At Home with Tech

Unlock the power of all your technology and learn how to master your photography, computers and smartphone.

Category: Tech Fixes

June 21, 2026

The Art of Managing Your Shared Work Calendar

Maintaining control of your calendar at work can be harder than you’d think. If you’re looking for ways to help reduce friction in your schedule, here are my suggestions.

Part of an occasional series about solving technology challenges in the workplace *

Does your job involve lots of meetings? Does your daily schedule get regularly consumed by meeting invites? Do you find this interfering with the rest of your work? If so, then it’s time to take a more proactive approach to managing your shared work calendar.

This is something of an art that each of us must ultimately curate for ourselves. And no matter where you are in your career, it requires ongoing attention and perhaps a few reminders. 

So, here are my best practices. 

Block ‘Focus Time’ for Your Own Work

Everyone usually has a plan regarding what they need to accomplish on a given day or week. But if you leave your calendar wide open, you may find a deluge of meeting invites redirecting your focus away from immediate priorities.

That’s why blocking time for yourself in your shared calendar is critical to maintaining the right balance in how you spend your time.

This is about actively architecting your day to optimize your own output instead of passively responding to a myriad ofother tidal forces that can drain your effectiveness.

Make Yourself Available Too

But if the nature of your job requires ongoing collaboration, then you also need to make yourself sufficiently available for these other meetings. Blocking off too much time can isolate you and frustrate others.

As in many other parts of life, this comes down to finding the right balance. So, it’s important to leave enough availability on your calendar for your colleagues to utilize. 

How much time should you leave open? Well, only you can determine that. You’ll quickly discover if it’s not the right amount. Otherwise, you may find colleagues double booking your schedule. 

Don’t Get Double Booked

If these double bookings conflict with your own ‘focus time,’ well, that’s easy enough to manage.

But what if they conflict with other important meetings? Well, of course you can’t attend two meetings simultaneously. 

So now, you’ve got to figure out how to repair your schedule.

Pro Scheduling Tips

Here are a few more scheduling tips to help optimize your work calendar.

  • Choose the Best Times for Your Own Meetings
    All time slots throughout a day are not created equal. If you’ve got your own meetings to schedule, it’s important to pick the times that work best for you. (Everyone has a sense when they’re most effective during the day.)
  • Avoid Scheduling Meetings at the End of the Day
    If you can help it, try not to take that very last slot. Sure, it might be the only time that everyone has open. But no one will appreciate this. I recommend you wait a day to find a better option. Everyone will be in better spirits, and that alone can drive a meeting’s success.
  • Don’t Miss Lunch!
    If you’re not careful, you can easily find yourself without time to grab a bite to eat. So scheduling time for your own lunch is critical. There’s nothing worse than a mid-afternoon meeting on an empty stomach.

Playing Both Defense and Offense

Yes, you’ve got to protect your calendar for your own priorities. But if work is a team sport, you’ll always want to actively engage with others and satisfy group requirements. So, your success also flows through all those other meetings.

When you reduce friction in your schedule, then you can focus on doing your best work.Said another way, the more you can successfully manage the ‘when,’ the easier it will be to accomplish the ‘what.’

* Related topics I’ve written about:
Working from Home Sounds Great Until You Notice What’s Missing
5 Ways to Ease the Pain of Returning to the Office 5 Days a Week
How to Master your Zoom Meetings to Increase your Impact at Work
Don’t Miss this Important Part of an Effective Work Email

Leave a comment
May 24, 2026

Why You Shouldn’t Use Your Phone to Take All Your Vacation Photos

Dropping your phone on vacation while snapping a photo can really dampen the fun. Here’s a strategy that will help you avoid coming home with a cracked phone screen.

Listen to excerpt – 1 min 20 sec *

My father loved his tech throughout his life, and he was swift to adopt his first iPhone. That said, he was not quite as quick to learn all its functions. But he did okay, especially for his age. (Plus, he always had me as his personal tech support line.)

My dad was also something of a critic on many topics and enjoyed making fun of the delicate nature of smartphones. 

He used to enjoy repeating a particular conversation with me comparing his iPhone to his leather-bound pocket agenda, which was a little booklet he kept in his jacket.

It went like this… 

He would turn to me, pull out his agenda and hold it in front of him. Next, he would drop it onto the floor. Then he would pick his agenda up, dust it off and put it back in his pocket.

He would stare at me as he did all this, smirk and then ask if I would please do the same with my iPhone. When I wouldn’t, he would burst out laughing.

I let my dad have his fun. But he had a point.

My father wasn’t exactly subtle. However, he was quite effective at stripping things down to the bare truth. 

He’s been gone over three years now, and I do miss these little moments.

Don’t Destroy Your Phone on Vacation

Yes, my dad liked to point out that a mobile phone doesn’t always do so well when you drop it (even if you’ve got a case protecting it). 

Years later, my father’s wisdom serves as a useful reminder to help frame this week’s blog post.

And I would like to point out that dropping your phone is more likely to happen when you’re on vacation moving fast and sometimes distracted.

As we enter the summer season and a traditional vacation period, let me offer a solution. You might think this is a simple equation. 

  • Just take your phone and don’t drop it. 
  • To reduce additional risk, leave other cameras at home. 

Your phone can take all the photos you’ll need, and unless you travel with a professional camera rig, why would you want to bring another camera other than the one built into your phone?

Vacations Can Require a Tougher Camera

But this assumes you can keep your phone undamaged, and quite frankly, many vacations are often hazardous to your phone’s health.

So, if you’re uncomfortable putting your expensive phone in harm’s way, you might want to invest in a more durable and less expensive camera solution, like a GoPro or DJI Action Camera.

Depending on the model, you can pick up one of these tough little bricks at the $300-$400 price point. They’re not impervious to all threats, but they’re designed to handle a pretty big drop. Plus, they’re waterproof.

Yes, I’ve watched lots of vacationers happily hold their phones while skiing, sledding and kayaking. But not everyone will succeed.

As one data point, I’m sure you’ve seen many people walk around with cracked phone screens. I’d hazard a bet that some of this screen damage was caused by vacation-related activity.

Stories of Wreckage

I’ve learned the hard way to be more cautious with my own tech on vacation. I’ve certainly made a few mistakes along the way…  

Fortunately, my drone survived its crash. The other two did not.

Using a GoPro or DJI Action Camera for vacation photos and videos can be a better strategy to help maintain the long-term health of your phone. And of course, you can still use your phone for other (less dangerous) needs.

The Right Tech for the Task

I always pack my GoPro when I go on vacation. No, I don’t always need to use it, but I have this little cube in my pocket when the moment calls for it. 

And since my GoPro is tiny, it never factors into the ‘packing-too-much’ equation.

If my father were around today, I’d be very happy to drop my GoPro on the floor in front of him.

Happy next vacation, and here’s to always keeping your phone safely in your hand.

*Audio excerpt at the top is AI voice generated, using my own voice as the original source.

Leave a comment
May 10, 2026

Try this Luggage Hack If You Forget Your Lock’s 3-Digit Code

I bought a new piece of luggage and then couldn’t unzip it, because I had placed the zipper pulls into the combination lock… and then proceeded to forget my code. Here’s how I broke into my locked bag without ruining my luggage.

Last winter, I went shopping for a new carry-on bag for our flight to our Delray Beach, Florida vacation. I bought it at a local store in town, and it felt wonderful being able to kick the tires on a few choices. 

I landed on a piece of luggage, which included the typical Travel Sentry TSA-approved luggage lock. That’s the 3-digit combination lock, along with a keyhole for TSA security to use. (They have a master key to easily open your lock without busting it and damaging your bag.)

As I specifically bought it as a carry on, the lock didn’t really matter to me so much. But my salesman kindly offered to reset the 0-0-0 default combination.

I quickly thought of a number. He set the code. I bought the carry on. And I rushed out of the store to tackle my remaining pre-trip tasks.

And I didn’t think about the code again.

Locked Out of My Own Bag

Fast forward a few months, and I pulled out my bag for my NAB trip to Las Vegas. I stared at the combination lock and saw that the two zipper pulls were properly snapped in place into the lock. (How organized of me!) 

And what was my 3-digit code?

I tried one combination. Then another. Nope.

I looked around to see if I had written it down somewhere. Surely, I would have done that.It was like some other Barrett from the multiverse had bought this bag. The code was not to be found on Earth 616.

I was locked out of my own luggage! So now what?

Well, it seemed I would have to figure out how to pick my lock. That or try the 1,000 combination options.

So, I called upon my inner Sherlock Holmes and got to work.

How to Find Your Code for Your TSA Luggage Lock

I began with a bit of Googling and found some common thoughts on a suggested hack. So, I gave it a try… and it worked! Here’s how I did it.
(Disclaimer: Individual results may vary, and of course, please only apply this trick to your own luggage.)

Step #1
Search for the Notch in the Gaps Between the Numbers

Look closely at the gaps between the three numbers on top of the combination lock. You’ll see they sit mounted on a smooth metal cylinder, and the numbers rotate on their individual rings around the cylinder.

Begin with the numbered wheel on the far left and click through each of the ten numbers (0-9).Look into the tiny gap to the left of the number and see whether the cylinder underneath still looks smooth. One of the ten choices should reveal a little notch as opposed to a smooth surface.

You can also discover the notch by running a little piece of paper or index card into the gap and feel if the cylinder has a little bump. That’s the notch.

When you find it, remember the number on top.

Now, repeat the process for the other two rings with their numbers.

When you’re done, you’ll have a 3-digit code. Try it!

Apparently, that works for many folks.
But not for my bag. There was an additional step I had to follow…

Step #2
Rotate the 3 Rings Forward Together

Start with your notched 3-digit code (that doesn’t work) and then rotate the numbers forward one click together.

Try the new combination. If that doesn’t work, rotate the three numbers forward again… one click together. Try that new combination.

I captured my code on the fourth try.

Elementary!

So finding the notches was the first part of the solution. Then rotating through that specific 3-ring orientation was the final step to revealing the correct code.

I hope this works for you!

Lessons Learned

After I successfully hacked my own luggage lock, I felt so clever… so triumphant. And sure, I could actually use my bag for our trip. So that was something of an accomplishment.

But in hindsight, it’s all rather embarrassing. I was simply disorganized, and I just got lucky (though I did figure it out). 

To be fair, there are a thousand codes and passwords to keep track of these days. Figuring out how to get into your own luggage shouldn’t have to be your next gauntlet.

Here’s another solution: 

  • Don’t lock your luggage zipper into the combination lock before you store your bag for your next trip!

Sure, you can still leave the correct code showing on top. That will enable you to test it the next time without the zipper pulls locked in place.

And if the above hack doesn’t work, at least you’ll still be able to use your luggage.

Enough said. Happy travels.

Leave a comment