The year 2017 has witnessed advanced and new innovations. From smart home appliances to self-driven cars and robots that behave like humans, technology has really improved the ways we get stuff done nowadays.
It was predicted some time ago that we would soon be using a smartphone as our debit card, and gladly, the technology has just arrived.
Now, there is no need to go around with your wallet as you can equally use your smartphone to make payments on the go.
You can use payment gateways and services such as PayPal, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay, and others to make payment via your smartphone. It is a cashless economy, we are simply living the dream!
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Tech resolutions for 2018
So what are your tech resolutions for 2018? Are you planning to upgrade to the latest and advanced tech within the first quarter of the year?
Are you getting a new smartphone, a new tablet or laptop? Are you planning to make your home smarter or you want to reduce your energy consumption?
SEE ALSO: Top 5 Financial Goals You Should Consider In 2018
Below, we have put together some tech resolutions for 2018 courtesy of Hotelsrepublic.com, Africa’s No 1 hotel booking portal.
#1). Remove old apps from your phone
Android compatible phones have countless applications for download, and so as other smartphones like Apple’s iPhones and Microsoft’s Windows Phones. But the fact is that, apart from some really productive apps, smartphone users tend to uninstall many of the apps they downloaded.
And to make the matter worse, some apps take up much-needed space on the phone. So, it’s one of our tech resolutions for 2016 to delete some of the irrelevant apps.
We all love to play games to while away time while waiting for the bus, train and even at the airport waiting for our flight. However, there is always a new game out there that one has not even heard of. So you too can start from taking off old apps and try new ones in the new year.
#2). Back up your files properly
No doubt about it, we all have one or two data or files that are important to us. This is why it’s good to take precautions to prevent the loss of important data.
Gone were days when you could only rely on external devices like the Universal Serial Board flash drive or external hard disk to back up your files. Technology has really improved nowadays as we have moved away from that era to a much more modern and easy-to-use facilities to back up our files.
Now, we can back up our files using cloud-based storage like Google drive or a network attached storage. On these platforms, we can save anything online and recover them anywhere and anytime. This is why backing up our files properly should be a priority in the new year.
#3). Improve and secure passwords
The world is going crazy. Incidences of hacking and identity theft have increased in recent years. Everyone now seems to worry about someone from somewhere stealing important data, files and even impersonating them.
As good as the Internet is, it’s also a dangerous world full of heinous activities. People can steal your credit card and debit card details without you knowing. They can hack into your emails, social media accounts and profiles.
They can hack your computer and smartphone to steal important data and files. They can commit a crime in your name without you knowing about it. Tell me what more they can’t do… it’s a crazy world, isn’t it?
As a regular user of the Internet, it’s important to improve the security of our data and files as part of the new year resolutions. Don’t you think so too? You can start by using different passwords for your accounts. From online banking to your email account, make it a priority to ensure that your files and data are safe.
The habit of using the same or similar passwords for your accounts is risky. It makes your account vulnerable to hacking and malware. Although it is easier to remember, it is not advisable as you can lose essential files, data and even money. You can simply write your passwords on a notepad, can’t you?
#4). Zero tolerance to junk mails
Junk mails are time-wasters and I so much hate them. Most of us that are using emails as means of communication can understand that junk mails can take much of our time trying to sort them out.
We are aiming for zero junk mails this year. What about you? If email is your regular mode of communication, there is the tendency to have a handful of junk and unread emails.
Most of us don’t usually read emails that are not important and rather than leaving them in your inbox, make it a part of you to either delete unread messages or mark them as read.
Another thing you should do to reduce junk emails is to unsubscribe yourself from those people that are sending you some of these emails and overcrowding your inbox.
Clean up your inbox and free up some space by deleting old emails that are not important to you. Don’t forget to always empty your bin box too.
#5). Cut down expenses on mobile data
Most smartphone users are wasting money on mobile data while away from home and it’s usually for no tangible reasons. While at home as well as in office, most people use their broadband Wi-Fi to connect to the Internet.
Wasting money on mobile data usually occurs while people are away from home and office. While it’s good to always have access to the Internet, it’s unhealthy financially, especially if your livelihood doesn’t depend on the Internet.
If you have an online business that needs to be monitored, then people would understand why you need to be online whether you are at home, office or on the road. But for people using the Internet to while away time or keep in touch with friends and families on social media, there is no need to be wasting money on mobile data.
The amount spent on mobile data is on the high side. With the rise of social media and the need to be online always, many people spend so much on data subscriptions. Why waste your hard-earned money on something as trivial as updating your Facebook status? Can’t you wait to go online until you have access to free Wi-Fi?
