Be smart if you can.

• Author: Milazzo, Vickie L.
• Position: Life in America - Smart phones

We love our smartphones. In fact, we love them so much that we never want to put them down. Most of us constantly check for text messages, e-mails, and the latest Tweets and Facebook updates at all hours of the day, whether we are in a meeting, at lunch with a friend, or just at home in front of the TV. Of course, it is easy to justify our smartphone love. These devices help us get more done, allow us to stay plugged into what is going on at the office, and assist us in organizing our schedules--reminding us when to pick up our dry cleaning, and managing our growing social networks.

However, our smartphone obsession comes with a definite downside. They may be making us less--rather than more--smart and productive. Being overly tapped into what is happening on our smartphones is not a good thing. It prevents us from making the most of a networking event because we are texting and e-mailing the entire time. We suffer burnout from always being plugged into work. Our relationship-building skills suffer because we are not used to communicating with people face to face and, in some respects, we stop thinking. For example, if your smartphone died, would you know when your next meeting was, what time your flight was leaving, who is supposed to pick up the kids from school today? I know plenty of people who wouldn't.

Let's be clear: when used responsibly smartphones can be great tools, but I think many of us would admit to allowing them to take over our lives. As a result, we miss out on the opportunities that are happening right in front of us, and it should not be that way.

However, you can take back your life from your smartphone, recover your common sense, and rediscover what it means to be productive:

Turn off cyberspace. There is no greater blow to productivity than breaking your concentration to reply to an e-mail or text as soon as it hits your smartphone. Remember, no award will be handed out at the end of the day for the person who responded the fastest. If you are doing nothing but responding to e-mails and texts, you are bouncing around like a pinball. It also is important to keep in mind that the purpose of e-mail and texts is not to generate more e-mail and texts. Unless a response is necessary in order for the sender to move ahead on a task or project, it is okay to let them have the last word. The more you are connected to your smartphone the less you are connected to yourself and the task at hand.

Tame the social media beast...