Welcome to Best Apps to Improve your Life!
“What’s your longest streak?” “Did you see his/her new story on Instagram? “That tik-tok went viral in less than 24 hours!” “How many followers do you have?”
If you’re like most teenagers in the 21st century, you’re familiar with those statements and questions about social media more than you are familiar with statements and questions about yourself and your goals. We use the words “streaks,” “Instagram,” “Tik-Tok,” “viral,” and “followers” more than we use the words “goals,” “focus,” “persevere,” “strong,” and “succeed.”
We focus on other people’s lives instead of our own. Moreover, we focus on our reputation rather than our goals. We use our phones more than we use our minds. Lastly, we take care of our looks instead of our mindset. All because we are so caught up and engrossed in everything around us that we forgot the center of these things- ourselves.
If you spent the time you use to make Tik-Toks to instead make something useful and innovative, imagine how much further you would have been in life. If you spent the time you use to gain followers on Instagram to instead gain followers in life, imagine where you would be in life at this moment. And lastly, if you spent the time you use to send streaks on Snapchat to instead focus on yourself, imagine how much more successful you would be today.
All these habits that we adopt change not only our lifestyle, but our future in just a matter of minutes. One streak on Snapchat and we are suddenly addicted to it. One follower on Instagram and suddenly we want thousands more. One video on Tik-Tok and we want to make many more.
Why can’t we change these habits so that after watching one TED Video, we are inspired to make a change in the world so that one day we are on that very stage? One book and we want to read and write many more. One quote and we are inspired to work hard and never give up.
When it comes to social media addiction, we tend to blame not the social media app itself, not our brains, but our phones. Even though the negative effects of social media comes from the apps itself, we think that it is our phones doing the damage. Because social media may cause depression, we stop looking at our phones that often. Because social media may cause anxiety, we stop using our phones that often. And because it may cause loneliness, we try to stay away from our phones as much as possible.
It is true that those apps are on our phone, but that doesn’t mean that the negative effects are because of our phone. It is those apps that we are addicted to, not the phone itself. Once you realize this, your intent for your phone will suddenly change. Instead of Snapchat, get TED. Get Chess instead of Instagram! Get MasterClass instead of Tik-Tok! There are so many other amazing apps out there, which will have the opposite effects of social media apps. They will make you feel happy, not sad; confident, not nervous; and sociable, not lonely.
Organization:
Trello– Trello is a collaboration tool used to help organize multiple projects/things at once. In one glance, you can see what is being worked on, who’s working on it, and where something is in a process. You can add notes, comments, attachments, and more to collaborate with others as well.
Cloze– Cloze is another organization app that doesn’t organize your work life, but your social life. Cloze helps you communicate with anyone from any platform in one platform. You can see anything from your email, phone calls, notes, follow-ups, and social messages. If you ever need smarter relationship management, use Cloze!
Evernote– Like the above two, Evernote helps organize and keep track of important things in your life. With Evernote, you can take notes anywhere, find information faster, manage meeting notes, web pages, projects, to-do lists, and more! You can manage everything from big projects to personal moments, capture ideas and inspiration in notes, voice, and pictures, and never lose track of your tasks and deadlines.
Health and well-being:
Nike Training Club– This top-notch app allows you to reach your fitness goals with “expertly designed workouts from our world-class Nike Master Trainers.” You can take workouts that include body-weight only sessions, yoga classes, targeted training programs, and home classes for all levels– all for free! Along with this, you can engage in programs designed by trainers that include specific workouts, nutrition tips and wellness guidance for whatever type of athlete you are!
Fooducate– As said in the name, this app educated you about food to help you eat better, lose weight, and get healthy. This app provides health tracker, alternatives for meals, database on products, discussions, diet tips and trending recipes!
Headspace– Headspace is an app that provides mindfulness for your busy, everyday life. It reduces stress, helps you move more and get better sleep. On this app, you can explore guided exercises, videos, and more to help you get healthier and happier. Just 10 days of Headspace can increase your happiness by 16%!
Sleep Routine:
Sleepcycle– Sleepcycle is an app to help you improve your sleep by tracking and analyzing your sleep, and waking you up at the most perfect time to ensure that you are rested and energetic for the day. Check out their website for the science behind your sleep!
Sleeptime– Like Sleepcycle, this app also works to provide better sleep and the perfect time to wake you up. Along with analyzing your sleep and waking you up in your lightest sleep phase, this app provides soundscapes to stimulate a natural environment to help you quickly fall asleep. Be sure to download this app to help you fall asleep faster, sleep better, and wake up rested!
Pzizz– Now that you know how to wake up rested, it’s even more important to help you fall asleep faster. Easy- just download Pzizz! Pzizz is an app that provides “effective psychoacoustic principles to create beautiful dreamscapes that will help you fall asleep fast, stay asleep, and wake up feeling refreshed.”
Finance:
WeBull– WeBull is a free app where you can buy stocks, options, ETF’s, and cryptocurrencies. Some of the pros include no minimum account balance, it’s free, and there are after-hour trading. However, you must be 18 years old and there is no mutual funding. Read our full review here! Along with that, sign up for a brokerage account on WeBull and receive 2 FREE stocks when you fund your account!
Mint- Mint is another great finance app to track and analyze your financial picture in one place. After you link your credit and debit cards to your account, Mint “pulls your transactions, categorizes them and shows how you’re spending your money.” (thebalance.com)
You Need A Budget– YNAB is another really popular personal finance apps. It helps you gain total control of your money, stop living paycheck-to-paycheck, get out of debt, and save more money! This app will teach you how to manage your money and get ahead- for good! According to their website, on average, new budgeters save $600 in their first two months and more than $6,000 in their first year. Start your free trial right now!
Creativity:
Canva– Canva is not only a great platform to be creative, but it also helps many companies with social media! Canva provides different templates for different purposes (Instagram story, Pinterest Pin, Facebook post, etc.) Or, you can even just start with a blank one and create whatever you want to with different fonts, elements, backgrounds, and photos! Create a mother’s day post, an invitation to a wedding, a menu, a resume, and much more!
Brainsparker– Download Brainsparker to ignite your creativity, activate your imagination, and unleash your best ideas! On this app, there are over 250 creative prompts you can pick and choose to think creatively! Some of these prompts include trigger words, quotes, images, actions, and questions to spark “an endless stream of fresh ideas.”
Curator– Curator is another great app to unleash your creativity and use it whether to come up with an idea or a presentation. First, on this app, you have to collect different notes, images, websites, and more, (whatever you think would help.) Then, you organize those visuals into a board by simply dragging and dropping them on the app. Lastly, all you have to do is present.
Personal Development:
12min– “The best ideas in your pocket!” 12min is an app that holds thousands of microbooks of different topics and information to expand your horizons on a busy schedule. With this app, you can absorb tons of knowledge and enhance your career. The benefits of this app include reading from anywhere, accelerating your learning, being up-to-date with the latest market trends, having the best ideas at your fingertips, and developing new skills! All you need is 12 minutes a day to read 1 microbook per day, which adds up to 365 new ideas per year!
Toggl– Toggl is a great app to boost productivity and manage your time in the best way possible! Some of the features include hassle-free time tracking, knowing how much your time is worth, making smarter choices, and accessing it from anywhere! Start their 30-day free trial today!
Duolingo– If you’re interested in learning a language, be sure to get Duolingo! You can learn anything from Spanish and German to Arabic and Norwegian! With this app, you get personalized learning, immediate grading, encouragement with rewards, and big progress! All you need is 5 minutes a day and a dedication to learn a new language!
TED Masterclass– Many people already know TED, but not many people are aware of another brilliant idea- TED Masterclass. TED Masterclass is an app-based course that will teach you how to identify, develop and share your best deas with the world! This app helps you master the art of public speaking and become a better communicator, so that one day you can make a wonderful speech on the TED stage. Ready to start learning?
The Takeaway:
Now that you know about these apps and their purpose, it is important to take them into use. It is admirable that you took the time to download those apps, but it would be much more commendable if you actually used them. These apps are not the ordinary Instagram, Weather, and Reminders apps; they are much more. These apps should help you improve your lifestyle, improve yourself, and with this, your future.
As much as I would rather use these apps than social media, I’m not saying that social media is bad. Tik-Tok is a place to think creatively, Instagram is a place to showcase your talents, and Snapchat is a place to socialize. But, if you get too addicted to it and can’t stop using it, that is where the line ends. For example, if you want a place to be creative, by all means, download Tik-Tok AND the other apps listed above!
“Change starts with you but it doesn’t start until you do.” – Tom Ziglar
In order to see a change in yourself, you must change your habits. You can start and make progress by deleting some addicting apps and downloading more of the ones listed here. There are many people who claimed that their life has changed after not being on social media, and if you want proof, check out this video on how it changed someone’s life.
As said in the beginning, we are more familiar with terms like “streaks,” “followers,” “Tik-Tok,” and many more. After learning from this article, you use the words “goals,” “progress,” “succeed,” along with more positive and strong words.
Instead of asking and saying, “What’s your longest streak?” “Did you see his/her new story on Instagram? “That tik-tok went viral in less than 24 hours!” “How many followers do you have?”… Replace those questions and statements with, “What are your goals?” “How are you going to accomplish them?” “You can do it!” “What legacy do you want to leave in this world?” By asking yourself these questions, you are making a change in yourself, your habits, and your future!
Remember, it is not always easy to make and start change. However, you can start with changing simple, everyday habits like quitting social media. I highly suggest reading this book: Rewire Your Brain: Think Your Way to a Better Life. And of course, if you ever need help with improving your life in any way, contact us on our website!