In today's fast-paced world, managing time effectively is more crucial than ever. With countless tasks, meetings, and deadlines to juggle (not to mention the stresses of keeping everything running smoothly at home), it's easy to feel overwhelmed and unproductive. Fortunately, with summer’s longer days at our disposal, we have the potential to get more done — and technology can help us make the most of our time. From smartphones and productivity apps, to wearable devices, smart routers, and AI assistants, these innovations are revolutionising the way we work and live.
One of the biggest advantages of technology is its ability to streamline our daily routines and automate repetitive tasks. By leveraging these tools, we can free up valuable time and energy to focus on what truly matters – whether that's advancing our careers, pursuing our passions, or spending quality time with loved ones. The right tech can also help us stay organised, prioritise our tasks, and avoid distractions, ultimately boosting our productivity and reducing stress levels.
So, with that said, here are just a few ways that technology can help with time management:
A matter of time
With a million and one distractions all vying for your attention, it’s all too easy to lose yourself down an endless tunnel of scrolling, messaging, and more. One of the most powerful tools proven to help keep you focused on important tasks, is the Pomodoro Technique, which gets its namesake from the Italian word for tomato — its inventor Francesco Cirillo based it on his tomato-shaped kitchen timer during his time at university.
It’s deceptively simple, but the results really do work. Simply set a timer for 25 minutes, and focus on your work. Once it’s over, set a five-minute timer and have a break, then jump into another 25 minutes of focus. Repeat this four times, then take a longer 20-30 minute break, before starting the cycle again. There are all manner of physical Pomodoro clocks and apps to help you along, or you can use the timer function on your smartwatch to ensure that solid focus is a mere button tap away.
AI assistance
AI assistants like the Google Assistant on Google Home have helped us with countless hands-free tasks over the years, from setting timers and answering questions, to playing music — all without lifting a finger. Today, things have come even further, with the advent of incredibly powerful AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and more — and their time-saving potential is on a whole new level.
Going out for a meal and want to check out the menu in advance to estimate the calories for each dish? Simply point an AI chatbot to the restaurant’s menu page, ask it to estimate the nutritional value of each menu item, and you’ll have all the info within seconds — a task that would’ve taken multiple hours of manual graft on your part.
You can even use AI chatbots to plan trips, help you write code, summarise documents, and much, much more. Incredibly useful for both professional and personal use, they can save you countless hours of tedious work, without breaking a sweat.
Time out
While technology can be a powerful ally in managing our time, it can also be a major source of distraction. Social media, online shopping, and endless scrolling can quickly eat up hours of our day, leaving us feeling unproductive and guilty. Fortunately, there are plenty of apps and software designed specifically to help us limit our screen time and stay focused. These tools can block distracting websites, set time limits for specific apps, and provide detailed reports on our digital habits, empowering us to take control of our time online.
Microsoft Family Safety lets you limit screen time on your Windows PC, for example, while apps like Minimalist Phone on Android transform your entire handset into a simpler, dumbed-down version of a modern smartphone. From changing the home screen to black and white, replacing icons with simple app names, and even letting you set time limits and locks on specific apps, it can go a long way to helping you stay focused on more important tasks.
Ditch the lag
There are few things more frustrating in a workday than a dodgy connection during online video calls. Dropped audio, robotic voices, and pixelated screens aren’t just frustrating — they can really slow you down as well. The importance of a solid connection for those who work from home cannot be overstated, which is why EE’s Smart Hub Plus is the ultimate router for keeping you on track.
It has a dedicated Work Mode which, once activated at the tap of a single button, prioritises connectivity for apps like Teams and Zoom, ensuring that you’ll always have the smoothest experience possible. And when you’ve clocked out for the day, you can carry over this smooth performance to Game Mode, which prioritises game traffic to let you unwind without being frustrated by headshot-ruining lag.
Blast from the past
If you really want to fight against smartphone distractions, you could go one step further and use a dumbphone as your main handset. There are quite a few options out there, and we’re rather fond of the nostalgia hit offered by the modern-day Nokia handsets, like the recently released remake of the Nokia 3210. It has a numerical keypad, makes calls, sends texts, plays Snake and, well, that’s pretty much it. No access to millions of potentially distracting apps or fancy features, letting you use it to keep in touch with people without getting sucked in by any distractions.
You could also opt for a solution that falls halfway, by grabbing an Android smartphone for access to apps like Spotify, WhatsApp, and Maps, but with a very small screen — something like the Qin F22 Pro should see you in good stead, as it runs all the apps you’d need, but has a tiny screen that would be rather uncomfortable to doom scroll through for any length of time.
Perfectly balanced
Parents in particular will understand the challenges of maintaining a healthy tech/life balance at home. Thankfully, the WiFi Controls feature in the EE app lets you take full control of the connectivity in your home, to help manage everyone’s time more effectively.
At the tap of a few buttons, you can easily pause the internet access for individual devices, letting children (or adults) focus on their tasks. You can also group devices to control who is online in specific rooms, turning off devices as needed to manage screen time. Anyone who’s ever struggled with sticking to the bath/bedtime schedule will soon come to appreciate the benefits that these powerful but easy-to-use features can bring.
Rest is best
Wearable devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers not only help us stay on top of our schedules, but also encourage us to lead healthier, more balanced lives, giving us more energy to better manage our time and be more productive. By monitoring our physical activity, sleep patterns, and stress levels, these devices can prompt us to take breaks, exercise regularly, and prioritise self-care.
Many wearables also offer quick access to notifications, reminders, and voice assistants, allowing us to manage our time hands-free, and more premium ones even let you play stream music via Bluetooth directly to your headphones, letting you leave your phone at home while you’re out exercising, minimising distractions even further.
Always on
If you’ve ever had the internet cut out for hours or more, you’ll know all too well how much it can mess up your plans. From ruining a work presentation to putting a spanner in the works during family film night, a home without internet is far from the calm time-managing oasis we all need.
Enter EE’s Smart Hybrid Connect plan, which offers an unbreakable internet connection. In the unlikely event that your home broadband connection goes down, the 4G router will automatically kick in and work its magic, using EE’s mobile network to keep your house connected as normal, with no fuss or drama in sight.
For more information on how EE’s WiFi Controls and Work Mode can help with time management, please feel free to visit ee.co.uk
