We have all been there, it's 9 p.m. and you're suppose to meet a friend in a half hour. To make matters even worse, the battery on your smartphone is in the red. Surely you don't have enough time to charge your device without being late? Wrong.

Before you connect your phone to the charger, close any open apps and enable Airplane mode. This will turn off all of the wireless radios in your device, preventing you from making calls, accessing the Web, or using the GPS. The trade-off? Your device will be able to charge slightly faster because background processes will no longer be eating away at your phone's battery.

The same charging benefits can also be achieved by powering the phone completely down, although this isn't an ideal solution for those of us who rely on the clock or alarm features. While charging times won't be earth-shattering (improving by only a few minutes), every second counts when you are in a rush. It should be noted that charging times will vary depending on the size of your battery and how powerful the charger you are using.

Remember, the backlight and display require a significant amount of power. There's no need to keep checking the charging progress of your device. Let your phone charge and grab it when you are ready to leave.

(Source: http://www.cnet.com/how-to/reduce-the-time-it-takes-to-charge-your-device/)