How Google Voice saved the day

On Thursday I left my phone on the nightstand. After sharing this fact with friends a few wished me the comfort of a phone-free day but the rest realized how much I depend on my smartphone -- because they do too.

To compound matters I have multiple points of contact that I cannot miss calls from. On top of a day job I have 37 students who could call me for a class question, two interviews to be done and countless other tasks which require me to be reachable at one place.

Thanks to Google Voice, an invite only phone service from Google, I didn't miss a single call. While I still felt like there was a hole in my pocket I was always in the loop, even when I was out and about; and I didn't have to forward phones, send out e-mails requesting that people contact me on a new number or e-mail me, explaining that I had absentmindedly left my lifeline at home on the nightstand. All I had to do was update my Google Voice settings.