Battery Life = My Life

Its common to be addicted to your smartphone. Now, I don't know wether that makes you want to laugh or cry.... or keep with status quo. Its like smoking was in the early 1900s.

I remember the first time when I felt that having a smartphone was a necessity. I was in college and I remembered I hadn't submitted an assignment to a professor. I looked up his email as I was rushing home and I was able to quickly state my case (some kind of BS) and get the assignment in later that day. Search the internet, get an email, email, day saved. SOLD.

Since that time, I carry it with me where ever I go. I have more apps than time to use them. Its a problem. I dream about my phone falling to the ground and shattering. That is my nightmare. A freaking phone. I have phantom buzzing in my pocket - where I think I have a text message, but I don't.

A central part of my addiction is feeding my addiction. And in order to do that, my phone has to stay alive. I HAVE to conserve battery. A well known fact, probably more well known than the 8th continent, is that iPhone have crappy battery lives. I have had to pretty inventive in conserving my battery. Airplane mode, turning off location settings, constantly on low battery mode, and now grayscale. Its amazing. I look at phone that has ZERO color. I don't use maps in real time... I take screen shots of directions... Sad!

I am not alone. There are entirely separate products to extend the iPhone's battery life. I have seen cases that are actually just big batteries and portable chargers. There are entire online forms detailing out strategies and best practices for extending battery life. That's how I learned mine. But phones have become so vital to our society.

I was hosting a client just this last month. I hadn't fully charged my phone and we were to meet up with some other folks from the company. Just as I was initiating a call, my phone died. WTF. I had to leave the client and sprint back to my car to get a charge. There was really no way to get a hold of them otherwise. I don't have numbers memorized.

Last example of how the phone has taken on a new meaning in my life - money. I can now deposit checks, pay for a sandwich, or pay a friend all with my phone.

So yeah, I'll keep using these strategies to preserve my battery and hopefully it also helps me beat my addiction... because the more I use, the faster it dies.