Archive for ‘Digital’ Category

Not Your Mama’s Passwords: Passphrases, Passkeys, and the Future of Logging In

Posted on: July 13th, 2026 by Julie Bestry | 10 Comments

Those of us of a certain age remember the first time we had to create a password, and for many years, lots of people used the same password for everything. As we edged from the 20th century into the 21st, we got “smart” about using smart passwords so they’d be harder to crack.

This short video from comedian Michael McIntyre may reflect your early password experiences.

 

Have you found that it’s become even more frustrating in recent years?

You don’t just need a password. There are passwords, passkeys, two-factor authentication, multi-factor authentication, facial and thumbprint recognition, and so much more. You may think you know everything there is to know about passwords; but even if you do, are you actually doing what you know you ought? And are there people in your life (like teens, grandparents, or technophobes) who could use a little support?

Today, we’re going to look at all the things you need to know and the various actions to consider taking to make sure your vital data is organized, safe, and protected.

Let’s start with the classic, the good old password.

HOW TO MAKE A GOOD PASSWORD

Do you know what makes up a solid password?

A Good Password is Strong

A good password is a strong password, one with serious muscle, one that’s hard to break or crack. The experts say that a strong password should have the following characteristics

  • Sufficient Length — A strong password should be 16 characters. (I remember fondly when they asked for eight; then 12 characters were recommended. Sigh.) The shorter your password, the chance of a hacker figuring it out increases exponentially.
  • Complex Makeup — Generally, it’s recommended that a strong password should be a mix of both uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols that you can type from the keyboard. (Don’t use emoji.)
  • Randomization — It’s a lot harder to guess 1dK5d8P91e65nNwf82et than PaperDoll123456. 
  • Uniqueness — Never reuse passwords across different accounts. Yeah, I know. We are all guilty of it, but the easier it is for a bad guy to hack one of your passwords, the easier it is to get into your others. If you must re-use passwords, aim to only do so on with sites that have no real impact on your life. 

The problem with this recipe for strong passwords is that we are human. We’re lazy. We don’t want to keep creating new passwords. And complex, random passwords are hard to remember. But do you know what’s harder? Dealing with a hacked bank, investment, or Amazon account.

Instead of creating a random block of letters, numbers, and characters, you can keep the randomization but make the password a little easier to remember.

via GIPHY

Create a Passphrase Instead of a Password

Instead of one block of letters or numbers, develop a sequence of unrelated words.

For example, WinterWonderland, while possessing 16 characters, would not be a great passphrase because the words are thematically related. GrotesqueBroccoli, while reflecting my feelings about a particular vegetable, aren’t commonly used together. Even better would be something even longer, more bizarre, and unrelated, like YuckySweaterRodentNoise.

One advantage of a passphrase is that if you’re hand-copying it (from a password notebook, or typing on a computer but retrieving it from an app on your phone), it’s much easier to see and parse a string of words than il7-0oO-nmn-MWN, especially if you’ve got eyes that were in their prime in the 1980s. 

Think about the characters you choose.

The above example prompts a tip that the experts never mention. Because various letters and numbers, like a capital “I” (as in “I am”) and a lowercase “l” (as in “login”) are indistinguishable from one another in some fonts, as can be the number 1 and an exclamation point.

Capital “O” (as in “order”) and “0” (zero) can be confused for one another, and some lowercase letters, like “r,” “n,” and “m,” and uppercase letters like “M,” “N,” and “W” can also be hard to differentiate. 

Avoid predictable password information.

First, don’t use common dictionary words like “password” or keyboard sequences like qwertyiop. Duh!

Similarly, don’t use your personal information. Your password shouldn’t have your birthdate, phone numbers associated with you, names of your pets or the street on which you live.

If you need to be able to remember a password and won’t be safeguarding it in a digital password manager, an alternative method might be to pick information that’s personal to someone unassociated with you. Everyone knows I’m a fan of Jane Austen, so someone trying to hack me would find it easy to pick obvious things like Pemberley or Rosings, but if you have a favorite book or movie character that wouldn’t be easy for someone on the internet (or an evil ex) to suss out, consider stealing their fictional personal information.

Consider combining the above tips with a foreign language.

While I am only fluent in English, I have studied Italian, French, and Spanish, and know a smattering of Yiddish. Picking words from another language to come up with a lengthy but easy-to-read/remember passphrase might help you more easily read and remember it to safeguard access to your data.

Let a digital password manager do the heavy lifting for you.

Often, you can designate the features you want, so that if it needs (or you want) the number of characters to be even more than 16, or you prefer a readable passphrase over one with garbled numbers and letters, it will accomplish that for you.

Hacker Reality Check

The longer and more complex your passwords, the harder it will be to crack them. Hive Systems annually creates a table of the characteristics that increase your chances at organizing and preserving your dat privacy. Here’s their most recent table.

Courtesy of Hive Systems

This table confirms what we know: “Fluffy” and “123cookie” just aren’t going to cut it.

HOW TO FIX THE PROBLEMATIC PASSWORDS YOU ALREADY HAVE

If you have a digital password manager, it may prompt you with warnings regarding some of your passwords because they are:

  • Weak — Such passwords are likely not long, complex, or random enough to be effective.
  • Compromised — This status indicates that passwords have shown up on the dark web in a hack, likely one of a large corporation, like a retailer or insurance system (like the Change Healthcare cyberattack in 2024).
  • Reused — An internal scan of passwords shows your app that you’ve used the same password repeatedly.

While working with a client recently, we saw that her iPhone’s Passwords app listed 610 passwords with a scary exclamation point on a red background indicating that 236 passwords had a security concern. Of those, about 122 were shouting “COMPROMISED PASSWORD” in red letters, with another 100 or so listed as “reused password.”

(Again, it’s not a huge problem to reuse passwords solely for sites you’re merely using to gain access to articles; but if such a site allows comments on articles, would you want to risk a hacker making you look like a fool or scammer by commenting with your identity?)

Closing your eyes to this problem isn’t a solution. In this case, the only way out is through.

Schedule a date with yourself — perhaps weekly, to deal with the backlog, and then perhaps quarterly for maintenance — to address your password hygiene. Treat it the same way you do (or should do) to periodically update your operating system and apps, clean your desktop, pare down  your inbox, etc.

Again, consider letting a digital password manager create replacements for you. It will be faster and easier than trying to come up up with something unique for any/many of your passwords.

WHAT IS A PASSKEY AND WHY IS EVERY SITE ASKING ME FOR ONE?

Have you noticed in the last year or so that every time you log into a web site, it asks you if you want to set up a passkey? Are you ever prone to thinking, “I just logged in with my password. Isn’t that already a passkey? What’s the difference?”

A password is your super-secret word or phrase that you create and then memorize (or write down, somewhere). It’s like the secret password that might have gotten you into a speakeasy in the 1920s.

(Trust me, this is worth watching for a laugh, especially if this whole topic stresses you out.)

 

But there’s the problem. You, a flawed (but adorable, I’m sure) human, must come up with the secret password and then protect it. This makes it vulnerable — to memory loss, password loss, phishing, hacking, and data breaches.

A passkey is different. It’s an un-phishable digital credential that’s tied directly to your device. Instead of typing a word, phrase, or string of gobbledygook, you unlock your account through a handshake between your device and the website, usually through some kind of biometric scan on your device (like FaceID on your phone, or thumbprint/TouchID on your device or keyboard), or a device/screen PIN. If you’re already logged into your computer or phone, you may be all set!
 
Passkeys differ from passwords in several ways.

Passkeys Are More Secure than Passwords

With a password, you’re sharing a secret with the server for whatever site you’r trying to log into. The thing is, secrets like these get revealed or betrayed all the time, either on our side, by our faulty memories or poor record-keeping, or on the server’s side, by getting hacked. Either way, access to your account is either lost or exposed.

Passkeys, however, use what’s called public-key cryptography. That’s a fancy way of saying that rather than having one key (your password) that fits in a lock on the other side, it’s more like in an old movie, where they’d go into a bank vault and the customer and the banker would each have a key for the safe deposit box.

Your private key is always securely locked inside the security chip of your device, while only the public key, which is totally useless-to-hackers, is maintained by the website.

Passkeys are More Resistant to Phishing Attempts

Have you ever been tricked (or almost tricked) into typing your password into a fake website, one made to look like the one you really want? Passkeys link your login effort to only a legitimate app or website, so if you try to log in to a faked website, your device will say, “No way, José!” and refuse to authenticate.

No handshake. Do not pass GO, and the phishers will not get $200 dollars.

Passkeys Are More Convenient than Passwords

Aren’t you tired of having to REMEMBER passwords?

Aren’t you tired of typing passwords?

Well, with a passkey, you don’t have to. If you’re already logged in to your device, access feels like magic. If not, logging in is limited to a simple scan of your beautiful face or a tap of your finger or thumb. It’s quick, and your face or thumbprint can’t make a typo, so your success rate will be higher. 

Passkeys Are Unique

We’ve already established that people reuse their passwords, which means that if you reuse the same password on ten shopping sites and a hacker gets your password once, they can probably guess it on a lot of other major sites.

Conversely, each passkey gets generated uniquely for whatever individual account at which it’s being set up.

Passkeys Are Loss-Proof

If you lose your phone, get a new computer, or your toddler puts your iPad in the dishwasher, you’re not out of luck.

Passkeys are synced across cloud services, like your Google Password Manager or your iCloud Passwords app, so access can be restored by setting up a passkey to the new device.

Passkeys (Usually) Eliminate the Need for Multi-Factor Authentication

I don’t know about you, but I’m so tired of having to check my email and/or my phone for a email or text code that I then have to type in. With a passkey, two-factor authentication is built-in, so you’re all set.

Passkeys Bypass Password Fatigue 

Have you ever just given up and done something else because you can’t bear to type in another password? (If you have a digital password manager and your passwords are organized and frequently pruned, probably not, but if you’re go the analog route 100% of the time or you’ve let your password management go rogue, this may sound familiar.)

So, the next time a website asks, “Would you like to set up a passkey?” you can feel confident in saying, “Why yes, thank you. I would very much like to set up a passkey! How nice of you to ask.”

A NOTE ABOUT AUTHENTICATION AND DIGITAL IDENTITY PLATFORMS

In addition to passwords and passkeys, you may have found websites asking you to use additional forms of identity authentication.

Authentication

Do you cringe when you hear people talking about two-factor authentication? You know it has something to do with security, but maybe you’re having trouble wrapping your head around it? Just like you don’t need to know how to rebuild a carburetor to be a good driver, you only need to know a little to make this aspect of security feel accessible.

For example, you’re almost certainly used to providing a security code, usually a series of numbers, that gets sent as a text or email. 

This process is an example of two-factor authentication or multi-factor authentication. We’re not going to get too deeply into the weeds on this, but very basically:

  • Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) requires exactly two authentication steps, like using login credentials (a user name and password combo) plus that security code texted to you.
  • Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) requires two or more authentication steps.

So, 2FA is a type of MFA, but not all MFA is 2FA. 

In order to classify a method as Two-Factor Authentication or Multi-Factor Authentication, the “factors” have to come from different categories. For example:

  • Knowledge — In order to log in, you have to provide something that you know, like a password, passphrase, code, or PIN, which means you have to keep your password information organized.
  • Possession — This step involves something that you have, like your mobile device, your computer, or a hardware security key. (Again, not to get too geeky, but that’s a physical device used for MFA or password-less logins. If you actually want to know more about hardware security keys, you can read PC Magazine’s The Best Hardware Security Keys for 2026.) The key proves your identity using advanced cryptography when you:
    • insert it into a USB port in your computer
    • tap it wirelessly via near-field communication (NFC) against your phone or tablet
    • connect via Bluetooth (for devices that don’t have USB ports or aren’t NFC-capable)
  • Inherence — This fancy word means something that you are, or that is inherent to you and nobody else. This is where FaceID or a fingerprint scan on your phone or your keyboard come in handy, because only you have your face or your fingerprints. Well, mostly. Per Apple, identical twins can sometimes unlock one another’s FaceID! 

Digital Identity Platforms

As technology gets more advanced, the bad guys avail themselves of more technology. This means that modern authentication needs to get more advanced, too. Just as the Michael McIntyre video of the top of the post made the point about our old-timey passwords requiring us to add capital letters, then numbers, then symbols, so too are we facing more complex requirements beyond simple passwords and multi-factor authentication.

Because of this, there’s a whole honking sub-category of authentication through digital identity platforms.

In two weeks, we will look at two very special kinds of login credentials we need to set up in the United States to help ease our access to federal government websites in order to pay our taxes, check our benefits, and travel. We’ll also look at a companion platform in Canada. But first…

COMING ATTRACTIONS

While long passwords are good, long blog posts on complex (and sometimes scary) technology topics are not. So, this week’s post is shorter than usual. (Really! It it’s 20% shorter!)

Next week, we’ll explore how to organize your passwords to make them accessible (to you) so you need never worry about forgetting them or making your kids crazy trying to figure them out.

 
We’ll cover:

  • Analog methods for tracking your passwords
  • The built-in digital password managers you already own
  • The most popular third-party digital password managers and what makes each stand out
  • The advantages and disadvantages of digital password managers
  • The key features every digital password manager should have — and some bonus features you might not know about

We’ll also explore how to safely share your passwords with family members and trusted advisors.

And the week after that, we’ll end July with the aforementioned look at those digital identity platforms, which I’ve come to think of as “the password for your passwords.”

Until next time, please feel free to share any unique tricks or strategies you have for creating passwords, and any thoughts you have about this strange world of passwords, passphrases, and passkeys.

How do you feel about your password security?

How to Send Large Files the Organized Way — Simple, Stress-Free Solutions

Posted on: March 2nd, 2026 by Julie Bestry | 10 Comments

In the olden days, if you wanted to send an important message, you could send it in the mail, and it might go by steamboat, stagecoach, or train to get to your recipient. Hopefully, your Pony Express rider wouldn’t lose it in a saloon. Perhaps if you were from a family of means (the Bridgertons, for example?), you might entrust your very urgent message to your ladies maid, who would give it to the hall boy, who would run through the streets to deliver your a note. 

The telegraph was invented in 1837 and by the second half of the 19th century, it was widely used for messaging. But priced by the word, it was essential to limit what you wanted to say to the fewest number of words. As a classic Borsht Belt joke ran, “Start worrying. Details to follow.”

And for those of us of a certain age who recall pay phones, you could place a collect call for “Mom, I need you to pick me up at the mall” or “I arrived safely” and the operator looked the other way. Or, there’s this classic:

 

HOW TO SHARE SMALL AND MEDIUM FILES

At this point in the 21st century, things are much the same. The truth is that when you have a (relatively) small piece of information, it’s “no big whoop” to transfer that kernel of knowledge inexpensively and easily. The bigger the slab of data (what we’ll generally call “a file,”) the more expensive and complicated things are, and the more strategy you need to keep the cost and effort down.

Methods for Sending Small and Medium Files

For small files, like photos, PDFs, a resume, or a quick video, you can relay information by:

  • Text — Whether you use iMessage, SMS, Whatsapp, or Slack, you can quickly relay information or and attach to those texts.
  • Email attachments — As long as when you say “attached, please find,” you actually attach the file you intend to share, you’re good to go.
  • AirDrop — This works as long as you’e in the same room or area as your recipient and are using an iOS device (or, as of late 2025, are able to duplicate the process on Android using QuickShare).
  • Physical media — While tangible media method isn’t as convenient or as quick as a digital transfer, if you have lots of files, it can be helpful to download your files to a USB drive, external hard drive, or SD card, and then carry it to someone in a different location or even ship it to them.

The advantages of these non-tangible methods are that they are generally fast, and there’s little to no set-up needed. You just find the file, click a few buttons or drag-and-drop the file, and you don’t need to be particularly tech savvy as a sender or recipient. If you’re using tangible media, no internet is required, you have total control over the physical file, and it will work anywhere you’ve got the hardware into which to plug it.

The main disadvantage of the first three of these methods are that you’re limited as to the size of whatever file you wish to use, particular to share via text or email.

For example, last week, I had a funny experience when a client had a pregnant pig at her house. The pig had lived at her barn, with horses and chickens, but during a recent cold snap a few weeks prior, the client made a safe, cozy space in her home for the mommy-to-be.

With my client’s permission, I shared a photo in a group text thread with colleagues, and someone said they wanted to see a video! My client provided an adorable video of the pig’s first day in her new space; we were both using iOS, and there was no problem texting it. However, when I went to send the same video to our group thread, I got the message that because it was a mixed iOS/Android group thread, the video was too long to share. Harrumph.

In addition to size limits for file text/email/AirDrop filing sharing, you (or the post office) could lose a thumb drive, hard drive, or SD card in transit, or your recipient could lose it between plucking it from the mailbox and the moment they intend to use it. And none of these methods are particularly useful if you want to ensure that a file is backed up or easy to collaborate upon.

And what you if do you have a BIG file? Certainly text and email are out, as is AirDrop. 

For bigger files, the two main methods to get important information from one location (yours) to another (theirs) will be through cloud storage or file transfer platforms. 

SHARE FILES IN THE CLOUD

You probably upload files to the cloud (or create them in the cloud in the first place) all the time. This method works best for families and friends sharing documents and photos, professionals sharing client work, ongoing personal and work projects, and providing long-term access to content. As long as you don’t remove the file from the cloud, recipient(s) can re-access it as many times as they like.

How File-Sharing in the Cloud Works

This method involves the following steps:

  • Upload a file to your cloud account.
  • Set the permissions for the file. Sometimes, you just want the recipient to be able to view a file; other times, the permissions might allow them to edit and even share it with others. 
  • Share the link with the people or teams who need access. This could be photos of the baby so Great-Grandpa can see how much junior’s smile is like his, or the latest TPS report your staff needs before the next Monday meeting.
  • Your recipient then views and/or downloads the file.

The advantages of sharing files in the clouds are:

  • Large file support — Cloud storage means that you can upload multi-gigabyte files. Sharing videos, folders of files, and project archives is easy-peasy lemon squeezy.
  • Easy sharing — File attachments can be a sticky wicket. If you attach five files to an email, and someone downloads them but then can’t figure out whether the files have ended up in their attachment folder, their desktop, or the most recent folder to which they moved something, it’s a headache. But if you’re just sending someone a link, it’s just a matter of one click to get what they need.
  • Ongoing security — With cloud sharing, you can change the permissions at any time. So, if you don’t want your now-insignificant other to access that photo, or your mother-in-law can’t be trusted to not post photos of your little angel to social media per your stated boundaries, or your former employee is “former” for a reason, one quick click denies access to files you no longer what them to have.
  • Backup as a perk — When you upload files to the cloud to enable sharing, those files stay conveniently stored until you decide that you don’t want them there anymore. You never have to worry about a crashed hard drive or an accidental local deletion.
  • Collaboration made easy — When you upload a file, multiple people can access it (if you wish) and you can keep track of version history, which is great at work or if you’re collaborating with others on a screenplay or story.

Of course, there are drawbacks to the cloud method of sharing files.

  • Storage limits — The free tiers for storage sites can fill up fast, so if you do a lot of file sharing and never purge your account, you’ll hit your free limit quickly and need to upgrade to a paid plan. Free tiers with enough storage space will let you upload content, but watch to see if there’s an upload limit on individual files. 
  • Account registration requirements — Yes, I heard you groan. Nowadays, almost everyone has too many accounts and too many passwords. It may not be a big deal to you (because if you’re uploading, you probably already have a cloud or two that belongs to you), but if your recipients don’t have cloud accounts, they’ll usually have to register to gain access. Note: some accounts will allow recipients to view files without accounts, but not edit or share.
  • Learning curves for setup — Unfortunately, the less tech-savvy recipients might be frustrated if they aren’t accustomed to navigating a cloud space. Additionally, some users are inexperienced at setting up permissions, so it’s important to pay attention to the difference in permissions between view, edit, and share.
  • Privacy depends on settings — With some cloud accounts, you can create public links for file sharing. That’s great if you want everyone in your neighborhood to have access to a file, but if you meant for only the members of “I hate the dude who leaves his Christmas lights up all year” club to view the link but it’s available for public consumption, it’ll make the next block party a bit awkward.

The Main Players in Cloud Sharing of Files

You’re likely already familiar with the big names in the cloud arena for sharing files, even if you’ve never used them for file sharing. 

Google Drive — Every Google user has 15GB of free storage; beyond that, there are different file upload limits at different paid tiers. Just upload your file to your Google Drive, get a link to share, and provide the link to your recipient.

However, there’s also a nice mix of the “attach” method I mentioned for small files and the cloud method.

As a Gmail user, if you start a new message with an attached file that’s over the 25MB limit for an individual file, Google automatically creates a link to that file in your Google Drive. When you go to send the email (the one you mean to attach), Gmail will ask you to grant your email recipient access to that file and prompt you to set the permission (view or edit). The default setting, wisely, is just to allow them to view your file. However, your recipient will need to have a Google/Gmail account. 

iCloud — You automatically get 5 GB of iCloud storage for free, but an upgrade of just $0.99/month yields 50GB; $2.99/month provides 200GB; and for $9.99/month, you get a whopping 2TB! Store your files, share the link, and you’re all set. 

However, as with Google Drive and Gmail, if you use Apple’s Mail, try the Mail Drop feature to send large files up to 5 GB via iCloud Mail on Mac, iPhone, or iCloud.com, without it counting against your storage quota. Read more about Mail Drop.

It will generate a secure download link that lasts for 30 days. Just attach a large file in Mail, and it will automatically offer to send it via Mail Drop if the file exceeds standard email limits.

 

Dropbox — You probably know Dropbox for its cloud storage with file syncing and collaboration tools. Their plans range from a free 2GB storage option up through premium business plans 15-freaking-terrabytes of storage. But that 2GB lower end storage limit for free accounts (with a 2GB file upload limit, isn’t going to win any beauty pageants. However, in addition to the storage 

(In addition to the basic cloud storage method, Dropbox also has it’s own File Transfer protocol for large files.) 

Microsoft OneDrive — Upload your file to your OneDrive cloud account; granting access to others is straightforward. OneDrive allows individual file uploads and downloads of up to 250 GB for both personal and business accounts, and while there isn’t a strict total data transfer limit, syncing oodles (like 300,000+ files can cause performance issues). They recommend using the OneDrive desktop app to accomplish large transfers rather than using browser uploads.

Note, Microsoft does something similar to Google and Apple, in that if you use Outlook 365 and try to send a too-large file as an attachment, you’ll be prompted to upload the file to your OneDrive and share a link to it in your Outlook email (rather than attaching the file, itself). You’ll just use the “Upload and Share as a OneDrive Personal Link” option. Recipients can click to open the file and view it from your OneDrive.

SHARE FILES USING FILE TRANSFER SERVICES

I like to think of this approach as a “send it and forget it” method. It’s great for when you want to send videos to family members or the tour group friends you made on your last cruise vacation, submit creative files to a client or virtual assistant, send one-time deliveries of a massive file — or if you know the person getting your file is a bit of a grumpus about dealing with tech.

Fewer people will be familiar with file transfer service method than the methods I described above, but it’s really efficient for the one-and-done file transfers, plus it’s surprisingly easy for the sender and the recipient.

Upload a file, then enter the email address of the person or people you want to receive it (or, alternatively, you can get a link to put in your own email, text, newsletter, blog, etc.). That’s it.

From there, it’s up to the recipient to click on the link, which takes them to the file transfer site. They click a link, and the file downloads to their computer, where it waits for them to open and use it. The best part is that the file auto-expires after a set period (like a week), so you don’t have to clean up after yourself or purge files or worry that someone you later part ways with could still have access. 

I have a friend from high school who was always the most in-the-know person about music. Four decades later and he’s a professional in the music industry, but he still makes mix tapes, or at least the high-tech version. For years, he’s been sending his own little funnily-named, curated “albums” of music for his personal email list to enjoy. Only instead of a fiddly cassette requiring us to have a pencil at the ready to fix it when everything unspools (hello, 1983!), he sends a big MP3 file every month or so. 

My music industry friend was my introduction to the file transfer service option, but certainly not my only experience. A few years ago, when I had to create a video presentation an online summit, my colleague had me submit my video via a file transfer service, and I was delighted with how easily it worked.

The advantages of file transfer services are:

  • No account (generally) is necessary — Just like you don’t need a UPS account to have UPS deliver a package to your door, file transfer services deliver the sender’s file to anyone.
  • Low-friction transfer — Remember how I said that some people can be overwhelmed by having to navigate cloud accounts to find a file? That doesn’t happen with file transfer services. My musical friend sends me to a big, splashy webpage with a big, obvious button to click to start the file download.
  • Big-file friendly — These services were designed to tackle large transfers. Did you write the Great American Novel? Produce your own album? Make a movie? Share it easily.
  • Automated file cleanup — Because the file auto-expires, once you tell the file transfer service to send to your recipients (or you’ve sent them the link or published access to it), you’re done.

There are a few potential drawbacks to file transfer services, though:

  • This is temporary storage — For those who prefer cloud storage to warehouse their files, it’s important to recognize that what’s a boon to some (the automated expiration of the files) means file transfer services do not store your files indefinitely. 
  • You have limited control of your file — Because there are few (if any) options for permissions with a file transfer service, once you send that file, it’s out in the wild. Someone has it and can copy it, share it, change it and then share it, wear it as a hat, etc. Don’t provide access to your file to someone you don’t trust to have that access. Duh.
  • It’s not ideal for super-sensitive data — File transfer services are secure-ish. They use varying methods of encryptions, so if you need ultra-encryption or password-protection, don’t send your super-secret spycraft through a platform that doesn’t offer that. OK? OK!
  • Consider the money, honey! — As with everything in the era of late-stage capitalism, you get what you pay for. Free platform tiers work, but if you want bells and whistles, like password protection, longer-termed storage, and higher size limits, you’ll have to shell out the money.

The Big Names in File Transfer Services

There are a variety of file transfer platforms. As a professional organizer, I am not an expert in the technology, and none of these should be considered recommendations. Rather, they are a starting point for your own research into the right file sharing solution for you.

We Transfer — This is the platform my musical friend uses, and it’s the one that seems to be the best known.

Share and receive up to 3 GB/month (10 transfers/month) for free, with transfers expiring after three days. With a paid subscription ($25/month), you get unlimited transfers, unlimited file sizes, no expiration of (uploaded) files, custom branding, and automatic malware scanning. 

 

FileMail — Send large files, up to 5GB, for free, to up to three recipients, with up to ten downloads per transfer. Just drag-and-drop the file from your desktop onto the website. Of note, they impose no restrictions on commercial usage. There are multiple FileMail tiers: Beyond the free Basic plan, there are paid personal ($6/month), professional ($14/month), and business ($24/month) account levels, with each level offering increased file size, storage capacity, and customization.

 

Smash — The free tier lets you send an unlimited-sized file, has no upload limits (vs. 2 per 24 hours for FileMail), offers password protection, and files are stored for seven days. At the paid tiers, $4.90/month for Pro and $12/month for ten users, 1TB and 2TB of storage, respectively, for 30 days of file storage. (I also think the platform has a more user-friendly experience than FileMail, but your mileage may vary.)

 

Drop Send — At the free level, send files up to 2GB, up to two files per week, and get 250 GB online storage. At the paid levels ($5/month for basic, $9/month for standard, and $19/month for professional) you get faster transfer speeds, can send 50GB files, increasing numbers of sent files per month and increased amounts of online storage.

 

Other popular options include:

My Air Bridge — This European platform is best for professionals and teams. Their service is free for individual transfers up to 20 GB in size, with multiple paid plans. 

Wormhole — Right now, this is a free services. They note: “For files up to 5 GB, Wormhole stores files on their servers for 24 hours. For files larger than 5 GB, Wormhole uses peer-to-peer transfer to send your files directly from your browser to the recipient. So you’ll need to keep the page open until the recipient downloads the files.”

Send Anywhere — At the free level, send a file up to 50GB; the Lite tier is $5.99/month and the Standard tier is $9.99/month, with additional perks related to downloading, speed, and link management. 

BEST PRACTICES FOR ORGANIZING YOUR LARGE FILES FOR SHARING

Before you send your files, consider some tactics for keeping the whole experience organized.

Name your files clearly — If you’re sending a photo, change it from IMG15678 to “Baby’s First Ice Cream.” If it’s a file for work, consider the nomenclature rules and best practices/guidelines your company generally uses for documents. If you’re a solopreneur, this is a great time to develop rules for how to organize and label files so that you know WHAT they are and WHEN they were created. “2026 1Q Earnings Report” tells your recipients at a glance what they’re getting.

Use folders when sending multiple files — Don’t send 3 (or 33) files all higgledy-piggledy. Group them in a folder with a clear name.

Check to make sure you’ve removed duplicates or changed the names — If your recipients are poking around in a cloud folder you’ve created and to which you’ve linked them, and you’ve got 16 iterations of ClientProposal.Final.Final.Final, that’s going to cause confusion.

Add a README file — If your recipients need to know more details about what they’re getting in files or folder, tell them what it’s all about.

Consider file compression — If your files are too big to send as-is for free, consider zipping those large files (or folders) so in order to reduce the size before you send it. Save money by putting your files on a diet, but only if your recipients are tech-savvy enough to know to double-click on a file to unzip them. 

What do you do when you have a massive file and need to get it to someone quickly, efficiently, and safely? Have I omitted your favorite method? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

26 Ways to Celebrate GO Month to Get More Organized and Productive

Posted on: January 5th, 2026 by Julie Bestry | 12 Comments


Happy New Year! Happy GO Month!

Each January is Get Organized & Be Productive (GO) Month. Back in 2005, NAPO (then called the National Association of Professional Organizers) proclaimed the first Get Organized Month, as a national public awareness campaign about organizing and our profession.

A decade later, the month was expanded to incorporate productivity, just two years before we officially became the National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals. Our purpose remains the same. All of us — professional organizers, productivity specialists, declutterers, coaches, etc. — celebrate how we improve the lives of our clients by creating environments and developing skills to support productivity, health, and well-being.

Practitioners like Paper Doll are here to help you create systems and skills, improve your homes, workspaces, and attitudes, and live your best, most productive life.

For more great organizing and productivity tips during GO Month, you can also follow NAPO’s Social Media Accounts:  

Today’s post offers some 26 ice cream samples of organizing and productivity tactics to make 2026 a little easier. 

ORGANIZE YOUR PAPER IN 2026

1) Create a Tax Prep Folder

April 15th will be here before you know it. From now through February, you’ll receive tax documents (1099s, 1098s, W2s) in the mail. You may also get emails reminding you to log in to brokerage and other accounts to download your important tax documents.

Don’t wait until the last minute to gather these items. It’s not just good organizing advice, but helpful financial advice, too, because the sooner you get your important tax documents together, the faster you (or your accountant) can get you your refund, or at worst, let you prepare for the size of your tax bite.

Your tax prep folder doesn’t have to be fancy; a plain tabbed folder kept at the front of your financial files section should suffice. However, if you’re dealing with a lot of documents, you might prefer a dedicated accordion-style folder like the Smead All-in-One Income Tax Organizer.

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Organize now so you won’t lose deductions, pay more taxes, or get in trouble with the IRS!

2) Roll Out the Red Carpet for Your VIPs

Make 2026 the year that you get your affairs in order. Estate documents and other essential paperwork must be created, obviously, but also reviewed and updated on a periodic basis.

As I’ve said before, this aspect of organizing may be boring (if you aren’t a professional organizer), but boring is good! If your VIPs are boring, it means that you and your family won’t ever experience any ugly surprises during difficult times, like when someone is in the hospital, when there’s been a death in the family, or even when dealing with the aftermath of a natural disaster. 

Start by reading these from-the-vault posts to figure out your next steps.

Then list documents you already have (and their locations) and identify what you need to create, and then plan meetings with your family and a trusted advisor to set things in motion.

3) Declutter and Preserve Your Family Photos and Memorabilia

Two years ago, a beloved client passed away, and I’ve been working with his son to go through more than a century of photos, from passed-down black-and-white picures of ancestors on both sides of the family to lighthearted snapshots and travelogues from the gentleman’s young military years. We review prints and slides, as well as delicate (and crumbling) correspondence. 

Do you have print photos that would be lost in case of a fire or flood because you don’t have the negatives (or store them with the photos)? Would digital photos on your phone be lost if your phone got smushed or stolen? You need backup!

I’m not suggesting you do this every day in January, but make a plan. What if you spent an hour every Sunday morning sorting through photos? Could you invite a family member or friend to help you consider what to keep and what categories to use?

Contact a NAPO member who specializes in organizing photos, or visit The Photo Managers to find experts who can help you safeguard your photo history.

While I’m on the subject, I absolutely have to recommend, yet again, my colleague Hazel Thornton‘s What’s a Photo Without the Story? How to Create Your Family Legacy.

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(See my review, here.)

For more ideas, consider:

4) Know What’s In Your Wallet

Have you looked at what’s in your wallet lately? Would you notice if one of your credit cards went missing? It’s a new year — did you put your new health insurance card in there? 

  • Pull everything out of your wallet.
  • Discard or put away anything that doesn’t belong in there. (Receipts for taxable events, like medical expenses? Keep. The name of a book your friend recommended? Log it in your Notes app or put it on hold at the public library before you forget.)
  • Take an inventory of everything in your wallet. Depending on your patience, you have two options:
    1. Lay two columns of cards (side by side), face-down, on a copy machine. Press “copy” and then flip each card in place to the rear-side, and copy that, two. Repeat the process until everything in your wallet has been secured. Alternatively, you can scan these to your computer and save it all as a multi-page PDF. If you ever lose your wallet, you’ll be happy to have the account numbers, expiration dates, security codes, and contact numbers for your licenses, insurance cards, and credit and debit cards.
    2. Use your phone to take photos of the front and back of the cards and upload the pictures.

Whichever method you choose, password-protect digital versions of this document in storage or on your phone, and keep the paper copies in your fireproof safe or lockable file drawer. 

5) Clean Off Your Desk

Next Monday, January 12, 2026 is National Clean Off Your Desk Day. Celebrate it by making a clean sweep of everything piled up on your desk, de-germify it, and think carefully about what belongs on it.

Read last year’s Paper Doll Celebrates National Clean Off Your Desk Day for step-by-step for making your desk a space for productivity instead of mystery crumbs and mountains of papers.

Then refresh your space with ideas from Organize Your Desktop with Your Perfect Desk Pad: 2025 Update and Paper Doll Explores the Best of Desktop File Boxes.

ORGANIZE YOUR DIGITAL SPACES IN 2026

Digital clutter may not take up physical space, but it wears down our batteries, both in our devices and our personal batteries because of the overwhelm of excess.

6) Declutter Your Phone Apps

The Pareto Principle says that 80% of our success comes from 20% of our efforts. It holds true in many ways; 80% of the time, we wear the same 20% of our wardrobe, kids play with the same 20% of their toys; we use the same 20% of our apps.

It’s why letting things go from the 80% we hardly ever use makes us feel less cluttered and more productive, even though we anticipate we’ll feel anxious about having let them go — that’s why they’re cluttering up our digital spaces in the first place!

  • Flip through your home screens and take inventory — What apps did you download and never even try because they required creating a login? What apps did you give up on because they were buggy? Let go of low-hanging fruit.
  • Clean up by deleting apps you used the least often (or never). To see the last time you used an app on iOS (for iPhone or iPad), follow this path: Settings>General > iPhone (or iPad) Storage. There are a few different ways to check app usage on Android devices.
  • Addicted to your phone? Check your Digital Wellbeing feature on Android or ScreenTime on iOS. Uninstall whatever is obviously distracting you with overuse. 
  • Move distracting apps that you can’t (or can’t bear to) uninstall to your last home screen page to create more friction and make it less likely you’ll happen upon them when looking for your bank app.
  • Fill your first home screen with apps you need and want to use because of the benefits they bring to your well-being.
  • Organize the remainder of your apps by dragging-and-dropping them into folders labeled for shopping, dining, social media, productivity apps, etc. Keep them — just make them less convenient.

The point isn’t to get rid of your digital life. Just eliminate what distracts you from what’s important.

7) Clear Out Your Voicemail Inbox

In the olden days, people called you and either you were home and answered, or not home, and never knew you had a call. (If you’re GenZ and reading this:  yes, really.) At work, if you weren’t at your desk during working hours, a receptionist took a message. After hours, either the “answering service” took your urgent call, or people waited until you got in on the next business day.

In the 1980s, we got answering machines and our messages lived where our landline phones did.

 

In the 1990s, we had voicemail, and at the turn of the century, people started calling less and texting more. Now, too many of our messages are spam, and voicemail fills up.

Have you ever called someone — or worse, returned a call — only to hear “This voicemail box is full and is not accepting messages. Please try again later.” 

What if your message is important? Do you text? What do you do if it’s a business? On the flip side, if your child’s school, your doctor’s office, or a client needs to reach you, do you want them to suffer this frustration?

Clear up your voicemail box with the following steps:

  • On landlines, dial in, listen, and start deleting messages.
  • On cell phones, iPhones and most Android phones show transcribed messages. Known contacts should appear by name, making it easy to figure out whether a message is still needed even before you read it. Unknown numbers may be spammers (swipe left!), but may be people you’ve never entered into your contacts. Review those messages, and anything that doesn’t make the cut, delete!
  • Save numbers for contacts you may need in the future. — Add a last name and any context necessary. I have a contact saved as First name: MaryBeth, Last name: “Hit my car in the parking lot.” 

Until recently, the only “Terri” in my contacts was my hair stylist, but when I was in Portugal and Spain in September, I added my tour-mate to my regular iPhone contacts. Just before my last haircut appointment, I voice-texted, “I’m here, but looking for parking. I’ll see you in a minute.” When I got to her space, she said she hadn’t received my message. A moment later, my tour-mate Terri texted, “You’re here to see me?” with a series of laughing emojis. Doh!

Last names (and context) are important! 

  • Be ruthless in getting rid of old voicemails. What should make the grade? Messages that you save for:
    • work purposes — but confer with your boss or your IT department regarding rules in this regard
    • legal purposes (such as when someone is stalking or harassing you, or offering a set of deal points for a contract.
    • sentimental purposes — but be judicious. Can you picture yourself sitting in an airport, listening to a loved one’s message over and over? 
  • Download messages you want to keep permanently. On iPhones, tap the voicemail you wish to save and you’ll see the share icon in the upper right corner; share the resulting MP3 to your photos or notes app, Evernote, social media or wherever else, just as you’d share an article or a picture.

On Android phones, tap on the message to see a list of options. Click one of the save or archive options you prefer and select the storage location. For more voicemail-saving techniques, read Smith AI’s How to Download and Save Important Voicemails.

8) Clear out your email inbox

For years, people have laughed at me, saying that search worked so well and email providers granted so much storage space that it was no longer necessary to clear inboxes. Still, I blithely went on advising my clients to regularly clear their inboxes, and to create a hierarchy based on categories matching their analog filing systems.

Recently, I’ve felt vindicated as Gmail and other email providers have been adding storage limits, and people recognize that search (even AI-assisted search) sometimes takes longer than going to a particular sub-folder with a helpful title.

Email is a headache! According to an analysis by the McKinsey Global Institute, on average, 28% of work time is spent reading or replying to emails. And the average worker — and yes, you’re all above average — checks email 11 times per hour. 84% of us keep email open in the background while working, making it oh-so-easy to “check” our email.

The problem is that we CHECK IT over and over again looking for that dopamine hit, but we often look at emails without doing anything with them, like opening the fridge in hopes that someone has magically made something delicious and put it in there.

You may think that Inbox Zero is the cure, plowing away at email but getting further behind in important work. James Clear has said, “The most invisible form of wasted time is doing a good job on an unimportant task.” Email clutters our lives like that.

There’s no permanent state of inbox zero (unless you stop sending outbound emails and block all inbound senders), any more than finishing all of the laundry today will create laundry basket zero unless your family plans on becoming very tidy nudists.

There's no permanent state of inbox zero, any more than finishing all of the laundry today will create laundry basket zero unless your family plans on becoming very tidy nudists. Share on X

Processing email isn’t your job, it’s just one method of communication and information acquisition, and it’s not always the right one. Instead:

  • Unsubscribe from whatever you never read. (It’s like buying vegetables that you know you should eat but they disappear into the back of the fridge and eventually get slimy.) Take five minutes a day to declutter your future inbox.
  • Set up a simple hierarchy of subfolders with names of major projects, client names, or whatever works for you. Having a place for emails to safely, dependably live will encourage you to manually or automatically route necessary ones of your inbox. As with voicemail, don’t feel like you should save everything. 
  • Learn how to use your email platform’s filters or rules function to automatically sort mailing lists to one sub-folder, anything you’re always CCed on even though you know it’s nothing to do with you to another, and so on. 
  • If you’re overwhelmed by your huge backlog, move everything from more than a month ago to a folder you call “Archived” and start with a minty-fresh inbox. You can always go into the “Archived” folder and sort if you’re feeling enthusiastic, but at least you’re dealing with something more manageable.

9) Know What You Don’t Know About Your Tech

In Digital Disaster Prep: How to Organize Your Tech Info Before You Need It earlier this year, I walked readers through all sorts of information you need to know before something goes wrong with your tech. Do you know where to find your:

  • IP Address
  • Network and router information
  • ISP contact information
  • Device Identifiers
  • Operating system license keys
  • Software and game activation codes

Your household probably added some hardware and software goodies this holiday season. This is the perfect time for you to read the post and start logging all of your essential tech information.

ORGANIZE YOUR TIME IN 2026

You’ve heard the expression that “time is money,” but time is actually more valuable than money. You can return a purchase that falls short of expectations to get a refund. Time can never be refunded. 

10) Track Your Time to Figure Out Where Your Time Is Going

To improve your productivity, the first thing you must do is get a handle on how you’re spending your time. 

Read my How to Use Time Tracking to Improve Your Productivity from last January to understand the benefits of time tracking, including mindfulness and focus, prioritization, data-driven decision making, stress reduction, and accountability. The post also prepares you to face challenges and overcome the obstacles, and offers strategies and resources for tracking your use of time.

Track for just one day, or participate in a weeklong time tracking project such as Laura Vanderkam’s annual event. Register for her 2026 Time Tracking Challenge from January 12-19, 2026. I do it every year!

11) Get a Better Sense of the Passage of Time

For some people, knowing what time really “feels” like takes some effort.

First, put real, analog clocks wherever you tend to get lost in time. Is that your desk (even though you wear a watch and your computer has a clock)? Is that the bathroom, because you lose awareness of time while doing your hair or soaking in the tub? Is it your car, which has a perfectly serviceable clock but the time is always wrong because you never learned how to change it for Daylight Saving Time?

Next, read about all the ways timers can help you get a better sense of your time.

12) Time Travel in Your Planner

If you use a paper planner, hopefully you already have one for 2026; if not, that’s step #1. But even if you are 100% digital, this advice goes for you, too.

It’s tempting to just fill in your January pages and figure you’ll adjust as you go along. But even if you’ve had the same meeting every Tuesday for the past 5 years, somehow, some way, you’ll double-book if it’s not in your planner or calendar.

Spread out at your desk or your kitchen table, grab a cup of cocoa or something to soothe you into the new year, and do the following:

  • Page through each week of last year’s planner and copy everything that recurs by date (like birthdays and anniversaries).
  • Add events that happened in 2025 and are already scheduled to happen again, but not on the same dates (like conferences, work retreats, medical tests and appointments, etc.).
  • Use last year’s schedule activities to prompt you to make a list of anything you might need to schedule or add to your long-range tasks, like meeting with your accountant, scheduling annual medical tests/exams. 

13) Eliminate What Doesn’t Excite You

I’m a big believer in the concept that whatever isn’t a “Hell, yeah!” is a “Heck, no!” at least in terms of what you can control. (Unlike Marie Kondo, who encourages people to get rid of tangible items that don’t bring joy, I know that you can’t just toss your old tax returns.

Similarly, you can’t strike everything that isn’t joyous off of your calendar. You still have get a dental cleaning at least twice a year, whether you like it or not.

But why not make 2026 the year you step back from volunteer positions that take your time and energy, but don’t give you delight?

How about taking that book club (for which you never like the selected books) off your schedule? You can always agree to meet the people one-on-one without the obligation to read the newest oversized dystopian novel.

Set yourself, and your calendar, free.

14) Pick a Problem-Solving Day

Theming your days can make you more productive because you don’t have to keep switching tasks. Marketing Mondays or Financial Fridays let you schedule a block of similarly-themed tasks so you can focus and get into “flow.”

I encourage clients to pick one day of the week for problem-solving. Block a few hours on a specific day for sitting on the phone and asking, repeatedly, for someone to escalate your call. This is the day you set aside for time to get help on whatever is making your computer do THAT THING.

Knowing that you have a slot firmly in place will allow you to worry less about getting problematic or frustrating things accomplished, and because there’s one place in your schedule for solving problems, you will be able to focus when that day arrives.

ORGANIZE YOUR FINANCES IN 2026

15) Stop Singing “I Owe, I Owe, It’s Off To Work I Go”

Debt creates mental clutter. Knowing is always better than not knowing, so make 2026 the year that you know what you owe and figure out what’s going on with your money and where it’s going.

  • Make a list of every credit card, loan, and any other kind of debt you have. Note the creditor, the amount, and the interest rate.
  • Next, make a list of every fixed expense you have.

Seeing it all in black and white (and red) may be sobering, but it’s the first step toward figuring what you can do about it. 

Maybe you can refinance a car loan or mortgage to lower your monthly costs?

Perhaps you can call your credit card companies and request a reduction in your interest rates. (Nerd Wallet has a great article on How to Get a Lower APR on Your Credit Card.)

Maybe you can cut expenses for things you’re not even using.

16) Go Spelunking for Lost Money

Start with your couch cushions. Whether your loose change is in a jar in the laundry room or at the bottom of your purse, it’s (literally) weighing you down wasting your financial potential. Put on some music and start rolling coins (or bribe your kids to do it) and take the money to the bank. Alternatively, dump it all in a canister and take it to a Coinstar machine or any credit union that accepts and counts coins for free.

To recoup other “lost” money, follow steps in these Paper Doll posts:

17) Re-Shop Your Auto Insurance 

When was the last time you actually shopped for car insurance? If you’ve kept the same insurance for years, you’re almost assuredly overpaying. As with the cable company, this is one of those instances where newer customers are rewarded with the best deals, and loyal customers are not rewarded for loyalty.

It doesn’t cost anything to shop around. Even if you find a better rate, you may be able to return to your agent and say, “Hey, the guys across the street quoted me quite a bit less. Can you match it?” 

Note: if you use online pricing comparisons, you’ll be bombarded with emails, so consider creating a new Gmail account just for these replies.

Before you make any calls, though, familiarize yourself with the basics of car insurance with Organize for an Accident: Don’t Crash Your Car Insurance Paperwork [UPDATED]

RECITE THESE ORGANIZING AND PRODUCTIVITY MOTTOS

When you’re having a hard time tackling the clutter or focusing on the work, pick one of these mantras to help point you in the right direction.

18) Don’t put things down; put them away.

19) Declutter first, then contain it. (Don’t acquire clutter to contain your clutter!)

20) Everything should have a home, but not everything has to live with you.

21) Someday is not a day on the calendar.

22) Break every task into its smallest possible step. If you can’t get started, the first step is probably not small enough.

23) Cut yourself slack. Give yourself grace. 

24) Progress, not perfection.

25) Albert Einstein said, “Organized people are just too lazy to go looking for what they want.” Be lazy!

AND FINALLY…

26) You don’t have to go it alone.

If you’re struggling with organizing your space, your schedule, or your thoughts, a professional organizer or productivity specialist can help. I serve clients in the Chattanooga, TN area, but I also work with clients virtually, around North America. 

Wherever you are, there’s a someone who can help. Happy New Year, and Happy GO Month!

Digital Disaster Prep: How to Organize Your Tech Info Before You Need It

Posted on: June 30th, 2025 by Julie Bestry | 20 Comments

Do your digital devices ever frustrate you?

You probably use your computer much of the day. Even if you don’t, you likely grab your phone or your tablet with some frequency. You’re on the internet, and you want to connect to Wi-Fi. Perhaps someone in the house plays online multi-player video games or likes to stream movies or TV shows.

And when something goes wrong with any of it and you can’t figure out why, you may find that you want to exhibit less than delicate language and less than genteel behavior.

via GIPHY

I feel your pain.

MONGO AND A TALE OF TWO PRINTERS

Decades ago, I needed to install more memory in my Ruby iMac G3 (may it rest in peace) and had been assured that it was a simple process. I just had to turn the computer upside down, remove some teeny screws holding a panel in place, and insert the memory card thingy. Except, it didn’t work. I mean, it would go in, but it didn’t seem to be going in properly. I gingerly pressed it as far as it would go, but it did not give that satisfying “click” you expect, like with a seatbelt. (Oh, how I wish I’d thought of “seatbelt” as a metaphor at the time!)

After more than a few frustrating minutes, I called my grad school friend Phil, one of my BFFs and the person who knew my level of tech capabilities. After multiple go-rounds, Phil could not understand what I meant by “The memory thingy is going in, but it’s not clicking like a compact.” Frustrated, he passed the phone to Mongo.

iMac G3 series courtesy of Stephen Hackett, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 

Mongo listened to my woes, figured out what I meant by “clicking like a compact” (which, at the time, seemed perfectly comprehensible to me) and eventually the problem was solved. I realized that day that if we were going to survive the internet revolution and live in a digital world, we would all need a Mongo (and a Phil), as well as a better sense of how to detail and explain our tech situations.

I was recently reminded of this by two experiences. First, I had a problem with printer/scanner. It would not scan. Or print. Although it had worked perfectly two days prior, my computer couldn’t see it, and vice versa. I suspected the printer/scanner had lost connection to my Wi-Fi network.

I set about manually inputting the network passcode into the printer, which is like old-timey texting, because you only have an Up and a Down arrow and a Select button. To get to a capital M, you have to scroll through 1-9, then lowercase a-z, then A-M uppercase before saying “select” and then move on to the next letter.

Still, nada.

I eventually asked ChatGPT, which walked me step-by-step through each possible activity, brimming with (sometimes misplaced) confidence. Over the course of an hour, I deleted my printer, re-installed it, then installed the printer and scanner drivers. I’d done everything right and it was STILL not working. The scanner driver troubleshooting mechanism alerted me that it couldn’t see the Wi-Fi and encouraged me to make sure the computer and scanner were on the same network. Doh!

Would you believe that although my printer/scanner was on the right network, my desktop computer (which I use everyday, and which I never manually change to any other network) had somehow been reset to the Xfinity public hotspot network rather than my own, private network? 

Weird. However, had I not had all of the various network information written down and handy, from the beginning, the process would have taken much longer.

In a second case, I was working with a beloved elderly client whose family had just bought her a new printer to replace her formerly reliable but lately exhausted one. We’d even used it to make copies at the prior session. However, on deadline to print some documents and to take to a notary, the new printer wouldn’t print.

My client abandoned ship to make a cup of coffee and play Sudoku.

With a series of questions to Google and many false starts, I was able to install the correct drivers (because contrary to what the client’s family had told her, printers are not plug-and-play) and get the printer on the correct network. However, had I not previously secured the client’s home internet and computer information all in one place, I’d probably still be struggling. 

Whether you have a Mongo and Phil, or a well-intentioned if bewildered Paper Doll, the key to a happy and well-connected digital life is organizing your tech information. You definitely don’t want to act out the printer-beating scene from Office Space.

 

Please don’t wait until the next time you need your tech information to start amassing it. Instead, develop a cheat sheet/folder and keep it someplace safe and accessible, whether on paper or digitally. 

NETWORK AND DEVICE INFORMATION

Your home (or office) network is the lynchpin to getting anything done. Without a network, you wouldn’t be able to surf the internet (sigh, maybe sometimes access to the internet is keeping you from getting things done, but let’s circle back to that), scan documents to your computer, print from your various devices, or do much of anything.

There are four basic “chunks” of information you’ll need to have and/or know to keep your network running smoothly: your IP address, your router and modem information, your Wi-Fi network essentials, and your ISP details.

IP Address

IP stands for Internet Protocol. Think of your IP address as a unique identifier or label assigned to every single device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. You’re probably thinking about computers, tablets, and cell phones, but lots of other things have IP addresses that you might not expect, such as:

  • Boring tech, like printers, scanners, and peripherals
  • Internet of Things devices, like smart fridges, smart thermostats, or smart lighting use IP addresses to allow you to monitor or remotely control them

  • Security devices like doorbell cameras similarly use IP addresses for remote control and remote access monitoring.
  • Gaming consoles like PlayStations and Xboxes need IP addresses to connect to online gaming services and other players  

Think about how you might use your label maker or a chalk outline on a pegboard to show where a coffee mug or your favorite wrench lives. The IP address is a digital version of that, a digital address, making it possible for your devices to send (and receive) information — data, instructions, etc. — over the internet as a whole or, across a local network in your workspace. The IP address is how your devices are able to identify and locate each other online. 

Why and when do I need my IP address?

All the devices on your Wi-Fi network get assigned an IP address, ensuring the system will avoid conflicts and be able to smoothly communication. Your network administrator at work may need your IP address to optimize system performance or  manage bandwidth. Security firewalls use IP addresses to filter unauthorized devices for incoming and outgoing traffic.

But what about you? You might need to access or provide your IP address in the following circumstances:

  • Setting up a new modem or router when your internet provider sends you email saying “Hey, dude, your hardware is out-of-date! Trade it in for something that’s faster and shinier and won’t freeze during Zoom or your favorite MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game).”
  • Troubleshooting connection problems. Maybe you want to access a streaming service but are being blocked because they’re not supposed to let people in your country (or wherever you are) access their good stuff. (In which case, you might want to look into a VPN.)
  • Tech support, whether you’re getting assistance from your internet service provider or your grad school BFF.
  • Beef up your network security so you don’t get hacked.
  • Increase or modify your privacy so that advertisers (and their delicious cookies), your ISP, or your government can’t peek at what you’re doing (or, in the case of your smart fridge.
Where can I find my IP address?

You can find your IP address in two general ways.

  • Use a website that shows your IP address. If you click on the link for https://whatismyipaddress.com or https://www.whatismyip.com/, it will automagically detect and your IP address and show you two different flavors of your IP address assigned by your internet provider.
    • IPv4 addresses are a string or set of four numbers separated by dots. It’ll look something like 172.16.0.1. (Sometimes, when you’re trying to set up a router or deal with a tech kerfuffle, you’ll be advised to use the IP address 10.0.0.1 to access the admin panel.)
    • IPv6 addresses use eight hexadecimal groups separated by colons. They’re freakier looking, like 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334.
  • Let your fingers do the walking to find your IP address.

If using the internet feels like cheating and you want to pretend you’re a programmer, you can:

    • Use the Windows Command prompt — click the Start button, type “cmd”, and press Enter. Type ipconfig /all and press Enter: This will display detailed network configuration information. Find your IP: Look for the “IPv4 Address” under the appropriate adapter (Ethernet or Wireless LAN).   
    • On a MacOS or Linux machine, run “ipconfig” or “ip a” in Terminal.
    • On mobile devices, like iPhones and Androids or tablets, go to your Wi-Fi settings.  
      • iPhone/iPad — Navigate to the Settings app and tap on “Wi-Fi”. Then tap the “i” icon next to the network to which you’re currently connected and you’ll see your IP address.
      • Android — Go to the Settings app and pick “Wi-Fi.” Then tap on the to which you’re network you’re connected and you’ll see your IP address displayed under “network details.”  

You can find a tutorial on the ins-and-outs of IP addresses at Computer Networking Notes. 

Router and Modem Information

Router by Compare Fibre on Unsplash

Maybe you’re thinking, what’s the difference between a modem and a router?

In the simplest terms, a modem connects your house to your internet service provider (ISP). Your router then creates a network — a local area network (LAN) within your home, enabling all sorts of devices to connect to your internet simultaneously, generally via Wi-Fi. These days, your modem and your router are usually housed in one “box” that your ISP gives you.

Why and when do I need my router and modem information?
  • To troubleshoot your network
  • To update the firmware for your equipment
  • To set parental controls
Document the following router and modem information
  • The manufacturer, model number, and serial number of your router or modem. It’s generally written right on the housing. If the typeface is too small for you to read, use the magnifying tool on your cell phone.
  • The default administrator login and password (plus any changes you’ve made) — Save the information in your digital password manager, or write it on a piece of paper and put it in an easily-grabbed folder called “Home Tech Stuff.” If you haven’t made any changes, the default might be as simple as “admin”/”admin” or “admin”/”password,” so check the sticker on your router’s manual or a sticker on the device.
  • The Configuration URL for your router. It’s usually something like 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1. You just copy it into the URL bar in any browser, the same way you’d type https://www.juliebestry.com to get to Paper Doll HQ.
  • Current firmware version and instructions for updating it. It’s shocking how much we own requires “firmware” updates. 

To find your current firmware version, go to your Configuration URL, log in, and yo’ll find a section with a label that says something like “System,” “Device Info,” “Firmware,” or “About” and it will show you something that looks like Firmware Version: v3.1.0.4.384_45678.

Alternatively, if your router has an app, check the app’s dashboard.

Wi-Fi Network Information

Why and when do I need my Wi-Fi network information?

You’re going to need to know (or access) this information when you:

  • Set up a new router or connect devices to your existing router.
  • Reconnect devices — I needed this when I had to get my scanner and computer to talk to one another again.
  • Help guests or service workers access your WI-FI — If you don’t want them to know your Wi-Fi password, you have a few alternatives:
    • Set up a guest network — If you log into your network’s administrator page as described above, there will be an option for setting up a new network name (SSID) for guests. For example, my home network is Pride & Prejudice; I could make a guest network and call it Longbourne or Pemberley. 
    • Some routers let you generate a QR code your guests can scan to connect to the network without knowing the password.
    • Mobile devices have specific sharing options. On iOS or MacOS, you’ll see a pop-up prompt for sharing; on Android, look for the Quick Share option.
Document the following network information
  • Your network’s name (SSID)
  • The WI-FI password
  • The encryption type (WPA2/WPA3)
  • Guest network information, if you’ve created a guest network

Again, collect this information and keep it in an easily accessible digital or analog document. If you maintain it in the cloud, you can access it while traveling if you need to help someone at home, like your teens or a pet sitter.

Internet Service Provider (ISP) Information

Internet service providers are often frustrating, but the more information we have, the better prepared we can be.

 

Why and when do I need my ISP information?

This section is probably going to be the easiest for you, and you may be tempted not to document this information because you already know it. But what if your spouse or adult child or someone with your Power of Attorney had to help solve a problem?

You’ll may need this information if you want to upgrade (or downgrade) your service, report outages, solve billing questions or problems, or return equipment.

Document the following ISP information
  • Your internet service provider’s name — Unless you live in Mayberry, the name isn’t going to be Floyd or MarySue. It might be Comcast/Xfinity, Spectrum, AT&T, Verizon Fios, T-Mobile, Google Fiber, or even a municipal or regional utilities provider.
  • The customer support phone number — Note, you may need two different numbers, one for tech support and one for customer support, though they’re usually part of the same phone tree selection of options. 
  • Your account number — This is printed on your billing statement; if you don’t get printed bills (whether you are on auto-pay or just log in to pay each month), find your account number in your online account portal.
  • Your login credentials for your account portal

COMPUTERS, PHONES, TABLETS, AND PERIPHERALS

While network information may be the most confusing — and thus most essential to write down, there are other essentials to capture on a technological cheat sheet.

Device Identifiers

For each device or peripheral, document the following:

  • Serial number — You may find this imprinted on a peripheral, but on computers, phones, tablets and other digital devices, log into your Settings app. For example, on an iPhone, navigate Settings>General>About and you will find your serial number. 
  • MAC address — A MAC address has nothing to do with Apple Mac; it stands for Media Access Control, and it’s a unique hardware identifier that’s assigned to any network-enabled device. It’s a permanent characteristic, like a fingerprint, as opposed to an IP address, which can change. A MAC address looks like 00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E

You may find a MAC address imprinted on the bottom or back of a physical device, labeled as MAC Address, MAC, LAN MAC, WAN MAC, or Wi-Fi MAC, in the router’s admin dashboard, or in the router’s app.

Alternatively, use a MAC address lookup site like MacAddress.io or MacLookup.app.

  • Model name/number — Like the serial number, it may be imprinted in the bottom/back of the device but can also be found in the settings section. 
  • Operating System — e.g., Windows 11 or macOS 15 Sequoia. Don’t worry about noting the periodic version numbers (like 15.5.1) as that will update too often to make it worth logging. 
  • Device Name — This is whatever you call your devices so you’ll recognize them when you look at the network. For example, “Julie’s Purple iPhone.”
    • On a Windows device, look at Settings>System>About
    • On a Mac, it’s in System Settings>General>Sharing
    • On iOS, navigate to Settings>General>About>Name
    • On Android, it varies by manufacturer, but try Settings>About Phone>Device Name
Why might I need device identifiers?

Try to log your device identifiers as soon as possible after acquiring them in case you need to:

  • locate a device on your network
  • get warranty support
  • get help with tech support or repair
  • file insurance claims
  • submit a filing for a class action lawsuit — Recent, I filed a claim in the Lopez Voice Assistant Settlement. Although I only had proofs of purchase for three of the four devices, I was able to complete the claim for the fourth by submitting the serial number for my 2015 iPhone6!

Operating System License Keys or Activation Codes

If you ever have to re-install your operating system because something implodes or if you need to transfer the operating system to a new device, you’ll need the license keys or activation codes, which are generally long alphanumeric strings. 

In the olden days, we had stickers on the envelopes for installation disks and on older computers, stickers with the packaging. These days, look in your digital accounts, like Microsoft or Apple, to find your keys and codes, and save them locally, just in case.

Installed Software and Product Keys

Whenever you buy, download, and install software or other digital “products,” you may get keys to prove you haven’t “borrowed” someone else’s software. This includes anti-virus software, productivity suites like Microsoft 365 apps, or Adobe products.

Log everything you already own and then make a point of cataloguing new software purchases with: 

  • a list of all of essential apps and software licenses with the:
    • product name
    • license number
    • date you installed or acquired it
  • installation files (or locations) and download links from which you got the software
  • activation codes

If you ever have to re-install software after a crash, or if your computer is lost or stolen and you have to move to a new device, you’ll need this data.

Peripheral Setup Information

When you fight the Devil — I mean, reconnect or troubleshoot your printer, scanners, Wi-Fi label makers — you need this information.

For the same technological, financial, insurance, or legal reasons you may need to track your digital devices, you need to record essential information about your peripherals. For each printer, scanner, copier or other peripheral, write down the:

  • make
  • model
  • driver download page URL
  • IP address (if it’s networked)
  • current driver version 

Smart Home Device Information

Do you have a futuristic home? Document the following for each of your smart home devices in case you have to reset your network and everything “smart” gets stupid.

  • smart device app logins
  • setup instructions
  • device warranties and supporting info, including:
    • purchase date
    • warranty terms
    • tech support contact numbers and websites

WHAT OTHER TECH INFORMATION DO YOU NEED TO TRACK?

If you manage to collect and safeguard all of the above information, you’ll be ahead of the game. Still, there are myriad other things to track.

Passwords

You already know that having a strong password is essential. Still, to stay on the cutting edge, read The 2025 Hive Systems comprehensive Are Your Passwords in the Green.

Infographic courtesy of Hive Systems at www.hivesystems.com/password

If you ever need to recover files, sync devices, or re-set your accounts after something goes awry, make doubly sure you’ve captured:

  • logins for all of your cloud accounts, like iCloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, Evernote
  • recovery email and backup options
  • password manager login — If one password or passphrase is the key to your digital kingdom, keep it safe! You may think you’ll remember it forever, but if you get bonked on the head by an Acme anvil or a piano dropped from a high window, you (or your family) will be glad that you recorded it. 

2-Factor Identification Backup Codes and Recovery options

Text-based 2-factor identification is quickly being replaced by 2FA backup codes. Take note of your:

  • backup codes for services with two-factor authentication
  • authenticator app information like which app you’re using, and which phone or tablet it’s installed on

in case you ever lose your phone or switch devices and can no longer have ad hoc codes automatically sent to your phone.

Backup Configurations

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked a client, “Do you back your phone up to the cloud?” or “How do you back up your computer?” and received a blank, panicked stare. First, be sure you are backing things up and then document:

  • which devices are being backed up?
  • how often?
  • to where — the cloud? an external hard drive? network-attached storage (NAS)?
  • instructions for restoring from backup

If you’ve never had a crash or data loss, you’re lucky. Preserve your luck and back up! 

Digital Legacy Information

Think about who should have access to your accounts if you’re incapacitated or unavailable. Then make a plan to provide instructions and logins for your personal accounts. You can put much of this information in your digital password manager and arrange for an emergency or legacy contact. Beyond that, review:

How to Create Your Apple & Google Legacy Contacts

Paper Doll Explains Digital Social Legacy Account Management

Is your tech information captured and organized?

Global Day of Unplugging 2025: Phones and Apps to Reduce Phone Use and Improve Your Life

Posted on: March 3rd, 2025 by Julie Bestry | 10 Comments

Do you get shaky when your phone isn’t in your hand? Are you chronically online? Do you need a digital detox?

A year ago, I wrote Celebrate the Global Day of Unplugging. In that post, I explained the observance’s purpose, to bring attention to the importance of taking a break from 21st-century technology, embracing silence, and interacting directly with others. I also did a deep dive into the mental and physical dangers, as well as the damage to our productivity, wrought by the oh-so-compelling devices we carry everywhere.

We examined why it’s so hard to step away from our phones, from dopamine-dripping design to always-on culture, and explored tips for de-centering phones in our lives. It focused on lifestyle changes as well as ways to alter phones settings to make them less compelling. I mentioned some apps for reducing screen use and a phone designed to make essential work easier but social media less appealing. 

The next Global Day of Unplugging is from sundown this Friday, March 7, 2025 to sundown on Saturday, March 8, 2025.

According to Backlinko, in 2025, American adults spend an average of 4 hours and two minutes a day on phones. We are spellbound! (Cell-bound?)

Reducing screen time (and replacing it with a phone-free activity) can decrease depression and anxiety and improve social connections. What could you accomplish if someone gave you back even one of those four hours? What dreams could you achieve? (What literal dreaming could you do if you weren’t doomscrolling into the wee hours?) 

Most of the strategies I shared last year required willpower. Today, we look at tech that maximizes functionality but inserts friction to minimize the seductive draw of our phones.

MINIMAL PHONE

Minimal is an upgraded version of the phone I previewed last year. Resembling an early Kindle more than a modern phone, it use an E-Ink Touch display to reduce eye-strain and promote healthy sleep. 

It’s higher tech than a flip phone, but less inviting than a typical smart phone. Fewer hits of dopamine means you’ll only grab it when you need it instead of when you want it, and you’ll want it less often. Plus, without blue light, it’s less destructive to your sleep patterns.

Some of the key features and benefits of Minimal are:

  • The black-and-white E-ink display is designed for eye comfort — With a 4:3 aspect ratio for optimal viewing, 4.3″ screen size for productivity without distractibility, and 230 ppi for improved readability, you could use Minimal to read all day long (but don’t!) without eye strain.
  • It dramatically reduces distractions — There are no intrusive blink-y features and bright colors. The more you focus on the actual work you need to do, the quicker you’ll be off your phone and spending time with family, friends, hobbies, or even your dream world. 
  • The QUERTY keyboard is tactile — Remember how powerful you felt when you used your BlackBerry? Wouldn’t you love that sense of accuracy and speed again? With a 74mm-width keyboard for comfort, a 35-key (plus hot-key) layout, and .25mm key travel (the depth a key can be pressed) for precision tactile sensation, you’re set up for old school power.

  • Minimal is made for the long run —  Too often, phone batteries die after about two years and the hardware stops being supported by the upgrades far too soon. Planned obsolescence is a huge part of most manufacturing models, but Minimal promises it will be supported by software updates for five years and is “crafted with quality materials…to stand the test of time.”
  • Minimal still has all the essential Android apps you need —  With full access to the Google Play Store, you can download any necessary apps (like Dropbox, CashApp, Google Maps, etc.) with no muss and no fuss. It supports Android Auto, can be linked via Bluetooth to fitness watches,,,, and supports contactless payments like Google Pay.

Minimal may be visually minimal, but it’s maximal when it comes to features:

  • Along the top phone edge, there’s a microphone, phone speaker, and proximity sensor.
  • The bottom edge has a 3.5mm headphone jack (for all of us who are tired of cordless ear buds falling into the street (or soup!), a USB-C port for charging, and an audio speaker.
  • There are two cameras: a 5 MP rear-facing (selfie-taking) camera to the bottom left of the keyboard, and a 16 PM front-facing camera (with flash) on the back.
  • Above the keyboard, there’s a simple navigation bar.
  • Side buttons provide a fingerprint unlock power button, dual sim/expandable storage, volume  up/down and an E-ink refresh button. (Note: Minimal does not support E-Sim.)
  • Built-in goodies include a flashlight, compass, and gyroscope, and it supports Wi-Fi calling and hotspot functionality.

Choose 6 GB memory with 128 GB storage or 8 GB memory with 256 GB storage.

There are three versions of the Minimal Phone: Pebble (white), Onyx  (black) and Fusion (black top with white key board). Minimal is $499.00, they’re offering $100 off of pre-orders. (Shipping is free world-wide!)

 

MINIMALIST PHONE (APP)

Not to be confused with the Minimal Phone, there’s also a Minimalist Phone, which isn’t a phone at all. Rather, it’s an Android app designed to reduce cell phone addiction by changing the user interface by which you see and launch your apps.

Minimal Phone replaces the default Android screen with a custom home screen which encourages more mindful use of phones and directs your focus to your most productive apps. Instead of being pestered by pop-ups, counters, bright colors, and icons on a traditional home screen, the mostly icon-free, minimalist user interface helps you recognize how unhealthy your usual phone usage patterns are (all those dopamine-seeking behavior!) and curb mindless scrolling.

Note, Minimalist Phone’s monochrome interface isn’t the same as just setting your Android to black-and-white or your iPhone to greyscale. Instead, it also lets you view selected apps in black-and-white. Use it just where it’ll be the most helpful, while leaving color in place for apps like Maps, where color is essential.

Monochrome reduces screen time because image-focused apps (like games and social media) just aren’t that appealing in black-and-white. Reducing color and vibrancy curbs the impulse to “bed rot” and scroll until the sun comes up.

  • Install Minimalist Phone as you’d install any other app from the Google Play Store; uninstall it just as easily to return to a traditional home screen. There’s no hardware or tinkering. Add your essential apps to the launch screen — but seriously, don’t add the time vampires!
  • Minimalist Phone supports all versions of Android phones with operating systems v 6.0 and higher — dating back to 2015!
  • It’s privacy-focused. Minimalist Phone “doesn’t sell any personally identifiable information (PII) to 3rd parties” and it’s GDPR-compliant, complying with stiff European privacy regulations.
  • Maintain access to all of your apps; the non-essentials are just hidden to keep from going down a rabbit hole. If you want to open a hidden app or unhide an app, just access the phone settings through a gear icon on the app page and select Home screen> Hidden apps.
  • The app links to your Google account, not your device, so you can use it on any/all devices linked to your Google neighborhood.
  • Other features include app blocking (so you don’t need willpower), time limits, and mindful launch delays to prompt you to reconsider opening an app.

Minimalist Phone has a 7-day free trial, after which there are three different plan levels: monthly, annual, or a one-time purchase. Unfortunately, you have to download the app to see the pricing. (To change your plan, you must cancel it in the Google Play store or wait for the current period to expire, and then re-subscribe at a different level, or email them to request a change.)

DUMB PHONE (APP)

We’ve had the “benefit” of smart phones for a while, but wasn’t life blissful apps and texting? Remember feature phones? Flip phones? We weren’t so stressed before we carried the power of a desktop computer in our pockets.

Enter: Dumb Phone. As with Minimalist Phone, it’s not a phone, but an app, and one designed to help you avoid (and conquer the cravings for) easy distractions and dopamine hits. If you liked the idea of the Minimalist Phone app but were bummed that it was Android-only, Dumb Phone has you covered — it’s for iOS users.

Michael Tigas came up with the Dumb Phone when he was creating features for the focusedOS app, which hides iOS distractions with one click; he hoped to further reduce all of the visual distractions that suck us into using phones longer than planned.

Apps are still on the phone, and they still work. They’re just not imitating street-corner floozies or three-card monte hucksters, begging for attention.

The idea is that if the icon and dopamine rush of tapping aren’t front-and-center, you’ll only use the apps you really need and want. 

Download the app and add the Dumb Phone widget and wallpaper to your home screen. Then Dumb Phone takes your fancy, expensive, bells-and-whistles iPhone and transforms it into a minimalist-styled phone that:

  • Simplifies your busy home screen — It eliminates photo-filled, graphics-heavy wallpapers, colorful icons, and notification badges, leaving just text-based buttons. Your phone becomes a sleek time traveler from the late 1990s.
  • Breaks your “Oh, let me just grab my phone so I never have to be left alone with my thoughts” habit — Without all the “Hey, look over here!” yoohoos, you’ll use your phone when you want and need it, without unnecessary distractions.
  • Gives you speedy access to your most important apps — Whatever apps you want to use frequently will be just one tap away, without having to swipe pages of screens.
  • Access everything with just one hand — even with the largest iPhones, your thumb can reach everything!

With the Dumb Phone app in place, tweak it make your phone less seductive.

  • Make the home screen minimalist (but not unappealing) by picking either a Light or Dark theme.
  • Select the font and font sizes, positioning, color(s) if you want any, and more.
  • Designate multiple “app launchers” for different periods of your life/day — Have one app launcher screen with work day apps; have another with NO work-related apps (so your brain can have real downtime without checking for emails from the boss during your toddler’s birthday party). 

Dumb Phone’s basic level is free. It costs $2.99/month to upgrade, or $9.99/year at a discount, or $24.99 for a one-time purchase to gain access to all functionality and configurations. Get it on the iOS App Store.

Dumb Phone’s blog is also full of advice for curbing the addiction to specific apps. (Sigh, TikTok, I’m looking at you.)

 

BRICK (DEVICE)

Brick is neither a phone nor an app. But it is an actual device. It’s a bit like a chastity belt for your phone, and the key is kept out of convenient reach.

The creators, two college students, looked at the concept of distraction-free flip phones, which had hardly any useful tools, and modern smart phones, which have all sorts of useful apps, but ceaseless distractions. Where’s the middle ground? You can’t just leave your phone at home if you still want to be able to hail a ride share, make contactless payments, map your way to the right street, or tell someone you’re running late.

Brick’s creators felt that an app or software solution (like Apple’s Screen Time limits that blocked you from using distracting apps wasn’t the way to go. You could always do an end-run around your carefully-made plans, just like when you put the chocolate in a high cabinet to discourage yourself from snacking but find yourself climbing a step-stool at 1 a.m.

Instead, by having a physical device acting as a “key,” and the key is elsewhere, temptation is easier to ignore.

Taking the notion of bricking your phone (a colloquialism for making a device useless), they found a way to make your phone brickable, but not permanently bricked. 

 

Buy the Brick device, then download the Brick app from the iOS App Store, create an account, and follow the steps in the set-up guide. From there, create up to five custom “modes” (like “work mode” or “home mode”), to limit what apps you can access during specific times of day. (You can even block specific websites in Safari.)

To (temporarily) brick your phone to focus on what’s important, tap the center Brick icon on the screen and press the phone to the Brick. Alternatively, if you don’t have the Brick device with you, you can “remotely” Brick your phone: just hold down on the Brick button in the app for 5 seconds.

However, you still need the physical device to unBrick your phone.

The video of how it works can’t be embedded, but you can view it on the Brick site. Other features:

  • View your history — Track how much time you spend Bricked each day.
  • There’s no battery, so there’s nothing to charge. 
  • Brick doesn’t track which apps you use, nor does it access any of your data.
  • You can use one Brick with any number of phones; you could also buy multiple Bricks to assign to one phone so that you could have one at your office and one at home (or your significant other’s home) to cover lots of different life situations.
  • Brick supports iPhones running iOS 16.2 or later; an Android version is expected in the future.

It comes in grey and white, and has anti-slip silicone surface and a high-grade magnet in the bottom to ensure it stays securely in place, wherever you decide to put it — on the fridge at home or a whiteboard or filing cabinet in the office. 

Think carefully about where your Brick(s) should live so you don’t counteract your productive work time by searching all over your home, office, or car when you’re ready to switch modes. You don’t want to finish work, head to the airport, and realize your vacation-related apps are bricked and your Brick is back in the suburbs or at your office.

Buy the brick for $59 and you get complete access with no subscriptions or fees; there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you buy two Bricks, you get 10% off and free shipping; for three or more Bricks, you get 15% off and free shipping. You can also sign up for email and get a “mystery” discount.

 

LIGHT PHONE

A Light Phone is a bare-bones, 5G/4GLTE, unlocked cell phone with just a few non-negotiable tools. Rather than changing the way you launch apps, it’s specifically designed for “going light” so your quality time has fewer distractions and more quality in it. 

 

Light Phone III has a black-and-white E-Ink screen, similar to the Minimal Phone. Because these screens don’t emit blue light, they won’t impact sleep patterns; it can also be read in direct sunlight. To clear the screen between different pages, the E-Ink screen “refreshes,” flashing the screen between black and white, making previous information go “poof.” There’s also a screen light for being able to view the phone at night.

Use it to make calls and send text messages. When you have a voicemail, there are no floating badge notifications, just an asterisk next to the digital clock. Tap to see your recent (unanswered) interactions, then return the message with a call or text (or, y’know, don’t).

Press the large center button on the right side of the phone to access the toolbox menu, your key to navigating to the Light Phone’s various settings and tools, and back to the home screen.

Manage your Light Phone from a dashboard on the website to import contacts or add/remove optional tools. Adjust brightness with an analog wheel (like a radio dial) on the phone’s left side.

The Light Phone’s other tools include an alarm, timer, calculator, music and podcast apps, notes, calendar, directions, and a phone directory. The updated Light Phone III also has GPS, a fingerprint ID power button, Bluetooth, a noise-cancelation microphone, camera (with a two-step shutter button), and flashlight, can be used as a hotspot and it supports voice-to-text.

Light Phones operate on the Light operating system (i.e., not Apple or Android) and requires active, compatible nano-SIMs and work a standalone devices; they don’t need to connect with a smartphone (though you can use them to complement your usual iPhone or Android phone when you need to take a break). Either swap your SIM between your Light Phone and other smart device, or get a second phone number assigned to the Light Phone, as you prefer.

The older Light Phone II comes in black or light grey, and includes a free SIM card for $299; the new Light Phone III is $799 but is currently $599 on pre-order and will be available June 2025. (Light Phone II will continue to be available Light Phone III launches.) There are colorful cases to fit the Light Phones.

The three Light Service plans are limited to the United States and run on AT&T cell towers: 

    • $30+tax/month for unlimited domestic calls and messages with 1GB of data
    • $45+tax/month for unlimited domestic calls and messages with 5GB of data
    • $70+tax/month for unlimited domestic calls and messages, plus data for hotspot usage.

However, because the Light Phone is unlocked, you don’t have to use Light Service; use a SIM from your own carrier and keep your service from AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Ting, Mint, or US Mobile.

 

Changing how your phone works is great, but in the end, the best solution to toxic scrolling and phone addiction isn’t to change your phone, but to change yourself. Here are some apps that give keep your behavior accountable.

CLEARSPACE (APP)

Clear Space calls itself “a lever for you at your best to influence you at your most distractable.”

Personally, I think it’s more like tollbooth, requiring you to pay a toll that prompts you to slow down and consider your route.

Clear Space recognizes that dopamine cravings will be less powerful when you pause, creating a virtuous “atomic” habit to replace an unappealing one. Aligning intentions with actions can be hard, but Clear Space offers accountability in three ways:

  • Before you can use an app, you must do a centering exercise. The screen guides you through a prompt to breathe, do a push up, or similar, and then tells you how many times you’ve visited the apps you’ve cordoned off (and where you are in your scrolling budget), and provides a motivating quote.

  • Set a session length for using any app or block some altogether, and ClearSpace will literally do an intervention before the social media addiction monkey gets on your back.

  • Pick specific apps in which you want avoid getting entangled.

Clear Space redirects those impulse clicks (like the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups I grab when I’m waiting too long in the cashier line) and prompts you to think before you click. It retrains you to stop impulsively opening apps “to check” them; instead it encourages you to stop, breathe, and think about what you really want to achieve.

Clear Space also provides data insights to analyze app usages patterns and track your progress over time. 

Clear Space is free and available for iOS and Android phones, as well as a Chrome extension for the web.

 

Check out Clear Space’s great productivity blog posts to help break phone addiction. 

STEPPIN (APP)

Steppin gets you off your butt, locking you out of your social media accounts until you go for a walk! Created by Paul English, the founder of the travel search engine Kayak), Steppin has you trade steps for screen time.

In other words, if you want to scroll, you have to roll! (Oy. Sorry.)

  • Identify which apps you want to limit (social media, games, streaming videos, or whatever steals your focus) and use the app blocker controls. 
  • Set your own rules — For example, set a minute of app time for every 100 steps you take; decide how often you want the limits to refresh. Customize goals to fit your focus: reducing screen time, motivating yourself to get fit, or achieving digital wellness. Re-set available screen time daily, weekly, or not at all.
  • Earn your screen time — The more you walk, the more screen time you unlock. 
  • Track your steps seamlessly across your favorite fitness trackers — Steppin syncs with the built-in step counter in your iPhone and integrates with Apple Health App. Hitting step goals reinforces the habit, and habit tracking motivates you to maintain a healthier) balance.  

You can also connect Steppin to your Apple Watch, Oura Ring, Fitbit, Google devices, or Garmin tracker, and your privacy is protected: “Steppin uses Apple’s Screen Time API to enable app blocking without storing sensitive personal data.” 

Steppin is currently free, but may have an annual fee in the future. Find Steppin for iOS in the App Store or for Android at the Google Play Store.

(A similar app, promoting fitness and discouraging chronic scrolling is the iOS-only Fitlock.) 

ONE SEC

The One Sec app uses powerful research on phone (and specifically, social media) addiction to halt mindless instant gratification in its deeply-scrolled tracks:

  • Configure One Sec to make you think twice, prompting you to explain the purpose for each attempt to access social media apps. Do you really want to go to Instagram or are you seeking an escape from work, stress, or boredom?
  • Trigger One Sec to stop you whenever you open Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, TikTok or any other app on your iPhone or Android device. You can also block/limit web sites!
  • Set an intention for your social media use. If you planned to just check if people are reacting to your blog post share, One Sec will check in with you in one-to-five minutes to make sure you haven’t gone down any rabbit holes.
  • Visualize your “open attempts” data in graphs to motivate further progress. 
  • One Sec prompts you to take healthy pauses to focus:

One Sec is free for iOS, Android, and Mac browsers and can be synced across devices.

This is only a sampling options to get some accountability from your phone when it’s hard for you to summon the willpower to step away from the addictive aspects of modern technology. 

Just last week, Rhys Kentish, a London-based app designer, announced the Touch Grass app. When it launches later this month, the iOS app will require users to go outside, take a photo of themselves touching grass, and upload it before they can access distracting apps. (It’s based on a Gen Z slang expression: when someone is melting down or acting weird, they are told to “touch grass” to get fresh air and gain perspective.)

Whatever it takes, right?

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