For almost every problem we face, there is an app out there with a mission to solve it, or at least give us the helping hand we need to tackle it ourselves. We are curious as to how helpful these self-development apps can be in helping to improve productivity, create better habits and build a more positive mindset. We know you all loved the home workout app recommendations, so we're back with our top self-development app recommendations perfect for those of you wanting to work on improving yourself or simply just streamline your daily tasks and reminders to help you to be more efficient.
Forest: This app is built on such a simple concept but is extremely effective for those of you struggle to sit down and concentrate for a set amount of time. You decide on a task that needs your focus and when you start the timer, a virtual tree is planted. The app then gives you 25 minutes to stay focused, but if you try to leave the app before the timer is up your tree will die and the app will keep a record of it. You build up coins with each tree you successfully plant and forest even partners with Trees for the Future, meaning your coins can actually be spent to plant trees in the real world! You can set it up as a chrome extension to block certain sites during your 25 minutes and on the phone version you can have a deep focus session, meaning that if you try to leave the app your tree will start to whither.
Gratitude Journal: We all know that we should practising gratitude on a daily basis but how many of us actually get around to pulling out a journal and writing down what we are grateful for? If you always forget this habit, Gratitude Journal can be a great virtual back up. It helps you to journal for five minutes each day and prompts you to think about what things you are grateful. Many psychologists have found that writing these down rather than just thinking them through in your head can actually help you to feel more positive overall.
Thinkup: This app is all about trying to help you build a more positive mindset. Thinkup uses daily affirmations centred around things like relationship, gratitude and mindfulness and even allows you to personalise your own affirmations too! It then gives you prompts to read out your chosen affirmations. There have been countless studies to show that affirmations are a great way to boost overall self-esteem and shift your mindset to focus on the positives.
Kiwake: If you are trying to kick the habit of snoozing your alarm, try Kiwake. It helps you to stop snoozing in 3 steps by making you take a picture of an object away from your bed to prove you have gotten up, play a little mind game to get your brain working and then helps you to review your goals to feel more motivated. Stop setting 10 alarms and get up straight away with this handy little app.
Pocket: Is your camera roll full of screen shots and your notes app filled with links that you simply must look at later? We did the same thing for a while but realised it was such an unorganised mess that we were always forgetting where we noted things down. Pocket is a wonderful app that solves this problem. When you find an article or page that you are interested in but don't have time to read or want to refer to at a later date you can easily save the URL and even give it a category. Pocket turns your pages into a nice feed that you can scroll through and see what you have saved. The best part is it's completely free!
HabitShare: Habitshare is based on the same psychological principles of social media apps and we find it's a great tool because we can share habits with our friends and feel more accountable because we have onlookers. This is sort of like the habit version of having a gym buddy to keep you accountable - you are less likely to skip it when you know it's not just yourself that you are letting down. You can control the privacy of which friends see which habits and can even schedule reminders to complete a habit if you are nearing towards the end of the day.
Flipd: For those of you who are finding yourself more addicted to social media than ever, Flipd is a great tool to kick you into cutting down on your screen time. You can lock various apps on your phone and once you commit, there is no getting out of it. Not even hitting the restart button on your phone will work. While it may sound extreme, the benefits of distraction free work are amazing!
These are just some of the thousand apps available at our very fingertips that can help us get more organised, help us to track our habits and live a more mindful life!
Let us know in the comments if you’ve found any life-changing self-development apps because we’d love to hear about them. Don’t be afraid to explore new apps whilst drinking your morning cup of Bondi Coffee - because you never know what gem you might stumble upon!
