When I got the phone, my girlfriend believed that she was going to become a Smartphone widow. The first few days after receiving the MyTouch, it seemed she was right. But after goofing around with it for a few days, I have gotten into a routine with the phone that has given me more free time and not less as some might have predicted.

Here are a few ways the phone has simplified my life:

No More E-Mail Breaks

Before buying the MyTouch, it would take 5 to 10 minutes to get my computer set up, turned on, and to check my e-mail. With the MyTouch, I am notified when I have e-mail and it takes just seconds to see if it is something important. I have even chosen a few times to ignore the beep of an incoming mail with the knowledge that it is there and I can check it at a moments notice.

My Lists are in Sync

With the program Astrid, I don’t have multiple to do lists strewn across a multitude of locations and computer systems. I have one master to do list that can remind me of what I need to get done when I need to get it done. Because I always have my phone close at hand, I can enter a task as it comes up and I am not writing it down on scraps of paper to transfer to my calendar or to do list later.

Social Media Simplified

As with e-mail, I have got my phone set up to notify me of replies on twitter and notifications on Facebook. I am not sneaking off to see what is going on, because I know what is happening on my Twitter and Facebook streams with a quick glance at my phone. When I want to post something, I can now use Pingdroid to post to multiple services using Ping.fm.

Effective Use of Downtime

This has been one of the greatest benefits of the myTouch. Whenever I am faced with a long wait or delay, I am able to use that downtime to catch up on feeds in Google Reader, check e-mail, or clean up my to do lists. Then when I am back in front of my computer, I am able to get down to work without wondering if I have an e-mail, reading feeds, or catching up on what people are saying on Twitter.

What are your experiences with Smartphones?

Have they made you more productive or less?

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

P.S. The comments are only open for 14 days. I have found that leaving them open any longer makes them a spam target. If you want to let me know what you thought of the article after 14 days, then contact me from my contact me page.

How a New Phone Can Make You More Productive is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. How to make your speaking, e-mail marketing, and blogging more effective.
2. How Not to Do Free Content
3. Make Yourself More Transferable

To demonstrate that their testimonials are not bogus, many reputable marketers now use audio or video testimonials from their customers to demonstrate that someone has actually used their product and taken the time to give them a testimonial. For someone with a large budget, it is not hard to hire someone to set up a recording, put it into the correct format, and post it to the web. For individual entrepreneurs, setting up a system for collecting audio or video can be costly, time consuming, or too technically challenging.

Enter Google Voice.

If you have a Google Voice account, then you can quickly and easily set up audio testimonials on your website. If you do not have a Google Voice account, then go get on the waiting list RIGHT NOW by CLICKING HERE! Then bookmark this page and come back to it when you have an account.

Once you have a Google Voice Account, you can set up a custom widget that you can put on your webpage that will allow your customers to leave voice testimonials about you or your products.

To do this in Google Voice , log on to Google Voice and click Settings in the top right hand corner of the Google Voice screen.

Click on Settings in Google Voice

When you are in the settings, click on Call Widgets then set the following fields:

Name: I used “Testimonials”

When receiving calls from this widget: I set it to “Send to Voicemail”

Then Select “New Custom Greeting” from the drop down and press “Add”. It will pop up a message to call you in order to add a new greeting.

Google Voice Widget Set Up

Once you have set up a call greeting, save the widget and copy the Embed code from the widget you want to use to a page on your website or a blog post.

Copy the Embed Code for the Widget and Paste on Your Site

When you have successfully added the code to your website, it will show the following call me button:

Now direct your customers to the page on your site that has the Call Me button and ask them to leave a testimonial.

When you receive testimonials, they will show up in Google Voice. To add them to your website, click on the more link in the testimonial you want to add and get the Embed code. Cut and paste that code to your website.

Embed a Testimonial from Google Voice on your Site

When you have done that, the testimonial will show up on your website like the testimonial I recorded for myself:

You now have audio testimonials on your site.

If you found this article useful, then why don’t you leave me a testimonial?

Add Voice Testimonials to Your Site with Google Voice is a post from: As A Dude Thinketh
As A Dude Thinketh is written and edited by Chris Elliott. Chris helps small businesses figure out what their big idea is, how to get it to market, and how to get people to notice their wonderfulness. He is also a dynamic speaker and trainer in personal growth and public speaking. Do you need help with your next big idea or speech? I encourage you to talk with me to see how Chris can be of service.

If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. Why Your Business is Like Most Chinese Restaurants