TECH TUESDAY: The tech habits that will save you time, money and stress — starting this week

By Vivienne Westwood

Not every Tech Tuesday needs to be about a new product or a big idea.

Sometimes the most useful thing is a short list of small habits that genuinely make your digital life easier. Things that take five minutes to set up and save you significant frustration down the line.

Here are eight. Pick two and do them this week.

ONE — BACK UP YOUR PHOTOS TODAY

If the photos on your phone were lost tomorrow — because your phone was dropped, stolen, or simply stopped working — how many years of memories would disappear with them?

Turn on automatic photo backup now. On an iPhone go to Settings, then your name, then iCloud, then Photos, and turn on iCloud Photos. On an Android phone open Google Photos, tap your profile picture, then Photo settings, then Back up. Both give you a free amount of storage and your photos are then safe in the cloud regardless of what happens to your device.

TWO — CHECK YOUR PASSWORDS ARE NOT THE SAME EVERYWHERE

Using the same password across multiple accounts means that if one account is compromised, they all are. You do not need to memorise dozens of different passwords. A password manager — free options include Bitwarden and the built-in ones on iPhones and Android phones — stores them securely and fills them in automatically.

THREE — MUTE OR UNSUBSCRIBE FROM EMAIL LISTS THAT ADD NO VALUE

Most of us receive dozens of emails we never read. Every one of them takes a fraction of attention even when we delete it. Spend ten minutes this week clicking unsubscribe on the ones that add nothing. Your inbox will feel measurably calmer within a week.

FOUR — CHECK YOUR PRIVACY SETTINGS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

When did you last look at who can see your Facebook or Instagram posts? Social media platforms update their settings regularly and default to more public than most people would choose if they thought about it. Take five minutes to check yours.

FIVE — SET YOUR PHONE TO UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY

Software updates are not just about new features. They fix security vulnerabilities. A phone that has not been updated is more exposed to fraud and malicious software than one that is current. Go to settings on your device and make sure automatic updates are switched on.

SIX — KNOW WHERE YOUR NEAREST FREE WIFI IS

Poundbury and Dorchester have public wifi in several locations. Using public wifi for sensitive tasks like banking is not recommended — but for general browsing it saves your mobile data. The library, several cafes, and Dorchester town centre all offer free access.

SEVEN — CLEAR YOUR BROWSER HISTORY AND CACHE OCCASIONALLY

If your phone or laptop feels slower than it used to, clearing the stored data your browser has accumulated can make a noticeable difference. In most browsers go to Settings or History and look for Clear Browsing Data. It takes thirty seconds.

EIGHT — LABEL YOUR CABLES AND CHARGERS

This one is not glamorous. But losing a charger, or spending ten minutes tracing which cable goes where, is one of the small frictions of modern life that a strip of masking tape and a pen solves permanently.

This week's poll:

If there is a small tech frustration in your daily life that we have not covered — something that irritates you regularly but you have never quite got around to solving — email tech@lovepoundbury.org with the subject line Tech Frustration. The most common ones will become future Tech Tuesday articles.

To read more Tech Tuesday articles, visit the Tech Tuesday library HERE.