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Seven ways your smartphone is hurting your career

Your smartphone puts the entire internet at your fingertips. It also makes your boss shake his head in disappointment when you use it at work. Make sure you're avoiding these various ways a smartphone can hurt your career.

For many professionals, mobile devices are their lifeline, helping them to stay on top of the job all hours of the day 鈥� but that鈥檚 not always a good thing. Here are seven ways聽聽is hurting your career.

1. Multitasking During Meetings

In many offices, multitasking is encouraged. But can it be considered productive when you鈥檙e in an important meeting and your attention is otherwise engaged in your smartphone? Not only is it an inefficient use of time to have your face buried in your device while a co-worker is delivering a presentation, it鈥檚 also quite rude 鈥� and a lot of us are guilty of it.

According to the second annual Bank of America Trends in Consumer Mobility Report, a study that explores new insights into how, when, and why people are using their smartphones, nearly one-quarter (24%) of Americans fess up to聽聽during meetings, and 27% say they are guilty of taking a phone call on public transportation (one my biggest pet peeves). Millennials (ages 18鈥�34) are the guiltiest generation of these behaviors at 33% and 39%, respectively.

2. Texting the Boss Something Inappropriate

Accidentally sending text messages to the boss is embarrassing and easy to do, but now we have to contend with audio messages gone awry via SMS, especially if you have an iPhone with an updated iOS (Apple has added a small microphone feature next to the text window, which is extremely easy to hit by accident).

When asked about the most embarrassing moments with their smartphone, nearly one-third (30%) of respondents on the BoA Trends in Mobility Report cite loud ringtones going off in a quiet place, followed by accidentally calling someone (19%), and sending a personal message/photo to the wrong person (16%) 鈥� at least a small percentage of which are images that will send you straight to the unemployment line. Don鈥檛 do it, don鈥檛 do it, don鈥檛 do it.

3. Checking Your Device Too Frequently

I鈥檓 sometimes amazed that my friends get anything at all done at work as much as they鈥檙e on their phones. Texting, updating social media, browsing the Internet 鈥� it鈥檚 all a time suck that can put you in a precarious position if it starts to become a noticeable and productivity-killing habit.

Which the Trends in Mobility Report says it is. A prominent majority (89%) of adults check their mobile device at least a few times a day, with 36% checking 鈥渃onstantly,鈥� the BoA study reveals.

That鈥檚 way too much by any standard, but particularly at work.

4. Responding to Work Correspondences Too Quickly

We鈥檝e all hastily responded to a work e-mail while distracted 鈥� driving to work (you know you do it), out to lunch, having a couple drinks at happy hour 鈥� and in doing so, we run the risk of being sloppy, curt, and even misunderstood. Too much of that can start to affect your reputation, or, worse, give you a new one that鈥檚 hard to live down.

鈥淲e have come to expect a response within minutes of sending an e-mail, but immediate responses aren't always the best or most productive responses,鈥� says Dana Campbell, a career strategy and expert in stress resiliency techniques. 鈥淗asty responses lack intuitive and sound thinking and smartphone responses are often shortened and lack tact which could lead your reader to misinterpret what you said. It鈥檚 fine to read e-mail on your phone, but hold off on responding to messages until you can focus on developing the response and can type full sentences.鈥�

5. Letting Your Productivity Lag

I鈥檝e touched on the productivity aspect of overuse of your smartphone at work, but it鈥檚 not enough to say that鈥檚 it鈥檚 negatively affecting how much you鈥檙e able to get done 鈥� or not get done, as the case may be. It鈥檚 also important to put a hard number to how much time you鈥檙e wasting when you engage with your device.

鈥淓very time you check your phone it can take up to 15 minutes to refocus on the task at hand,鈥� Campbell says. To cut back, 鈥淭urn alerts and your ringer off. Better yet, put your phone in a drawer and pull it out during planned breaks,鈥� Campbell adds.

6. Disrupting Your Sleep Pattern

It鈥檚 not fair to place聽all聽the blame on why we can鈥檛 sleep on smartphones. We鈥檝e been tossing and turning for centuries, and our mobile devices are just one more cause of insomnia.聽The Atlantic聽recently published the findings of a 2012 study, however, that revealed the percentage of certain age聽聽due to technology 鈥� with Millennials at the highest percentage, unsurprisingly 鈥� and also an explanation as to why: Smartphones (and tablets) emit what鈥檚 known as 鈥渂lue鈥� light, which is picked up by special cells behind our eyeballs that essentially tell our brain that it鈥檚 morning. What I鈥檓 getting at here is that your attempts at sleep are futile, Earthlings, so long as you鈥檙e Facebooking under the covers before bed.

Nip this habit in the bud to get more sleep 鈥� and be more alert and productive at work, because duh 鈥� by moving your charging dock across the room instead of next to the bed. Set a time to disconnect and stick to it. It鈥檒l be weird at first, yeah, but you may also find that you鈥檙e able to relax and get some of those much-needed聽Zs.

7. Seeming Disconnected Despite Being Constantly Connected

It鈥檚 ironic how now that we鈥檙e connected 24/7, we鈥檝e never seemed more disconnected. Ever get that feeling? That鈥檚 because we鈥檙e buried in our smartphones and devices so much of our lives that we often forget to stop and take inventory of what鈥檚 happening around us. That can be problematic at work if you鈥檙e not able to find a balance between what needs to happen via mobile technology, e-mail, and the like, and what needs to happen in real life 鈥� like interacting with actual human beings.

This article is from聽听辞蹿听, an award-winning personal finance and聽听飞别产蝉颈迟别.