My Top Ten Mom Tweaks for My iPhone – Part Two

Yesterday I talked about my top ten easy tweaks that I’ve applied to my iPhone. Today I’ll finish out that list. (Part One)

6. I name my alarms. This is such a simple trick but it helps me keep track of what all the buzzing and ringing means.  Open up the Clock app and tap the edit button and then the arrow to the right of the alarm that you’d like to name.  You’ll see where it says “Label”, tap that and then delete the generic “Alarm” and type in whatever you’d like. When the alarm goes off this name will show up on your screen. I have two alarms that are set to go off as we’re getting ready for school in the morning. The first goes off five minutes before we need to head out to the bus stop. This one is named “Five Minutes” – catchy, I know. The next alarm goes off five minutes later and is named “Move it or walk to school!” By now my kids have read those words often enough that ringing gets them running right out the door.  Mission accomplished.

7. I’ve also customized how the iPod buttons show up on my phone. Open up the iPod and tap the “More” button.  Now tap edit at the top left of the screen.  Tap and drag the icons for what you want on that bottom iPod bar. I have Playlists, Artists, Albums and Videos.  You can rearrange these in any order you’d like. I like mine this way because it’s less buttons to push if I’m looking for music in the car.

8. I like the Spotlight Search feature that was introduced with OS 3.0. All I have to do is type in a name or keyword and the iPhone scours my phone for it. By default the search looks through the applications on the phone, mail (to, from & subject lines), calendar items (by event name, location and those invited), iPod contents and the full text of notes.  Frankly, this was too much searching for me so I learned how to customize the search itself. Go to the iPhone’s  Settings and then tap General and then Home.  Now tap “Search Results”. From here you can check/uncheck the things you want searched. You can also rearrange the order of the results that are displayed.  You will see some lines to the right of this screen.  Tap those and then drag the categories into the order you’d like them displayed.

9. I like to have photos attached to the phone numbers for friends and family who call my phone frequently. I do this for a couple of reasons. First, a quick glance at my phone can tell me if I want to answer or not. No reading required! Second, if I’m going to be unable to answer the phone I’ll tell my son which calls he can answer. He’s a pretty good reader but it helps to have a pictures show up so he knows who’s on the other line. I don’t have many photos of extended family on my iPhone so I need access to photos that are stored on my computer. To get these I created a folder on my computer named “Photos for iPhone Contacts”. Again, I know you are floored by my creativity. In this folder I collect photos that I want to use with my iPhone contacts. Now in iTunes, when my iPhone is connected I click on the “Photos” and then choose “select a folder” right after where it says “Sync photos from”. The folder I choose is the one I just mentioned. When my iPhone syncs it will pull in any photos that I’ve recently saved in that location. Voila, they are now on my phone and I can match them up with my contacts. This will work for any photos that you want moved from your computer to your phone, just choose the appropriate folders.

10. Finally, a tip that is an oldie but goodie, a simple trick that I use more than any other. To get back to the home screen on my iPhone all I need to do is tap the Home button. No matter which screen I’m on, one push and I’m back to the beginning. No unnecessary swiping for me.

You’ve finished my list and are hopefully still awake. What are some of your favorite tips for making your iPhone work with your busy mom life?