Maximizing Your Time (and Your iPhone)

It’s Happening! 

This week marks the grand debut of the newest flagship lifestyle device from Apple, the hotly anticipated iPhone X. I’m sure even if you haven’t heard about its’ all glass display, wireless charging capabilities, and FaceID user authentication, you may have caught wind of its price tag of one thousand dollars–wait, press release says $999, sorry for exaggerating.

Of course, I’m obligated to have one…you know, for work or reviewing or something…so I suppose I’ll just have to crack open the piggy bank. At the very least, I won’t be forced to consider camping outside the Apple store…iPhone preorders kick off this Friday at 12:01am PT, and word from the core itself says that physical units will be in store by November 3rd, so everybody can get their money on one.

Camera Tricks

Oh wait, did I mention that the iPhone X starts at $999? Yeah, that’ll get you the 64gb base model, you’ll have to scrounge up another $150 or so if you want the big 256gb storage model, and I understand if that’s just over the line for some folks. I’m not sure it isn’t for me.

In any event, I’m sure you’ll want to maximize the storage space you do get, seeing as it literally comes at a premium, and so I was happy to stumble across this Lifehacker piece sharing a neat little tip to save precious storage by simply tweaking a camera setting. No one should have to choose between apps and photos, it’s a very basic tenet of our belief in smartphones.

Reclaiming My Time

You know, it’s not like all these apps I spotlight on a weekly basis just pop up on some news feed…I waste a lot of time sifting through the Internet to discover interesting things every so often, and although it’s always worth it when I do unearth a gem, sometimes I do feel guilty about spending 3 hours or so cycling between 10 websites waiting for something stellar.

Fortunately, after one such session on Amazon, I’ve found a resource that I think will help streamline my thought process when needed and help me keep focus, since only 7 out of 10 of those sites are work-related.

Focus@Will is a system that uses a scientifically formulated music mix adapted to your brain’s performance style, optimizing your cognitive abilities and increasing your productivity up to 4x. The effect of the system has been proven in studies as well as backed by at least 1 million successful users, and I’m looking forward to testing it out myself.

Pumpkin Patch

The Jack-O’-Lantern is a staple of fall festivities and a virtual requirement for Halloween, and with The Free Candy Masquerade less than a week away, crafty carvers everywhere are setting about putting fun and frightful faces on large orange fruits.

Of course, the drawback to using actual pumpkins is that leaving a harvested fruit outside in the elements for weeks at a time can surprisingly lead to spoiled produce sitting on your front step, which no one really wants. Fortunately, there are ways to keep yours looking spooky and not sad.

The Last Word

Well, that’s about everything in my bag of tricks for this week…thanks as always for making time for another exciting installment of “Brad’s Blog!” I shall return to your inbox by All Hallows’ Eve, which gives you a solid week to inspire me with a knockout costume idea, so fire away.

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