Over time, mankind has had to learn how to evolve. From the time of early man, humans have always found a way to edge ahead of nature and all its surprises. The world being survival for the fittest, man has marched ahead to sheer brilliance, and the ability to use the environment to advantage him. Today, however, the scenario is very different than that of early man. We do not have to dwell in caves or rely on hunting to provide food on the table. What has not changed is man’s tenacity and agility to know what works and what doesn’t, and to capitalize on that which does.
The internet, arguably man’s greatest discovery, is something that has bloomed and thrived over time. The internet today is meticulously intertwined in our lives. Whether you’re looking for a dress online, reading this post on your iPad, studying online, hailing a cab, or even watching funny cat videos, you have to agree the internet is here with us to stay. Since the internet in itself is broad, it can neither be termed as good nor can it be termed bad. What we do is what influences what the platform becomes. There are a myriad of software developers who seek to have their applications recognized, and woven into the daily routine of many people. Some apps are for recreational purposes, others are for fun, and others can be quite helpful in our day to day lives and these are the 30 most useful apps to make your life better and easier.
Sleep Cycle
Sleep is one of the most vital features of the human body. If you get little sleep than required, you will be ill-equipped to handle the day’s takes, and if you oversleep, you may end up missing your responsibilities. Sleep Cycle helps your body get the optimum rest by monitoring your sleeping patterns and waking you up when it senses that it is the best time. The app is free but you can upgrade for a premium account later on.
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IFTTT
In full, it stands for If This Then That. Essentially, IFTTT looks to eliminate monotonous routine. For instance, if you post a picture on Instagram, it automatically shares the post on Twitter. This way, you don’t have to spend a lot of time repeating a mundane routine.
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Mint
This app is like having an accountant on your phone. Have you ever wondered where all your money goes towards the end of the month? With Mint, you can track all your expenses and income. It works by linking your accounts together, all you have to do key in your bank accounts info and leave the rest to the app that will record your income, money transfers, transactions, and all expenses. Best of all, it is all free.
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Todoist
What was that thing you wanted to do today? With Todoist, you won’t have to worry about having sticky notes all over. With Todoist, you can create any list, from shopping lists, to do lists, groceries, wish lists, schedule all your daily tasks, either by the day, week, and so on. Whenever the activity comes close, the app will remind you. Could it be to pay your bills every certain date or even a once off activity, Todoist will be reminding you about it.
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Coach.me
Coach.me is a community app that allows users to connect and motivate each other to stick to new habits and routines. This app enables anyone to have many accountability partners while forming new habits. The app is available both on Android and Apple Store for free.
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Calm
Simply put, Calm is your go-to app regarding guided meditations and sleep stories to reduce anxiety, increase mindfulness and develop gratitude. It's user interface is amazingly well designed and their scenes and sounds are of high quality. Calm is free to use and to download, however, you can always upgrade for a premium account later on.
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Kayak
All frequent travellers know about how great this app is, with one click you'll be able to look through hundreds of websites simultaneously to find the right price for you, find money saving deals, such as mobile only or private deals and get great alerts regarding the best prices for your desired destination.
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Waze
Waze is a true time-saving app, it's a community-based traffic and navigation app that will help you avoid traffic, find alternative routes and get real-time traffic and road information and best of all, it connects to your Spotify app so that you don't have to leave the app if you want to switch songs!
Streaks Workout
Streaks Workout is the ideal training companion for anyone regardless of their fitness level. No matter the amount of available time you have daily for your training, it will offer you convenient options to choose from to build your strength and fitness routines.
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Duolingo
Throughout the years, Duolingo has become the reference app regarding language learning. The developers of this app have successfully built it to help you learn any new language you want for free and in a fun way, and best of all the app is free of charge!
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MyFitnessPal
By now, MyFitnessPal should be your go-to app regarding your health and fitness progress monitoring. With it you'll be able to track calories, monitor your progress, track your exercise routines and most importantly it offers you a data base of 3.2 Million different kinds of foods that you can select from to add to your daily caloric intake without having to enter it yourself, and best of all, it's free to use and to download.
Khan Academy
This is an app for all parents wishing to give their children quality education from a young age. The app offers valuable lessons to children, based on different topics ranging from science to math. The app is free to download on your iPhone, iPad or Android smartphone.
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Lumosity
This app will help you get smarter! Yes, Lumosity is an app designed by skilled neurologists and its work is to help you get smarter. The app has various turnkey challenges that are geared to help improve your memory, attention span and logic. The app can be downloaded free of charge.
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Focus booster
Having trouble keeping focused on the tasks at hand? Focus Booster will help you keep track of what you need to do, and when you do. The app does so by setting times of focus as well as resting breaks.
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Way of Life
Most times, there’s a bad habit that we’re trying to get rid of. With this app, you can now keep track of the habits you’re trying to drop. The app allows you to list the habits you’re trying to drop, then the short and long-term goals to achieve a better life. The app comes equipped with charts, scoreboards, and instant feedback, to help you keep track. The application is available for free, only on IOS.
Daily Yoga
Getting fit is a dream many people aspire to achieve, unfortunately, not many people have the time to squeeze in a place for the gym membership in their busy schedules. Daily Yoga is an app that simply does what the name suggests; it simplifies yoga. The app will help you fit in a few minutes for simple yoga exercises. While you may not be able to get a couple of hours for the gym, you may be able to spare ten minutes or so and do a few yoga poses as instructed by the app. Daily Yoga can be obtained for free from the Apple Store.
Insight Timer
Many fitness apps tend to be about physical fitness however, this app focuses on mental health. The app has scheduled times to sit and relax your mind. The app is available for download and it’s all free.
Health App
Some of the most popular apps are those that have a direct benefit in one’s life. The Health app is one of those revolutionary apps. With this free app, you will be able to monitor your your general health related activities such as the quality of your sleep, your daily steps or your even your nutrition. It also can integrate your other above mentioned apps and gather data directly from them when you use them.
Stress Tracker
How would you like to know what stresses you and how to avoid it? Sure, you can go see a therapist, or, you can download stress tracker. What the app does is let you keep track of your stress during the day. What you do is just list down any time you feel uncomfortable, or stressed. The go-ahead to list what you think could be the source of your stress, symptoms that you’re stressed, and what mood you’re generally in. After that, the application will develop an insight into what are your biggest stress triggers are, thus, you’ll know when to avoid them. The app is only available on the Apple Store.
Asana
For many employees, teamwork is a much-dreaded affair. This is because people work on different timelines, and are generally different. However, teamwork can be made more bearable by Asana. Essentially, you can give everyone a role, and a stipulated time to finish. That way, it’s clear whose responsibility is done, and whose aren’t. Asana presses on about each user’s targets and eliminates time being wasted.
Timeneye
Have you ever wondered where your time goes? You wake up, a bunch of inconsistent mumble jumble goes on through the day, and suddenly, it’s all over. You might even have a perfect day planned, but things just start falling out of the plan. Timeneye is the app to fix your time management problems. Essentially, you can track how you spend your time by scheduling what you’re doing and for how long. You can key in your work schedule, hobbies, or even resting time. With time, the app recognizes your routine, so you don’t have to keep adding activities all the time. The app will automatically suggest what it thinks you should be doing –from the pattern you have created. The app is appealing to the eye and has no clutter. Moreover, it can sync with other softwares like Google Calendar, Asana, and Basecamp. This way, you don’t have to keep switching apps to adjust details. Timeneye is available on the web, at the Apple store, and on Android for free, with in-store purchases.
OpenTable
Every now and then, many people like to go out, eat a delicious meal, and go through all the hoops of fine dining. However, not many decent restaurants have openings when someone has the opportunity to eat out. OpenTable helps solve this problem by letting you book a spot on the restaurant of your choice, soon as the opportunity avails itself. The app is absolutely free to download and operates in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Rakuten Slice
Have you ever wanted to purchase a product, but the price is out of your reach? Mostly you monitor the prices for a while and just give up. Slice can fix that for you.
Basically, Slice is a smart app that can be an email add-on. It will search your mail’s inbox, and gather available online order receipt info. It will then compile the orders into a neat list you can easily keep track of. Moreover, you can note products on your wish list on the app, and it will notify you when prices for those particular products change. It is available on Android and iOS for free.
Dreamdays
Have you ever longed for a day to come, only for you to forget it when the day edges closer? With Dreamdays, you will not experience this problem again. All you need to do is create an event you’re looking forward to attending. The app will constantly remind you as the day edges closer, thus, helping you prepare adequately. The app is available for a price of $0.99.
Family Locator by Life360
This is an ideal application, for families and more precisely parents. With this app, you can keep tabs on registered family members. It’s a good way for parents to track their children. The app also has a chat functionality to allow easy communication between family members. The app is free to download on both Android and the Apple Store.
Wattpad
Wattpad is an amazing app for every author and reader. It connects thirsty readers with writers who are full of potent. The app is mostly used by upcoming writers, but the reads are world class nonetheless. You can download the app for free on both iOS and Android
Strava
Strava is a social network for athletes. It connects athletes to do activities together, on the digital platform. Unity and cooperation are a great part of working out and this app has figured that out. You can download it for free on Android, and on the Apple Store.
Vent
Sometimes, you really just want to go on top of a building, and scream your emotions out. Vent isn’t the top of a building, but it works just as well. Vent is a freely available app that express your feelings and connect with people who care, it warrants you to let out your emotions.
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Venmo
Have you ever been out with friends, then when the check came, there’s awkward silence because someone doesn’t have their wallet? Venmo fills the awkward silence. You just have to download the app, have your friends download it too, and then you link between the chains. When you go out, you can just split the check through the app.
Find my iPhone
This is arguably one of the most effectual apps on the iOS store. When you misplace or lose your phone, you can find it, lock it, send a message to it, or choose to erase everything. This app is available on iOS for free.
The Important Take Away
Living in the internet era can prove hectic, but these apps should help you get through, in one way or another. Have a look at a few of them, and see how different life can seem, from mundane activities like sleeping to children learning science and math. Truly, this is an era to behold.
