Mobile apps are one of the best tools you can use when it comes to keeping New Year's resolutions. Why? Apps are always with us. They can remind us at specific times or places of what it is we want to do. And considering how many times a day the typical smartphone user looks at her screen, just seeing an app icon can serve as a gentle nudge in the right direction.
What is it you hope to do, achieve, or become in 2016? Last year, the most popular New Year's resolutions, according to Nielsen, were staying fit and being healthy, followed by losing weight. The next most popular ones were enjoying life to the fullest, spending less money, and saving more. For many, enjoying more quality time with family and friends was another top priority.
Some of those goals might sound a little too metaphysical to tackle with a mobile app. But keep in mind, an app is just a tool that coaches you along, provides helpful reminders, or finds other ways to keep you motivated — such as through rewards or gamification.
If you're looking to make, and actually keep, your resolutions this year, click ahead for seven options you should check out.
Find Time for Family and Friends: Doodle
Half the battle of spending more time with family and friends is just finding a time to get together. Scheduling app Doodle (free on iOS and Android) turns that task into a simple poll. Create an event, such as a family dinner or group Skype call with some far-flung friends, and then suggest times and dates that might work. Doodle emails a link to the poll to everyone you've invited, and as they select the times that work best, Doodle automatically tallies up the responses so you can plan accordingly.
Photo: Courtesy Doodle.
Get Fit: Johnson & Johnson Official 7 Minute Workout
The Johnson & Johnson Official 7 Minute Workout (free on iOS and Android) is one of the best and most polished seven-minute workout apps we've used. More importantly, however, it isn't limited to short workouts. This app lets you squeeze in a quickie when time is tight, but it also includes exercise routines that are longer and more challenging. With options for beginners and fitness buffs, it's a great app to help you get stronger and more toned in the new year.
Photo: Courtesy Johnson & Johnson.
Lose Weight: Vida Health Coach
Working out is great for the heart, and benefits the body and mind in numerous ways. But when the goal is to drop pounds, eating differently must be a part of the plan, too. Vida Health Coach (free on iOS; requires a $49 per month plan) pairs you up with a real human health coach, who sends you messages and information throughout the week. This helps to keep your motivation and willpower strong, and facilitate smart eating decisions. You choose your coach from a list that Vida suggests based on your goals, as well as by reading their profiles, which includes professional certifications. Once a week, you can meet with your coach, either by video chat or on the phone, to discuss your progress or pain points, and to ask questions. While Vida's service seems expensive, it's a whole lot cheaper than meeting with a dietician once a week.
Photo: Courtesy Vida Health Inc.
Spend Less, Save More: Mint
When it comes to fixing your finances, it's just as important to know what you have done in the past, as to what actions you should take going forward. Mint does that. Mint (free on iOS, Android, and BlackBerry) connects to all your financial accounts — checking, savings, credit cards, investments — to analyze how you spend your money. It also includes tools for budgeting. If you have a specific financial goal in mind, such as paying off your student loans or saving up for a house, Mint has the tools to do it. Mint is free, and here's how it makes money: It shows you advertisements for financial accounts, but only ones that are better than the ones you have now. Since Mint knows, for example, all your interest rates, it can show ads for banks that will save you money or help you earn more, faster (which is a win-win for everyone).
Photo: Courtesy Mint.
Do Anything More Consistently: Wonderful Day
Jerry Seinfeld, when asked how he became a successful comedian, said he wrote jokes every single day. He had a calendar on his wall, and every day that he wrote jokes he drew an X on the day. After a few days, he'd see a chain of Xes and not want to break it. And therein was his motivation. That story is the inspiration behind Wonderful Day (free on iOS). It's an extraordinarily simple app in which you decide what you want to accomplish, write down your goal, select how many days per week you want to achieve it, and mark your progress with either a green or red circle for doing your task or not. Whatever it is you want to do more consistently —whether it's to be on time for work, or FaceTime your parents more often — Wonderful Day may be able to help you find the motivation to do it.
Photo: Courtesy Wonderful Day.
Become More Mindful: Sattva
Mindfulness and meditation practices are seeing a resurgence once again (it seems to happen every few decades), and there's no reason not to fully bring them into the 21st century with mobile apps. Sattva (free on iOS and Android, with in-app purchases) guides beginners through meditating and helps everyone, even the most experienced among us, keep track of their practice. The app even records your heart rate (through your phone's camera) before and after your practice, so you can see if it's had a physical effect. Sattva also rewards you with badges for consistent practice. You can buy audio tracks with guided meditation, music, and chanting in the app, though several are included for free.
Photo: Courtesy Sattva.
Learn a Language: Duolingo
Learning a language used to be expensive and difficult to do when you're on the go. Rosetta Stone, anyone? Then came Duolingo (free on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone). This app is so well designed for your phone that it makes studying your favorite language for a few minutes every day easy, convenient, and fun. Duolingo's app has learning programs for 13 languages: Danish, Dutch, Esperanto (beta), French, German, Irish, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, and Ukrainian (beta). And believe it or not, the content is actually very good. With price and accessibility in the bag, there's no excuse for not sticking to your language learning resolution this year.
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