As loadshedding continuous, South Africans are forced to find alternative ways to keep up productivity. “Luckily today, we carry a computer in our pockets. Our smartphone devices have become an entrenched part of our new ‘workplace’ normal, and more people are now are using their phones to handle work tasks. They write and answer emails, see to WhatsApp messages, schedule meetings, take zoom calls, all from their phones,” says Kegan Peffer who heads up Adoozy Power.
Peffer advises that if you plan ahead and take steps to maintain your smartphone’s battery life you can not only use it to continue working during loadshedding, but it can also be your personal Wi-Fi hotspot to keep you connected.
Below, he shares some top tips to keep your phone powered up:
- Opt for full silence mode rather than vibrate. Vibrations actually require more power than your usual ring tone, so putting your phone on complete silence will optimise battery usage.
- If you’re in a room with good lighting, dim the brightness levels on your phone. You can also use the auto-brightness setting that adjusts a phone brightness to what’s optimal.
- Buy or rent a portable power bank and keep it fully charged, so that you are prepared when your battery dies – even if a power point isn’t readily available.
- Check your background ‘app refresh’ settings and toggle off any apps that are consuming too much power.
- Reduce your screen time display, which is the time your phone sits idle after use.
- End a charge at 80-90% and avoid full cycle (100%) or overnight charging.
- Avoid exposing your phone to temperatures higher than 35° C as this can lead to permanent battery damage.
- Turn off notifications. If you’re constantly receiving email, Facebook, Instagram notifications, etc, you’re not allowing your phone time to ‘sleep.’
