Computers

Set Smart Tech Intentions to Improve Your New Year

If you’re like most people, you turn over the calendar to January 1 feeling inspired to make some positive changes in your life. And in 2019, you spend a lot of your life online. Whether glued to your phone, your computer, or your family’s smart hub, technology plays an important role in your day-to-day existence. Why not focus on this relationship to make sure you arrive in 2019 ready to take on the world? Here’s a look at some small yet smart intentions you can set to improve your new year.

Kick your tech out of bed

When your phone is your alarm clock, it’s usually a common presence next to your bed. It’s within arm’s reach whenever you feel the urge to check your email, group chat, or your activity tracker. In many cases, it becomes an accessory of your insomnia, as you stayed glued to the bright screen rather than catching some Zs.

Doctors suggest reducing your time on phones and tablets before bed. These electronics emit a bright blue light that disrupts your natural sleeping patterns, even after you put them down to try and go to sleep.

If you’re ready to improve your sleep and greet the day better rested, try putting your phone or tablet down at least an hour before you intend to go to bed. This gives your eyes and brain enough time to unwind, so you have a better chance at falling asleep faster.

Personalize your tech

The phone, tablet, or computer in your hands is a personal thing. It holds all your documents, photographs, and the nitty gritty of your Internet browsing history. In all likelihood, you’ve customized the layout of these electronics, tweaking its user interface to complement your needs and wants as you browse.

Despite all work personalizing them, there’s probably nothing special about your tech from an outsider’s perspective. Your MacBook likely looks like every other Mac in existence, as does your iPhone or iPad. If you want your electronics to reflect your unique personality inside and out, create a unique wrap for each device. Wraps get your device to stand out from the crowd.

Each MacBook wrap, iPhone wrap, and iPad wrap comes tailormade for your specific generation to ensure the closest fit. That means you won’t add any extra bulk to these sleek gadgets when you apply your accessory. Companies like dbrand use genuine 3M vinyl in all their designs to ensure a wrap matches every curve and corner of your tech without any messy adhesives.

This material comes scratch- and grime-free. It’s also comes texturized with your choice of decal. Black marble — a dark and mysterious take on the popular white marble — is the latest MacBook wrap available today, but you can find a catalogue that includes leathers, hardwoods, and stones.

Get off social media

Social media apps like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram make it easier than ever before to keep in touch with people all over the world. It’s also easier than ever before to check these accounts whenever you’re feeling bored — filling your time by seeing what the people you follow are posting.

In most cases, they’re sharing depressing headlines from the news or posts about their personal brand of politics. In between negative posts about the world, there are the people sharing curated pics of themselves doing amazing things.

Whether they’re looking beautiful in a selfie, exploring an exotic new world, or simply having fun with loved ones, it’s easy to compare yourself to what you see on the screen. The difference may be startling. You get to see all the behind the scenes look at your life, while you only see the “best of” reel from your friends and family. The comparison can leave you feeling self-conscious and depressed.

To improve your mental health online, try reducing your reliance on social media. Start by curating the list of people you follow, making sure you aren’t following a negative influence out of some sense of obligation. Then try removing yourself from these accounts. In an extreme case, you can delete them all together, or you could try limiting how many minutes (or hours) you spend scrolling each day.

Even if you succeed with this last goal, you’ll likely use your gadgets even more in 2019 than you did in 2018. To make sure you’re using them to your full advantage, use the new year as a reason to consider your electronics carefully. Although they’re incredibly helpful gadgets that improve how you communicate, learn, and while away the hours, they aren’t without their own drawbacks. These new year intentions help to off-set these downsides, so you’re ready to receive only the best from your tech.

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