Hey everybody. So you’ve read hundreds of articles like this on goal setting, organization and how to do better in 2013. But what some of us don’t realize is there are tools right at your fingertips that can help you tremendously!
It’s something that just about everyone has, but may not use to their benefit in terms of organizing their day and schedule. It’s one of those things we may miss in terms of business potential.
It’s the iPhone! Surprise! Or maybe not…but for some people like me, a phone is just a phone. You talk on it. I didn’t see a reason to use it for anything else except an occasional snapshot. No, I’m not promoting the iPhone, only providing you with some extra opportunities to use something that you might not know about.
So a year ago, my children bought me an iPhone for Christmas. I hated it. In my mind I was thinking, “I don’t need all these gadgets and apps!” I never used the camera. I hated texting. I’m a little bit old school and although I’m a super fast typist on the computer, texting frustrates me. My fingers fumble and I always mistype. It’s slow and auto-correct drives me crazy!
So for over a year, I used my phone like I normally do…making calls, occasionally sending text message and periodically using the internet if I needed quick information.
But this year, a light bulb went off while I was driving. I was thinking of these great blog topics and I couldn’t write them down at that moment.
I didn’t want to pull over on the highway, and to tell the truth, writing down all my ideas gives me literally ‘hundreds’ of pieces of paper I can’t always find when I want them! Frustrating to say the least!
Something made me remember the Siri commercials and I thought I’d give it a try. Sure enough, Siri answered back. I didn’t know how to leave a note or where to leave it, so I just said – set an appointment to remember …” She asked me: subject, time, date and topic! Then set the appointment and I didn’t have to stop what I was doing to accomplish a task. I was amazed!
I imagine that most of us, particularly new entrepreneurs, may not be aware of what our Smart phones can really do. Siri is a life-saver in terms of helping you with business.
How To Talk To Text
Your iPhone will send someone a text message without you typing anything. If you’re anything like me, this is an incredible time saver! Did I tell you I hate to text? LOL!
So if you don’t know how to use it, here are the steps to create a text message using Talk to Text.
You: Siri -send text message to <name of person>. The name of person must be exactly as you have it saved in your iPhone.
Siri: O.K. I can send a text message for you. What do you want to say to <name of person>?
You: Record your message. Siri will display the message like a text message and ask if you are ready to send it.
Siri: Updated message. Ready to send it?
You: Yes or Send It
And the text message is sent.
Benefits of Talk To Text
- Easy to use and pretty quick
- Don’t need the use of your hands – can do while driving if you have a bluetooth
- No typographical or auto-correct errors in your text message
- Siri does everything you tell it ( 🙂
- No texting while driving!
Things To Look Out For
- Siri may not always hear you clearly. Make sure you speak clearly and slowly and don’t forget your punctuation. If there is ‘outside’ noise, she may ask you to repeat your message. Siri will let you know by saying something like ‘I didn’t get that.’ (I know, she’s kinda’ spooky like that!) Repeating the process if she doesn’t understand you, takes time but it’s still quicker than texting.
- Must use the name as you have it entered into your iPhone. Otherwise Siri can’t find the person. You might want to look up the contact before you ask Siri to text a message.
- You will have to ‘speak’ your punctuation for sentences. For instance: If I want my daughter to come home and cook. I might say “Hi Daughter<period> Please come home for dinner <period> or <Do you have the time<question mark>. You must say the word ‘period’ or ‘question mark’ to make sure it appears at the end of a sentence. If you don’t, it will be one, long run-on text…still readable, but it’s better to ‘say’ the punctuation.
Other Things Siri Can Help You With
Siri can also help you set Notes, Calendar Appointments, Reminders and Voice Memos to yourself or someone else.
A Goldmine At Your Fingertips
So I’m making sure you are aware of excellent tools for organizing your new year and your business. I saw the commercials a thousand times and completely ignored the goldmine at my fingertips.
If you’re not using them, then this may help. If you are using them already, please share this blog with others who might be able to enhance their entrepreneur experience by getting better organized for this upcoming year!
Please leave a comment and let me know if this helps you in some way. I’m here to serve!