Tasmanian IT – “Take 5”
Tasmanian IT Blog • July 5, 2019
Each week, we post a “Take 5” article to our website with tips, tricks, thoughts and actions we’ve come across during the week that we feel you may benefit from too.
It’s designed to be short and sharp that you can read when you need to “Take 5”.
Grab a drink, give yourself a (productive) break and check out our latest 5 below.
1. The Case for General Excellence.
Ok it’s really cooling down out there and that signals a great time to snuggle down with a good book – or two! So yes this week Take 5 has the pleasure of recommending not one but two books we have recently indulged in. We would love to get your feedback if you get a chance to read these.
Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up –Jerry Colonna.
Jerry Colonna hailed as the “CEO Whisperer” helps start-up CEOs make peace with their demons, the psychological habits and behavioral patterns that have helped them to succeed—molding them into highly accomplished individuals—yet have been detrimental to their relationships and ultimate well-being. Be prepared to take a good deep look at yourself.
Three New People – Brain Miller. Magician and sometimes Author.
Connect with anyone. Strengthen your relationships. Build a sustainable career. Three New People is a manifesto on the beauty and power of human connection in a world where loneliness has reached epidemic levels. We’re rushed, frazzled, distracted, and frankly, scared to talk to strangers. But what if it didn’t have to be that way? A great read that might have you chatting with the most amazing people.
2. Be Wary of Wearables
When sitting in meetings or walking around workplaces, the majority of workers we see are now sporting an Apple Watch, Garmin, Samsung Galaxy Watch or some other form of smart wearable device. Our Managing Director Sam is one such person. These devices offer a significant amount of convenience and productivity… If utilised the right way. Without consideration or thought in setup, these devices can also drain productivity, increase anxiety and cause problems for their owners.
Some key items to consider for getting the best experience from a wearable are:
- Manage your notifications
Smart watches and wearables are completely driven by notifications, either from your phone or from the eSIM associated on your device. We strongly recommend you spend time looking at the notification setup and remove notifications for any app or service that you do not explicitly want to get a notification on your wrist about.
- Schedule “Do Not Disturb” if using the device for sleep tracking.
A quick way to destroy your energy levels is to wear your device while sleeping and allow notifications to wake you at 3am. The “Do Not Disturb” setting may be on your phone, or directly on your device. This stops notifications from making noise or vibrating on your device during the period “Do Not Disturb” is set, allowing for a good night sleep!
- Have another look at your notifications… Yep, again.
This may sound redundant, but it is important to keep considering what Apps you allow to notify you on your wearable. As new apps are installed, updates are downloaded, devices are reset, your notification settings will get out of hand. If you don’t like the idea of booking in time to review your notifications regularly, then each time you receive a notification from an App/Service you don’t want, immediately go and switch off the notifications for that App/Service.
An example of how our MD sets his device is to allow:
- Calls and Text messages
- Calendar Events
- Business Email (not personal)
- Limited business related App notifications
- No personal social media
All notifications are set to Do Not Disturb between 10pm and 6am.
If you have a smart wearable or thinking of getting one, take our advice that it’s how you configure it initially that will make or break your experience with them.
3. Banking on Voice Assisted Devices.
Imagine a typical morning when you’re getting the kids dressed, putting breakfast on the table, and trying to get out the door on time. Wouldn’t it be nice to be reminded that you have a bill due that day or to transfer funds to cover an upcoming payment? Wouldn’t it be even nicer if instead of having to check your email or texts to find the reminder, your home’s voice-assisted device just told you? Voice-assisted devices will revolutionize the financial services industry by providing customers with on-demand service and by helping banks reduce costs.
4. Tasmanian Survey of Business Expectations
The Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry TCCI is running its annual business expectations survey from which a quarterly Tasmanian Statistics Pack is compiled and used to identify trends and advocate on behalf of Tasmanian businesses. Have your say on the state of Tasmania here. PS you could win a bottle of wine for your efforts!
Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TSBE2019Q2
5. Quote of the week
“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new”.
Albert Einstein
Have a great week from the Tasmanian IT Team
