Replace Junk to Win Back Your Time

One of the biggest ways gadgets steal your time is by not working properly.

• The printer that you have to reset twice before it will actually print.
• The router that constantly resets itself, disconnecting all your devices from the internet.
• The smartphone with such limited storage that you constantly have to delete old apps and photos.

These are all terrible time bandits. Get them out of your life.

Replace them with updated technology that works right and actually does what you expect of it. Life’s too short to waste on poorly functioning gadgets.

One way to do it is to consolidate several old gadgets into one modern one. Can you incorporate the functionality of one device into another, maybe by using an app on your smartphone? A GPS is a great example - do you really need a GPS in your car and a GPS mapping app in your phone?

Analyze your habits and consider how you can simplify your tech life. The results are worth it.

Enjoy Your Gadgets While Staying Productive

You’re a busy guy with no time for technology time-wasters. Upgrade your gadgets, set limits for your technology use, and enjoy the productivity benefits. You might have some separation anxiety at first, but in the long term you’ll see significant rewards.