Mobilicious Me

If you had visited me on a Monday morning 3 years ago, you would have witnessed a vastly different scene than what you see today. Like most Chicagoland moms, I get my kids up for school, make sure their bags are packed with homework assignments and lunch, send them off to school then set about my day.  It's what happens while all that is going on that is what's different.  Three years ago, I would have brought in the Tribune, turned on the kitchen radio to catch the latest gossip, traffic and weather, turned on the TV to get the most up-to-date news, then searched high and low for my daily planner which always seemed to be in a different location like a sick game of calendar hide-n-seek, so I could check what my schedule was for that day.

Today however, I can do all this and more from my mobile device, or what has now become known as 'The Third Screen'.  Today, I check my email and text messages, review my calendar, Scan my facebook feed and maybe post to my facebook pages, send the appropriate 'Happy Birthday!' wishes, update my grocery list while making lunches, take my turn at a few games of Words With Friends , check my Twitter feeds, review articles that pique my interest and retweet or reply to those I find of significant interest.  All of this is done before the kids are even close to getting ready to go out the door for school!  Not only can I do more in less time, but getting rid of that cinder block-sized daily planner has lightened the weight of my purse by several pounds!

Your mobile phone is a very powerful device.  Use it to your advantage and it can become a wonderful tool to help you through a face-paced day. Although some people do take it too far.  We all know people who can't put their phone down for a second, even when they're ordering food, and anyone with teenagers can tell you what a deal unlimited texting is.  But, did you know that 56% of cell phone owners admit to taking their phone into the bathroom with them? Fifty-six percent! I guess I'm not surprised by that number, just the fact that 56% were willing to admit to it. But, I won't go into the social acceptability of talking or texting from the bathroom.  That's a topic for another blog.

Source: http://www.chicagonow.com