6 Phone Hacks for the Girl On-the-Go

For better or worse, we all live on our phones. While some might be for mindless Facebook and Instagram fun, for others it’s business and keeping our lives in order. Personally it’s my calendar, my address book, my camera, my shopping list, everything is on there (and backed up at my computer). When my phone is missing — often in a random closet shelf, the pantry or under a couch cushion! — I feel like I’m missing our arm.   I know that when I have briefly misplaced my phone the world does not seem right until I find it.

Since everyone loves a good hack list, sharing here some hacks and just all-around creative, functional ways to make the most of our beloved phones.

1.  Invitation Organizer.    It can feel nearly impossible to keep up with the influx of paper in my home. Birthday invites and e-vites are no exception. To minimize the paper and maximize the organization, snap a photo of each invitation as soon as you get it – even an image from your screen — and then create a photo folder of invitations. Voila: you have the date, address, contact info all on you phone. Take it a step further by putting the date in your calendar as soon as you receive the invite.

2.  Speed Charging.  Ever needed to charge your phone in a hurry?  Switch your phone to “airplane” mode.  This helps charge your phone twice as fast (just be aware: you can’t get any incoming texts, calls or data).

3.  Best Filters Ever.  We all know that Instagram has the best filters and can take any photo from blah to beautiful.  Benefit from this… without actually posting to Instagram:  Switch your phone to “airplane mode” in your settings.  Next, go into Instagram, choose your filters and settings like you normal would, and then try to post. You’ll see in Instagram it will say at the top “Failed” — click on the X to delete it; now go to your camera roll… voila, your filtered photo is right there (but not posted).

4.  Remember the little details.  Make it a habit to take a photo of your car and/or landmark after you park your car. It’s critical in airports, at concerts, or shows, or mega trips to the mall. After a long day, you don’t to have a freak out, realizing you can’t remember where you parked your car. My memory is not as it once was, this helps with all the little details.

5.  Have Siri read you your email.   Need to catch up on your email while folding laundry or exercising?  Tell Siri “Read my email” and she will do it!  She will even tell you the sender’s name, the subject line and the date and time of the email.  You can also tell her to “read my latest email” or ask her “Do I have email from (person)?”.   It’s like your FREE personal assistant!

 6. Scroll up… Fast! Ever find yourself at the bottom of a 739 inbox or the end of a really long article way down at the end of a page? On an iPhone, simply tap the top bar while in any app to scroll back to the top immediately.

Do you have any cool phone tips??