Although many expressed hope that 2023 will bring a complete change in our lives, some practices from the past year are still being observed. Remote working is still being implemented, and health protocols are still in place. With the challenges of the pandemic continuing across our day-to-day activities, we need to have a reliable partner. Luckily, our mobile phones have become just that – a reliable aid we can consult when we need some guidance.
With the right apps, we can accomplish just about any task — and still have time for ourselves. Here are five kinds of apps that will help you:
1. Productivity
With most of us still working from home, we need to have apps that will enhance our productivity. However, with the different types of productivity apps available, you have to choose which one fits your personality, your way of processing information, and your job.
Some productivity apps will track time and remind you of your tasks for the day, while others will schedule notifications around your routine, turning them off when you sleep and turning them back on when you are all set for the day. If you need to take notes, you can download Evernote, and if you need help in sorting your email, you can use SaneBox.
2. Health and Fitness
Do not let work consume your life! Download apps that will encourage you to focus on your health and well-being, especially during the pandemic. Again, there are different kinds available, depending on the goal you wish to achieve. For those who want to lose weight, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest monitoring your eating habits, and you can do so with apps like Lose It!.
If you need to relax and meditate, you can try Headspace, which will also teach you all about mindfulness. Some fitness apps, which count your steps and remind you to stay hydrated, are already built-in on your phone.
3. Finance
Part of becoming more efficient in life is learning how to manage your finances, and money management apps can help. One of the most well-known budgeting apps is Mint. It consolidates your bank accounts, credit cards, bills, and investments into one so you can easily track how much you are spending and how much you should be saving.
Meanwhile, the Petal Card app takes things a step further with a Spend Chart feature, designed to boost transparency about a user’s financial life. With it, you can see exactly where your money is going, and can even categorise your expenses according to merchant or type of spending. This can serve as a regular reminder to prioritise your expenses and stay within your goals.
4. Messaging
Just because physical gatherings are not yet allowed, that does not mean that relationships can no longer be maintained. To bridge the literal distance, most of us have resorted to different messaging apps. Updates on our daily life are now sent in group chats, and meetups are now in the form of video calls.
Facebook Messenger and Slack are just two of the most widely used messaging platforms nowadays. Messenger lets you send a message to anyone, with video chats and games included. On the other hand, Slack is mostly used for business, as a communication and collaboration app between the members of a team.
5. Knowledge and Entertainment
Balancing your work and personal life involves knowing when to take a break and just relax. You can do that with knowledge and entertainment apps that aim to educate and delight you.
Apps like Flipboard have the latest news stories curated to your interests and presented in a pleasing, easy-to-digest audiovisual way, while content platforms like Netflix give you thousands of TV shows, movies, anime, and documentaries accessible anytime and anywhere.
With literally thousands of apps available in stores, it is easy to get overwhelmed and choose one that might not be useful in the long run. But with a little research on the five key types of apps mentioned above, you’ll know what you need to have!
Leave a Reply