We have come a long way from the stone age. We’ve learned to evolve and to embrace technology and use it in new and creative ways. One of those ways through the various apps that we have now.
While there is literally dozens of apps for any kind of situation, there are some amazing apps to consider. It’s a highly competitive market, but that only means there are some truly amazing gems in there. We merely need to look around and uncover them.
Below is a list of some great apps that can help you in a variety of cases. These can make your business run smoother or even enhance your life in some way.
IFTTT
Otherwise known as If This Then That, this app is a cause and effect app. Available on desktop and on mobile, the idea behind this app is to remove the mundane routine of manually posting – or scheduling – on various social media platforms. This app makes the process easy by allowing you to post to one place and letting the app post to various platforms.
For example, you can create a applet where if you post a picture on Instagram, the post will be shared automatically on Facebook or Twitter.
But what’s also amazing about this app is that it expands beyond social media posting. Some other applets available are things like:
– Setting alarms for events (i.e. getting out of bed, taking a break, etc.)
– Tracking packages
– Finding your phone
– Tracking fuel consumption
– Getting notifications of your favourite show being available on Netflix
– Saving notes via Evernote without logging into your Evernote account.
The list goes on and on and can be a huge time saver.
Sleep Cycle
Sleep is one of the most important things we need in our lives. It’s so important that some people say even getting six hours is just as bad for us as getting none at all.
While many of us struggle with getting proper sleep, there is a variety of apps to help us get the sleep we need. One such app is Sleep Cycle. It’s free to use with an option to upgrade, but even the free version is solid.
What the app does is ensures you get the optimum rest through monitoring your sleeping patterns. Through that data, the app will wake you up when it determines the best time for you to be up.
Todoist
Are you someone who loves to do lists? Or maybe you love them too much and you have sticky notes everywhere. Regardless, this handy app can make your life simpler and serve as a good reminder.
Todoist is merely an app where you can create lists. Grocery lists, shopping lists, to do lists, wish lists, and more. While some people could easily replace it with apps like Notes or even using the calendar app, this app is still practical. I’d even say it’s better. Mainly because the app will send you reminders when an activity comes up.
Got an upcoming bill to pay? Write it into Todoist and it’ll remind you.
Have some goals or a project you want finished up at a certain point? This app will remind you to do it.
This app will ultimately boost your productivity if you use it.
Coach.me
This helpful app is more of a community app than anything else. Coach.me is a collection of people that you can connect with and motivate you to stick to habits and routines. This is a big community if you need accountability for the habits that you’re trying to form. Best of all, this app is free.
Kayak
Not to be confused with the floating object, this app is a must-have for anyone who is travelling or wants to travel. With a simple click, you’ll be able to see hundreds of websites at the same time suggesting prices to get to where you want to go. This app will save you money by finding great deals for places you want to go to.
And if you don’t see any good deals, you can allow the app to give you alerts regarding best prices for places you want to visit.
Streaks Workout
Regardless of fitness level or how much time you have, this is a great app to build up consistency. Streaks workout offers an exercise routine every day that’s tailored for you. As such, it’s accounting for your daily life, and how much time you have.
Broadly speaking, the exercises suggested are designed to build strength, fitness routines, and to reduce fat. Best of all you get to select the exercises you want to do every day from their suggested list. You can even make your own lists.
MyFitnessPal
Sticking to the health trend, another good app to try is MyFitnessPal. This is a widely popular app and for good reason. This app is more or less all you need to track your health and fitness. This app will keep track of calories, monitor progress, and track exercise routines. On top of that, this app has data on 3.2 million kinds of foods that you can choose from without adding the caloric intake yourself. If that’s not enough for you, this app is free to download and use.
Khan Academy
For the parent who wants their child to have a great education at a young age, this is a good app to have. This app covers a variety of lessons based on various topics no matter the complexity.
How the app works is it allows students to learn at their own pace, ensuring they understand the principles before accelerating their learning experience. All of the material provided is created by experts who have a great understanding on the topics, making it invaluable to teachers as well.
Best of all, this app was created by a nonprofit organization who’s goal is to make education free. This means this tool is entirely free and covers any topic you can think of. Especially math and science.
Focus Booster
Do you struggle with staying focused on particular tasks? Tried other focused based apps with little luck? Well here’s another that might do the trick. Focus Booster is an app that’s designed for what it says.
It does this through the technique known as the pomodoro technique.
To explain the technique briefly, you set a timer for 20 minutes and focus on a specific task for that allotted time. Once the 20 minutes is up, you spend a short period of time taking a break.
This app does exactly that almost effortlessly and then some.
What makes this app helpful and a cut above doing the technique yourself is the data. The app will automatically record your pomodoro sessions so you can view your output.
This functionality will ultimately improve your productivity as you can learn what is working and what isn’t. Best of all, once you have a good pace down, you’ll get the satisfaction of using your time wisely and enjoying your achievements.
Lumosity
Developed by a neurologist, Lumosity is designed to make you smarter. And clearly it works. This app can work for any person and any skill they are looking to grow. It does all of this in very easy steps as well.
To put it into perspective, the app issues 3 brain games every day to you. These games will sharpen memory, attention, speed, problem solving, and flexibility. On top of that, these games will adapt to your own weaknesses and strengths as well. Not to mention, these games literally take a few minutes out of your entire day.
Stress Tracker
Stress is something that we all experience, but we struggle to pinpoint it at times. Or maybe we miss our mark entirely. With Stress Tracker, this Apple-exclusive app will keep track of your stress levels during certain periods of time. All you have to do is set your session timer and you can see in real time how your stress levels shift.
It won’t spell out what’s stressing you out but it adds perspective. If you recall what time you were in higher stress levels, you can better prepare yourself moving forward. This app essentially can indirectly tell you how to de-stress by telling you broadly what’s stressing you out.
Asana
Teamwork for some people is something that they all dread. But a lot of that dread tends to boil down to two things: they’re generally different people, or they work on different timelines. This is where this app comes in especially handy.
Asana is a work management platform for teams to help them stay focused on tasks, goals, and projects. It does this through various visual displays. First it outlines the tasks that need to be done by the team involved. It then drills down to specifics by showing what’s being worked on and what’s done. You can even track by the hour so you can see what’s being worked on and when.
The app makes all of this process easy thanks to drag and drop functionality, making the whole process a lot easier.
OpenTable
Every now and then you get the craving to go to a fancy place and have a delicious meal, but run into complications. One of the biggest problems is finding a decent place that has any tables available.
This is where OpenTable comes in. Operable in Canada, United States, and Mexico, this app allows you to find a table open for any kind of occasion. Not only that but you can book that spot directly through the app itself. Like with others on this list, this app is free to download and use too.
Mint
No joke, this app is basically like having an accountant on your phone. This is a must-have app for budgeting or for the person who wonders where their money is going every month. With Mint, you’ll be able to track your income and expenses and have it all presented in a simple form.
To use the app, you’ll need to link your bank account info to the app and it’ll cover the rest, reflecting income, money transfers, transactions and more. What’s also nifty with this app too is you can check your credit score for free and as many times as you like.
All in all, this app helps you in making budgeting easier and provides a convenient place for you to look at your financial health. And yes, this app is free too.
Wattpad
For the reader or author, Wattpad is a great app to facilitate both parties. Primarily used by upcoming writers, this provides a platform for their work to be displayed to readers who are hungry for reading new books.
But just because the writers are fresh doesn’t mean their work isn’t great. This app is known for having quality writers and published books available. After all, the app boasts an astonishing 80 million readers. Not to mention big companies like Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Random House, Anvil Publishing amongst others associate themselves with this app.
Overall, this is a treasure trove for authors and readers alike. For authors they can get ample of exposure, guidance, and even story deals to help their book out.
So Many Apps
The amount of apps available is incredible and every day there are more great and helpful apps being made. Don’t be afraid to look around and uncover some amazing ones. There are so many that can make our lives easy that shouldn’t be passed up.