If you’re anything like the average college student, you spend hours a day on your phone, checking Instagram in between classes, snapchatting during lunch and watching Netflix while doing your homework. On average, Americans spend an incredible 4.7 hours on their phones each day. That’s more than the amount of sleep that we get during finals week! If we spent that amount of time focused on other pursuits, we could be famous concert pianists, be completely ripped and know several languages. It’s easy to think that ditching the smartphone is the only way to become a productive human being. However, instead of throwing the smartphone out, exchange the fifth time checking Facebook with something more productive that can help lead you into a better life.
1. Watch TED Talks
No matter what you’re interested in, there is a TED Talk for you. Practical, interesting and entertaining, TED Talks will teach you how to change the course of your life by using more powerful body language and then, in the next one, inspire you to tears with some amazing life story. From brilliant computer hackers to models to feminists to Harvard professors, there is an incredible speaker on pretty much every subject, including many things you would never have even thought of. They range in length from under 10 minutes to 45 minutes, so you can fit one in between class or watch one before bed.
2. Look Up How-To Videos
Along the same lines as TED Talks, how-to videos can help you learn anything you’ve been wanting to for years. Maybe how to fishtail braid or change your oil or use that Canon camera you got for Christmas and haven’t even touched yet. Instead of watching all of your favorite music videos (again), learn how to do something new and interesting like an art project to decorate your dorm or something to impress your friends.
3. Text family and friends
If you’re going to be on your smartphone, you can make some of your time more well-spent by communicating with friends and family. If your grandparents have texting on their phone (and most of them do by now), let them know you’re thinking about them by sending them a picture or just saying "hi." Ask your long distance friend how she’s doing more often or text your little brother. Not everyone would consider texting a “real” conversation, but it’s a step closer than liking their profile picture.
4. Read the "Wall Street Journal"
It doesn’t have to be the WSJ, but it’s my favorite source of news, and they have incredible deals for college students. You can basically get it for free, and it is sure to expand your knowledge if you read it, even every now and then. On my phone, I get updates when something big is going on in the U.S. or around the world. I’ve found out about things like the San Bernardino shooting, the fact Yellen raised the interest rates for the first time since ’08, and the new rule that women are finally allowed in combat in every military branch. Even just reading the headlines keeps you more informed than your classmate who only knows what’s going on in the Kardashians' lives.
5. Read an eBook
Books are almost always half-price on the Kindle store in comparison to bookstores like Barnes and Noble or Books-a-Million. If you spend 30 minutes reading instead of mindlessly scrolling through Pinterest, you could finish several books a semester. Whether you read fiction or autobiographies, reading increases your vocabulary, helps your spelling, increases the words per minute you can read, helps your reading comprehension in school, gives you a more positive view of the world, expands your horizons and gives you a conversation piece with others.
6. Use a language learning app
You’re not going to be fluent in Spanish if you give up Facebook and start using Duolingo, but you are sure to improve your knowledge of other languages. Rosetta Stone is still a coveted language-learning tool that many people spend hundreds of dollars on, and we have miniature versions for free or extremely inexpensive on our smartphones! You could spend 10 minutes a day on a language app, and be ready for your study abroad trip, feel more comfortable communicating with an international student or at least know some phrases in another language.
7. Listen to an audio book
Maybe you don’t like reading books on your phone and prefer hardbacks or just not reading at all. One way to still get all the incredible information found inside books, whether classics, textbooks, self-helps, modern fiction or business, is to listen to them. If you’re a commuter, you’ll roll through books, and even if not, you’ll be surprised how fast you can get through books listening to them while you exercise, drive around or whenever you would’ve been listening to music.
8. Record lectures and study
I sit in the front row and the recorder app that is pre-programmed on my iPhone works perfectly. For the professors who are a little confusing or talk too fast, record the lectures and go back and listen to them before the exam. It will stop you from missing any important material and improve your grades. Also, you can use the Keynote app to open up PowerPoints and study them right there on your phone!
9. Make to-do lists
I use the Wunderlist app, and it helps me keep track of so much. Whether shopping lists, school projects, emails to reply to or miscellaneous tasks, using your phone to make to-do lists will help keep you off Facebook and use your time more productively.
10. Delete the distractions
Yes, this is possible. You can delete Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat or whatever your app vice is. Especially if you are having a hard time spending less than hours a day on your phone and missing out on being productive (or life), delete it for a temporary amount of time. One summer, I deleted my social media apps, and it was amazing how little I missed them. Once I put them back on in the fall, my addiction was broken, and I didn’t have as hard of a time putting it away. Even if you just delete the distractions during times like finals weeks or whenever you have a lot to do, you can save yourself a lot of stress and get a lot more sleep. Trust me, social media doesn’t need your posts, and you don’t need it as much as you think you do. You may be surprised how free you feel or how much more real life you experience after deleting them for a while.
11. Read the Odyssey
Especially mine and the other Southeastern authors’ articles of course. Then share them.
