The start of a new year is typically when people think of all the ways they can make themselves better for the 12 months ahead, in the form of resolutions.
According to Statistic Brain, the most common New Year’s resolution for 2017 was to lose weight or eat healthier, with the other top contenders including making life/self improvements, saving money, or breaking bad habits like smoking.
The start of a new year is typically when people think of all the ways they can make themselves better for the 12 months ahead, in the form of resolutions.
According to Statistic Brain, the most common New Year’s resolution for 2017 was to lose weight or eat healthier, with the other top contenders including making life/self improvements, saving money, or breaking bad habits like smoking.
You may already be familiar with the not so encouraging statistic around how many people actually manage to succeed with their resolutions; some figures show that approximately 80% of resolutions fail by the second week of February, with only 8% of people actually succeeding in making it to the end of the year.
So how can you make sure that you’re one of that 8%? According to The Independent, Dr Marcelo Campos, a lecturer at Harvard Medical School, conducted research that found writing goals down can help us to achieve them, because it feels like more of a commitment. However, there are some other more tech-enabled way to help you try and make your New Year’s goals a success, in the form of apps.
Here are 5 apps that can help you stay on track for the whole of 2018.
For many people making goals for the year ahead, a new skill feels like a great way to boost self-improvement. Learning a new language is a positive way to engage your mind, learn something new and even do something that will help you on your travels in the future. Memrise is free to download, with some in-app elements requiring users to pay, but there’s plenty to get you started on your voyage of linguistic discovery. With everything from French, Spanish and Italian to Turkish, Russian and Korean, Memrise is the app that can help you turn this dream into a reality. It was named Best App in the 2017 Google Play Awards, so you know it’s legit.
Another popular resolution involves getting your finances under control – whether that’s saving money, reducing the amount of direct debits you have going out, or getting rid of a credit card. Mint is an easy-to-use and effective way to make sure that you stay on top of everything that’s going in and out of your account, thanks to its simple to use interface which collates information from your accounts, investments, credit cards and bills. It can even help you create achievable budgets based on your spending, keep track of your credit score, and can be synced to a desktop or tablet to make sure you’ve always got the access you need.
If you’re looking to set a new habit as a solid part of your routine, or simply want to stay on top of your progress when it comes to achieving your resolutions, then Done is the app for you. The appropriately-named app is all about tracking what you get done, with the ability to enter custom goals and then record how you’re getting on. It even helps to motivate you to keep going thanks to streaks and chains, which track when you’ve been continuously hitting your target. This particular app is available on iOS and is popular due to its simple and effective aesthetic, but there are plenty of habit-helping tracker apps on Android too, if you’re looking for a similar tool to help you keep your resolution.
Making time for self-care is difficult in the midst of our busy modern lives. Headspace can help, with its series of short guided meditations that help you learn how to live a happier, healthier life in just a few minutes a day. The app itself is free to download, and comes with 10 free lessons to get you started, after which you can download paid packs which offer specific themed meditations. This means that you can focus your thoughts on certain skills, like self-esteem, sleep, anxiety, creativity, communication and kindness. The portability of the app means you’ve got your own little bit of ‘me time’ wherever you are, helping it to feel more achievable when you’re run off your feet.
It may not be a new app, but MyFitnessPal is the undisputed champion of the fitness app world. With a massive global community of people using the app to help them count calories, track their water and manage their road to a healthier lifestyle, MyFitnessPal continues to be the app of choice for those looking to make a positive change to their health. Now owned by Under Armour, you can keep track of what you eat by choosing from its library of over 6 million foods, or make use of the scan feature to scan barcodes on packaged foods and let it do the work for you. Count calories, track nutrients
However you decide to track your progress when it comes to New Year’s resolutions, apps are here to help. Let your tech do the hard work for you, leaving you to focus on making sure that you’ve got pole position in that 8%. You can do it. Read our case studies and get in touch for Mobile App Development services.
Praveen is a seasoned IT Solutions Leader and Director at RSK Business Solutions, a technology-driven IT Consulting Company that specializes in Bespoke Software Development, Agile Consulting, Mobile App Development, Smart Sourcing, and much more. For the last 17 years, he has been delivering quality custom IT solutions that help businesses achieve their goals.