While reading Mike Gilronan’s blog post about the good and ill effects of the ban of all electronic devices by attendees at the US Open Championship this weekend, the most striking observation was this one:

A profusion of what looked like spasms from people continually and reflexively patting their pockets or groping for an absent belt-holstered phone.

The level of connectedness we enjoy in today’s smartphone, always-on, world of Internet ubiquity provides us with a wealth of opportunities. We can obtain, create, and share information easily and instantly. And there’s always a new application or platform making that experience easier, better, and more valuable.

So the where, when and how we choose to use it requires some consideration. Habits form easily, and are hard to change.

But they can change.

Dropping an old habit

As you install new applications, upgrade old ones, and adopt new devices, you’ve got to constantly re-evaluate your personal strategy. And sometimes what you decide may impact some old, well-established habits.

A while back, I wrote about my experience in disabling email popup notices on my PC. Eliminating those popups during times when I needed to concentrate on getting work done was very effective. So effective, in fact, that I ended up leaving them turned off all the time. And now I am very much in the habit of never seeing them, and never missing them. Dropping that habit was good for me.

The smartphone, of course, is a bit trickier.

If the only camera you have at the family Bar-B-Q is on your smartphone, chances are you’re going to be checking email, Twitter, etc. while you’re there. If you’d rather avoid that, bring a second camera.

Of course, if you like to post those photos to Facebook for everyone in the family to share, then the smartphone becomes crucial. With it you can post real-time updates easily, which is much more effective than uploading batches of photos from a disconnected camera days after an event has occurred.

So, what’s your strategy? And how often does it need to be revised? Maybe for a variety of scenarios…

Car mode

My smartphone (an Andriod) has an application for car mode. When enabled, the entire interface has only six big buttons on it. They are easy to see and use, and provide access to only a few functions, those most likely to be used in the car. This limited access makes the device easier to use for those select functions.

Maybe the help we need to manage smartphones more effectively lies somewhere in this area – a customizable golf mode, party mode, lunch mode, whatever. Still, technology can only get us so far in managing its use. We’d have to take the time to configure and enable those modes.

Ultimately, we need to direct our attention to strategy, make choices, and change habits.

Photo credit: waferbaby