Your phone can be your professional downfall or a great tool for productivity. Phones offer a lot of distractions, but (with a little self-control) they also offer on-the-go work opportunities you wouldn’t have if you stuck to desktop alone. So close the Facebook app and get off the Angry Birds or Trivia Crack—it’s time to get productive with your mobile device at work!
Keep Up With Communication
Image via Flickr by Janitors
Email, social media, texting, calling—your phone presents a wide range of contact methods you can now handle quickly and efficiently. Response time is often key in the business world, so get back to people faster with your phone. If you can stay professional and handle the temptation, an active presence on social media all day long can also be important.
A study from Edison Research found that more than 42 percent of users expected a response _within the hour _when they posed a question on a business’s social media page. On top of that, 57 percent expected the same response timeframe even if it was after regular business hours or on the weekend. Your phone can help you see the interaction with notifications and then respond anytime, anywhere.
Attend Meetings and Conferences Remotely
Image via Flickr byMarkus Spiske
You can now take part in meetings and discussions you wouldn’t have made before. Whether you are traveling or working in the field, you can use your phone to Tango or Skype in with video chat, making your presence a virtual reality. You can also go slightly old school and use your phone to conference call using the office equipment and speaker phone to be part of the discussion.
Work From Any Location
Being professionally mobile means your work travels with you. Whether you are taking a plane trip to a business conference or at lunch with a prospective lead, you have access to important emails, data, and tools round-the-clock. On-the-go employees are more agile and better able to respond to the needs of bosses, coworkers, and clients.
All-in-One Device
Image via Flickr by Janitors
Nowadays, affordable high-end smartphones, such as the new iPhone 6 plus, are more available than ever. Using the iPhone 6 Plus or a newer Android model, like the Galaxy Note 4, you can access improved visual tools, faster processing speeds and larger screens to make your connections easier. Your phone probably has many useful tools all in one location.
You have a camera for video chat and webinars. You have the ability to type out emails and notes for future reference through email or a simple notepad app, like ColorNote. You have a camera that can snap product pictures or current work progress and upload images to cloud sharing sites like Dropbox or to public content sharing sites like Instagram, Google+, or Facebook. Your device is able to read articles posted to LinkedIn or Facebook and check out the newest content from competition.
Corporate Data Sharing
Have a prospective lead you are meeting for lunch? Your phone can be a vital tool for keeping the conversation relevant and highly beneficial. Even if you aren’t a marketing rep, you can access data that could be important for talking to other professionals or potential customers. The phone allows you to store and share content, such as articles, images, and infographics. With the touch of a button or two, nearly any kind of existing info can be kept on your device and brought out whenever you need it.
Got an idea while in the shower? Use your phone to capture and share your best ideas instantly. The phone can keep notes on ideas you are considering or pass them on to peers to be discussed and considered for implementation. When used correctly, the phone can draw your company together with constant access to sharing tools and inspiring content.
Make your device work for you in the workplace. If you are your own boss, you might already be doing this and hopefully you have a BYOD (bring your own device) policy for your employees’ productivity benefit. If you aren’t, you might need to get the green light before you start pulling out a device at work. You wouldn’t ever want others to think you were only goofing around.