Today’s smartphones are almost like miniature computers. You can do a lot more than just make phone calls nowadays. You can crunch numbers, take notes, snap photos, play games, and watch videos. The app store has thousands of apps, many of which can dramatically improve your life in different ways. Young people are often told to “get off their phone” to be productive, but here’s the twist: you can now learn new things with your mobile device! Here are a few awesome apps so you can stay productive even when on your phone.
Duolingo
Duolingo is one of the world’s most popular ways to learn a second language. This app makes it easy to complete daily lessons for Spanish, German, Chinese, and whatever else you’d like to learn. The app uses colorful badges and bite-sized games to make learning entertaining. The best part? It’s absolutely free.
Serenity
Want a way to improve memory, mood, concentration, and cognition? This app will help you with that. Meditation is one of the most effective methods you can use to train your brain. Serenity provides daily guided meditation that teaches you how to focus on your breath and quiet your thoughts.
Daily Yoga
Yoga is another way to practice mindfulness. An in-person yoga class can cost hundreds of dollars and requires you to be present during specific times. Daily Yoga allows you to get in all the at-home exercise you need. You can fit it into your schedule whenever you see fit.
Forest
Here’s an app that seems almost counterproductive – it wants you to stay away from your phone. This free app turns staying away from your phone into a game. First, you plant a seed that will hopefully eventually grow into a tree. Then, you set a timer for how long it will take for the tree to grow. Then, put your smartphone away until the timer is up. If you check your phone or open an app, Forest will immediately notify you with a message to get back to your forest. Once you click the notification, you’ll see the progress of your growing tree along with a message telling you to stop slacking off.
Evernote
Evernote is a wonderfully simple app with an even simpler premise: taking notes. You can download the app for your phone or computer which will seamlessly sync with each other. It’s a great way to jot down thoughts or ideas at a moment’s notice. With over 100 million users, Evernote is one of the world’s most popular productivity apps.
Udemy
Being an adult is no excuse to stop learning. Udemy offers all sorts of classes for just about any subject you’d want to learn – stock trading, time management, article writing, drawing, photography, and everything else under the sun. Make sure to buy classes when they go on sale, which happens often, as prices drop dramatically. Alternatives include Skillshare and Khan Academy. SoloLearn and Grasshopper also work for wannabe coders.
Pomodoro Timer
The Pomodoro timer is one of the classic productivity techniques. All you do it set a timer for 25 minutes and work relentlessly during that period. You might find yourself tempted to check your phone or browse the internet, but the timer’s incessant ticking will quickly bring you back to the task. Once it rings, you have five minutes for a break before resuming your work. This is a fantastic phone app, though computer workers can install an alternative browser extension called FlowTime.
Monday.com
In the spirit of Asana and Trello, Monday.com is yet another productivity and work management app that you can take anywhere. It’s a fantastic way to organize work. You can assign tasks to users and have them follow up, mark tasks as complete, and upload relevant documents.
Conclusion
Phones aren’t always as bad as most people make them out to be. You just have to be mindful of how you spend your time. Don’t scroll Instagram for hours and hours. Rather, use specific apps to help keep yourself focused.