How to Maintain a Healthy Relationship with Your Smart Phone

As a court reporter, you know you must have a smart phone at your side. Email blasts may go out at any time of the day, so a smart phone is the often the best way to ensure you are notified of job opportunities in a prompt manner.

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However, your smart phone can also become a cumbersome companion, particularly when it begins vibrating relentlessly when you are in the middle of a deposition or hearing, thereby commanding your attention and causing you to lose focus on the job at hand.

So how you do you maintain a healthy relationship with your smart phone and enjoy its many benefits instead of allowing it to frustrate you throughout your day? It may actually start with establishing your own set of personal guidelines that will allow you to remain available when needed, yet not distracted when your attention is needed most.

• Turn to your smart phone to quiet mode instead of vibrate. A vibrating smart phone on a table is, often times, more distracting and irritating than a ringing phone; not only to you, but to the attorneys and court staff, as well. If you must keep your phone on vibrate, make sure it is in your pocket, where it won’t disturb others.
• Close your email application during your morning session. Because the first couple of hours of a deposition are usually moving along the fastest, and because names, terms and material are often unfamiliar to you during the first few hours, it is best to close your email application and keep it closed. You will have plenty of time when exhibits start being introduced to check your email.
• Many court reporters find it easy to keep their smartphone on top of their steno machines, thereby allowing them to easily check their emails without turning their head or body. Checking emails simply by shifting your hands is a much easier task for many court reporters, so you may want to give this a try.
• Know when not to look at your smartphone. If you are in the middle of a deposition that is running at lightning speed, don’t stress yourself out by attempting to look at your smartphone. Know when to say no to yourself!