Summary
As someone who works on a PC all day, my phone is always within arm’s reach, which also makes it a big distraction. I recently found an unusual fix for this. I gave my phone a second job while I work on my PC. This makes me want to use it less, and more importantly, it’s doing something actually productive for me instead of sitting idle while I work. Turn your phone into a Stream Deck Skip the 100 on a box of buttons. So now, instead of letting my phone just sit there while I work, I use it as a Stream Deck. There’s an app called Touch Portal that lets you do this. You need to install it on both your PC and Android to get started. It lets you create custom shortcuts for launching apps and sites, accessing a folder, triggering keyboard shortcuts, using OBS plugins, and even triggering home automation. The free version lets you create up to two pages with eight buttons on each, which is plenty. But if you want more, there’s a Pro version too for a one-time fee of $13.99. I use my primary phone for this, but if you have a spare phone or even a tablet, you can repurpose that too. Use your phone as a second display A second monitor for free Having an extra screen is always nice for productivity. You can see more at a glance and avoid switching apps every few seconds. If you don’t have a second monitor, though, it’s possible to use your phone as one. Sure, your phone’s screen may not be big enough for spreadsheets and browser windows, but you can certainly use it to control music, take notes, keep an eye on your calendar, and even monitor system stats. The main benefit is that you’ll be able to interact with whatever is on your phone screen using the touch screen. Apps like spacedesk let you use your phone as an extended or mirrored display over USB or Wi-Fi. This isn’t a proper replacement for a proper monitor, of course. Still, if you want to make your phone do something useful while you work, this is a good free upgrade. Put your phone’s camera to work as a webcam Ditch the blurry laptop cam Most laptop webcams are terrible, especially when you compare them to the ones on your phone. So why not just use that instead? Your phone’s front camera can act as a webcam and better image quality isn’t the only advantage. Using your phone as a camera also lets you move it anywhere you want. For instance, my laptop sits at an angle on the side while the primary monitor is in front of me. Using my phone as a webcam gives me the flexibility to put it in front of me instead of staring off to the side during every call. You can use an app like Camo Studio or Phone Link for this. Most Android phones also let you do this without an app, though it does require you to use a cable connection. The only thing is that you’ll need a way to mount your phone at eye level. Bring Android apps to your PC I’m not talking about screen mirroring Phone Link has offered screen mirroring for years, but now it also includes something called Expanded View. This lets you open apps straight from your phone without mirroring the entire screen. Apps initially open in a regular vertical layout, but you can expand them to cover almost 90% of your screen. This makes apps look like they actually belong on the PC. You can even use multiple Android apps at once this way. This doesn’t work for every app, though. Still, it’s by far the easiest way to use Android apps on your PC. Turn your phone into an Android Auto-style dashboard Bring the car dash to your desk This may sound a bit bizarre, but hear me out. The idea of Android Auto is to help you stay on top of phone calls, text messages, music, and notifications without getting distracted. You can bring that same idea to your desk with an app like Headunit Revived. I’ve tried it, and it’s actually helped me avoid doomscrolling while I work. I can still make phone calls, respond to texts, control music, and check notifications. It gives me big icons and a simple interface with a shortcut for voice commands, of course. Headunit Revived is actually designed to bring Android Auto to cars that don’t have it. But there’s nothing stopping you from using it at your desk, either.