Each New Year, we all make many different resolutions. The usual suspects include exercising more, budgeting our money better, or spending more time with family and friends. Beyond that there are so many resolutions that can apply to all aspects of your life and starting a fresh new year. This year, we are focusing on our tech resolutions for 2017.
Our smartphones, social media accounts, laptops, tablets, fitness trackers, and other tech seem to take up so much of our time on a daily basis. This year, Mashable is sharing their tech resolutions to improve our relationship with the technology that rules our lives. The first resolution is to take cybersecurity seriously; we have witnessed firsthand hacks to big companies like Yahoo, and our individual accounts are no less prone to similar attacks. So if you haven’t already done so, now is the time to protect yourself; set your social accounts to private, google yourself to see what type of information is readily available, and do not get lazy with your passwords.
The second resolution is to respond to your texts and emails in a timely manner. Essentially, why wait? Instead of leaving messages to pile up into an unmanageable amount to sort through, set aside a time each day or week to respond to all of your messages and clean up your texts and email inbox. Third, leave the tech alone and be more present. Americans are spending more and more time online, but taking a break from screen time can improve your mental health. Fourth – stay updated! Again, why wait? Regularly update your software as updates become available; this will maintain your software compatibility, and can protect you from vulnerabilities that are being patched.
A new year can mean ridding yourself of the old, and making room for the newness in your life. Like cleaning out your closet or your refrigerator, keep your digital clutter to a minimum. Now is the time to back up your texts and photos so you can delete them off your smartphone and save yourself the space. Also recommended in the fifth resolution is to clear off your desktop, and delete or unsubscribe the clutter in your email inbox. Last, but not least, if you have a fitness tracker, use it. Remember why you wanted the wearable gadget, pick a goal, and stick to it. We hope you like these tech resolutions and would love to know if you will incorporate them into your life in 2017.
