I was!
I had to get a new phone recently, I managed to drop mine and shattered the screen, and there was no point replacing it, I was out of contract anyway but had moved to SIM only and had been putting off changing – it was a good phone, it did the job.
But why was I afraid?
It was the phrase in the accompanying booklet – ‘Pop out your SIM to bring your phone to life’. I was swapping the SIM card from my old phone and, like so many people, my phone had so much on it! (And I’m not talking photos – I’m pretty good with those, they’re all backed up onto the cloud, downloaded onto my computer and catalogued by date).
It was the apps! Banking, email, social media, loyalty cards, travel, booking, events, music, contacts, expenses, authentication, Xero, even fitness!! – in total there were more than 40 apps which I actively engage with. And if I changed phones they would all have to be set up again. What happened if it all went wrong and I was – horrors of horrors – locked out of my phone? To use a phrase I have recently heard and which resonates with me – futurising led to catastrophising, (or to put it simply – I imagined the worst) and it scared me!
So I put it off, and even better, found excuses for putting it off. It was never the right time. I couldn’t do it on a Sunday – what if there was no-one at Vodafone to reactivate the SIM? Couldn’t do it on a weekday – far too busy at work! Couldn’t do it on this day – I had a long drive and needed to be sure my phone was working in case the car broke down and I needed to call the AA. Couldn’t do it on that day because…oh, I’d find a reason.
So my beautiful new phone sat in its box. For 4 weeks. The old phone was damaged but it was still working. I even bought a cover for the new one – but it didn’t really need it, being sat in the box as it was.
But then I realized I was being an idiot (and anyway I really wanted to start using the camera, which was the reason I’d chosen that particular phone).
So I decided to apply the process I use when I’m upgrading a client’s accounting systems and I made a plan!
I listed the apps, made sure I knew all the log ins or requirements for setting them up again (particularly important when your only means of accessing your bank is through your app…), deactivated some two-factor authentication. And I backed everything up to my cloud account.
Then I took a deep breath – and swapped the SIM card. And let the systems do the rest.
Probably less than two hours later the new phone was up and running – all apps copied over, including the log in details. The switch to the new device was confirmed where necessary. All contacts were imported – huge sigh of relief: I didn’t have to do that ‘I’ve changed my phone and lost your details, please text me’ thing on FaceBook/LinkedIn/other social media. (And of course 2FA re-enabled, I’m always mindful of security!)
And then – I was free to go for a 9 mile walk, taking photos (see example above) and not worrying about running out of space.
The moral of the tale? Changing systems can be a scary prospect, but with planning and preparation you will avoid or at least minimize stress and disaster, and you will end up with something which is better than what you had before. If I’d received my new phone, and then in the excitement of the new shininess of it all just swapped the SIM card just to get started I would potentially have lost access to things which are fundamentally critical to my business and personal life – banks, contacts, Xero!
But by planning and working through it systematically it was actually pain free – and of course I can now enjoy the new camera.
I just wish I’d done it 4 weeks ago.
If you’re putting off that upgrade because of fear then get in touch. Don’t let that fear of the unknown stop you from making the change you know will benefit you. Because more often than not the reality is not the disaster you’ve imagined – and with the right planning Bridge Financials will help you enjoy the benefits of a new system – without the pain!
PS – when I was talking to my son about this blog he said I should include a comparison to his experience. The one where he leapt in, swapped the SIM – and lost everything
Mum – 1, Son – 0
