Upgrading for the sake of lupus

It's about time.

That's what my sister said when I told her I'd finally gotten a smartphone. And she was probably right. I'd been holding on to my handy dandy flip phone (that wasn't all that handy OR dandy) for all too long, and it was time for an upgrade. I was reluctant for a couple of reasons - the biggest one being that I simply didn't need to use my phone for anything other than calling people. Or so I thought.

Turns out, having a phone that can email, surf the web, take pictures, and run credit cards (for book signings and pillbag shows) is pretty darn handy. That final reason is the one that prompted me to switch, but what I didn't know was how helpful the phone would be in my life with lupus.

I didn't realize that being able to check email on the run would eliminate that frantic 20 -30 minutes I took to check email after I put the girls down for a nap, most often pushing my nap back later than necessary.

I didn't realize it would allow me to run errands faster and more efficiently - because instead of having to wake up early from a nap in order to search, find, and print a recipe before heading out to the grocery store, I could just look up the recipe on the phone once I was at the store. The ingredients I needed would be right at my fingertips.

I didn't realize that I could get a lot more pillbag business done on the fly, rather than set aside time early in the morning or late at night to tackle my manufacturing to-do list - times for me that were definitely best spent sleeping.

And lastly, I didn't realize how much extra time it took to enter in sales transactions from book events (and now, from pillbag shows) after the fact. Now, I no longer have to set aside time to manually enter in the information after the fact - I process the credit card right then and there, eliminating a ton of of extra work. 

Wow. Aren't I glad I wised up? 

And though I hadn't anticipated any of the great benefits of a smartphone, I had thought through one concern -  and that was ease of use. Some smartphones out there simply weren't finger-friendly to me, one reason I'd held off for so long. It seems the angle that's required to type on the keyboard of, say, my husband's Blackberry, makes my fingers ache. Thus, I knew that when I got a phone, I wanted a touchphone. So a touchphone it was.

And it's perfect. My new phone and I are really getting to know one another - and there are no achy fingers, no frantic pre-nap emailing, no late-nights trying to catch up. The phone is a life-saver, and I can't believe I waited so long.

So, yes, big sister, you were dead right.

It was about time.

Comments

yay!!! smart phone!!! love it!! xoxo
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Katie Rice said…
I am so glad you like your new phone. I will say nothing, Little Sister, about the fact that it is indeed almost 2012. :)
Next thing you know, you'll be getting a microwave- yikes!
Katherine said…
I recently upgraded too!!! I held out until my flip phone suddenly stopped working one day. I felt like I couldn't justify purchasing a new phone while I still had one that worked... even though I had been wanting a smart phone for a while (like, two years) and knew the features would be really useful. But, as soon as I had a "good enough" reason to buy a new phone, I pounced on the opportunity to upgrade! Technology is amazing, isn't it? Glad to hear you're as excited about your new phone as I am with mine! Sometimes delayed gratification is the best... and other times I wonder why I didn't go for what I really wanted sooner!

(My Mom still has a flip phone - she calls it her "stupid phone.")
Richey Job List said…
Sara try the website Cozi.com. it will help you manage your calendars, to do lists and shopping lists in one place and you can view from your phone. I have been using it for over a year and it is great.
Sara Gorman said…
I can't wait to try Cozi.com...it's sounds like it's right up my alley! Thanks for your comments, everybody!

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