• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • ABOUT
    • About Me
    • Policies
      • PRIVACY POLICY
      • DISCLAIMER & TERMS OF USE AGREEMENT
      • DISCLOSURE POLICY
      • COPYRIGHT POLICY
  • BLOG
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Bloglovin
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ORGANIZATION
    • Organizing Projects
    • Organizing Process
    • Organizing Products & Tools
    • Habits & Routines
    • Productivity
    • Paper
    • Photos
    • Information
    • Kids and Families
    • Holidays
    • Preparedness
  • HOME DECOR
    • Decorating Project Gallery
    • Home Staging
    • Tips & Tricks
    • Home Improvement
    • Tools & Inspiration
    • Shopping Guides
  • DECLUTTERING
    • Decluttering Tips
    • Turn Clutter into Cash
  • CHALLENGES
    • The 40 Bags In 40 Days Declutter Challenge
    • The Organize and Refine Your Home Challenge
    • The 10-Week Digital Photo Organizing Challenge
    • The One Pile at a Time Paper Declutter Challenge
    • The Organize Your Holiday Challenge
  • SHOP
  • PRINTABLES VAULT
    • Become a VIP
    • PRINTABLE VAULT ACCESS
Refined Rooms logo.

Refined Rooms

Organizing, Decluttering & Home Decor Blog

USE YOUR SMART PHONE TO FREE UP YOUR BRAIN FOR THE IMPORTANT STUFF

Be Productive, Information, Organize, Organizing Foundations, Organizing Products & Tools, Productivity Processes, Productivity Tools

Smart Phone as Memory Aid Cover

Image © Depositphotos.com /@maxkabakov

Each of us has a finite amount of brain “bandwidth”. It’s my philosophy that our brain power should be allocated to important activities such as problem-solving, decision-making, critical thinking and dreaming up big ideas. Instead, we often find ourselves devoting this precious resource to mundane tasks such as remembering what we need to pick up at the grocery store:

Create a Smart Phone Reference Library for easy retrieval of household information @ RefinedRoomsLLC.com

…and trying to recollect the model numbers for our printer cartridges.

Create a Smart Phone Reference Library for easy retrieval of household information @ RefinedRoomsLLC.com

Do your brain a favor and delegate the task of remembering minutiae to your smart phone. The above-two images are just a few of the many on my camera roll that serve as an ongoing “image reference library” for things I often need to refer to, but don’t need to waste precious brain cells in order to commit to memory.

Use your image reference library to quickly answer questions like “Is my favorite foundation color True Beige or Warm Beige?” Since I only purchase this product every 3-6 months, I can never remember. It’s annoying and costly when you choose the wrong shade. Am I right ladies?

Create a Smart Phone Reference Library for easy retrieval of household information @ RefinedRoomsLLC.com

Another infrequently purchased item in my home is the refrigerator water filter (which needs replaced every 6 months or so). Perfect candidate for the smart phone image reference library!

Create a Smart Phone Reference Library for easy retrieval of household information @ RefinedRoomsLLC.com

As most blog readers are well aware, my home is undergoing an extensive redesign, which includes a new color scheme. Having an image of of the paint color selections in my image reference library certainly came in handy when purchasing additional paint during the course of the painting project.

Create a Smart Phone Reference Library for easy retrieval of household information @ RefinedRoomsLLC.com

How often have you needed to provide your license plate number (for insurance purposes or for parking privileges during a hotel stay) and had to schlep outside to write it down? Take a photo and save to your smart phone camera roll for quick reference.

Create a Smart Phone Reference Library for easy retrieval of household information @ RefinedRoomsLLC.com

Saving time and freeing up your brain bandwidth for important thinking is a beautiful thing. I know that many of you already take advantage of your smart phone in this way. If you do, please share the contents of your smart phone image reference library in the comments section below so that we can all glean awesome ideas from one another!

 

Ready to get epically organized?

Get access to 100+ printable pages to help you organize your home and life!

Welcome, Insider!! Look for a welcome email that includes the password for my free resource library full of organizational printables created just for my subscribers!! ** If you don't see it initially, please check your SPAM folder **

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit

Leave a Comment

Previous Post: « ORGANIZING LONG-TERM REFERENCE PAPERS {PAPER DECLUTTER CHALLENGE WEEK 3}
Next Post: ORGANIZING SCHOOL PAPERS {PAPER DECLUTTER CHALLENGE WEEK 4} »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?

Welcome!

Natalie Gallagher of Refined Rooms Blog.

I’m Natalie & I’ve never met a label maker I didn’t like!

I’m a former professional organizer who blogs about all things home organization and decluttering. I also share my great affection for home decor and productivity hacks here, with occasional DIY projects thrown in just for fun!  Learn more about my story here!

BECOME A VIP

GET ACCESS TO MY ORGANIZING PRINTABLES VAULT

PRIVACY POLICY
By opting in, you agree to receive my newsletter and ongoing resources. Unsubscribe at any time.

SEARCH BY CATEGORY

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Footer

DISCLOSURE

This site contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission, but it won’t cost you a penny more). Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

COPYRIGHT

I love it when you share my tips, ideas and inspiration! Please keep in mind that all images and text on this site are the property of Refined Rooms, unless otherwise stated (regardless of whether photos are watermarked or not). Feel free to use one image, provided that a link back to my original post is included. Please do not remove any watermarks, crop, or edit any of my images without first obtaining written permission from me. All free printables are for personal use only. Pinning is always welcome and appreciated! Thank you!

Privacy Policy