Helpful apps to keep you on track this year – Part 2

Kerry Keith
The Friday Flyer Columnist

Strides tracks all your goals and habits and is the perfect app for those who have multiple goals they want this year. You can set different goals and track the progress by a green bar that will inch closer to your goal with every achievement. This app is free for Apple devices or $4.99 per month for additional features.

Coach.me is your own personal life coach. It allows you to set up any type of goal where you can track your progress and even share it on your favorite social network. This app is free for Apple and Android users. The app also has a feature where you can hire an actual life-coach for a fee.

If your resolution is to break a bad habit like smoking, spending too much money, or even biting nails, or if you want to promote a positive habit like work out more, spend more time reading, writing or meditating then try HabitBull. It allows you to create any type of goal then check-in to record how you’re doing and monitor your success. It offers motivational images and discussion forums to help you stay on target. You can track more than one goal at a time. HabitBull says, “Your life your rules.” This app is free for Apple and Android users.

To-do lists are never more popular than at the beginning of the year. The Wunderlist app lets you create interactive to-do lists where you can sync your lists between your phone, tablet and computer. You can also assign tasks, add comments and set due dates and reminders. This app is free for Apple and Android users or $4.99 per month for additional features.

There is so much to do and never enough time to get everything completed. Clear helps you set goals and organize your daily tasks into separate categories. It syncs with your iCloud account so can use it on all your devices. You can also set up reminders and notifications so you don’t miss a task. It’s free for Apple users.

To stay organized you can also try Workflow. It’s similar to Clear; however, Workflow offers over 200 actions and integrations with other apps like Facebook, Uber and YouTube. It helps to cut down the time it takes you to complete everyday tasks you do on your phone like reading the news from a specific app or ordering lunch from a particular place. This app is free for Apple users.

Cozi is a great app for those busy families that have jam-packed schedules with appointments, activities, parties, sports or projects due at school, so that they’re all in one place and can be shared with everyone in the family. See what everyone is doing and where they need to be with a color-coded calendar. You can share chores, shopping or to-do lists in real time and even keep track of recipes or meal plans. You also can set reminders so no one misses an appointment. You can get your day’s agenda at a glance. The information can be accessed from any mobile device or computer. It’s free for Apple and Android users.

Improving your mental health is just as important as improving your physical health. Through the Pacifica app you can rate your mood and track how it changes throughout the day, track daily health habits like sleep, exercise, caffeine or alcohol intake and more. Tackle small goals each day to try to achieve a bigger goal. It offers mindful meditations, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation and more to calm your mind and body. This app is free for Apple and Android users. A desktop version is available at thinkpacifica.com.

During the holidays people wish you a happy holiday or a happy New Year and many resolutions are just that; wanting to be happier. Research suggests that happiness is a combination of how satisfied you are with your life and how good you feel on a day-to-day basis. So what does that mean and how can we all achieve happiness? Try Happify, a science-based app that offers games and activities to offer you a boost in your mood. Once you sign up, fill out a short survey about your stressors, then it will pick a track for you. You can complete a few activities a week and keep track of how you feel. Happify says, “You have the ability to control how you feel, and with consistent practice, you can form life-long habits for a more satisfying and fulfilling life.” Happify gives you the tools to take charge of your happiness on a daily basis. This app is free for Apple and Android users. A desktop version is available at Happify.com.

Resolution is defined as a firm decision to do or not do something. They aren’t just for the New Year, they are an everyday decision to make your life fuller, better and happier. Happy New Year Canyon Lake.