Technology Isn’t Always the Enemy
I have a love / hate relationship with technology - one where some days I am so grateful for all it can do and other days I want to throw it all away and never see it again. Is it just me?
In case you all are looking for some reasons to be thankful for technology again and swing the pendulum back to the other side, I thought I would share some of my favorite apps that I use daily.
Let’s jump in!
My Favorite Apps!
Day One - Day One is a journaling app that I use every single morning. You can have tons of different journals (organization, yay!), add photos, and answer the daily prompt. I use the daily prompt every morning, and I also keep a gratitude journal in the app. It is so sweet to be able to look back on a particular day and see what I was feeling thankful for!
Apple Notes - Along with Day One, I also use Apple Notes. Specifically, I use Apple Notes when I want to journal digitally but also be able to handwrite. I write using my Apple pencil on my iPad screen, and it translates my handwriting into the note. This is where I keep a prayer journal and more general reflections.
Kindara - Kindara is a cycle tracking app that charts your menstrual cycle using the Fertility Awareness Method. You can use it to track your cycle, try to get pregnant, or prevent pregnancy. I have found it so helpful, in my overall health, to keep up with symptoms and how I am feeling throughout the month - in conjunction with my cycle.
Todoist - Todoist is my right hand man. I use it every day to keep up with my to-do list. It manages home tasks, shopping, appointments, personal tasks, creative tasks, and so many other things. If you love a good to-do list or need some help keeping everything in order, this app is for you!
Notion - I talked about my Notion in my recent post about my favorite reading related apps, but it also falls into the category of my favorite general life apps. I store so much in Notion - upcoming trips and packing lists, my workout routine, goals for the months and for the year, upcoming newsletter ideas, reading, writing, links, etc. People call it a second brain for good reason.
Carrot - My husband Jackson loves to find the coolest and best apps, and this is one of his finds. Carrot is a weather app that is very customizable and honestly just so fun. If you have been getting annoyed with those ads in weather channel app like I was, this one would be a good one to look into.
Pocketcasts - This is the app I use for podcasts. I loved being able to organize my shows into folders and having different playlists I have curated depending on what kind of podcast I am looking for. It has tons of customizations and audio features, and I love it!
Bitwarden - This is the best thing ever! If you are someone (like I was) who keeps their passwords in a note on their phone or a paper in your desk, you need this password manager. Instead of remembering a bazillion passwords, you only need to remember one. Need I say more?
Canva - Canva is so fun. I use it for designing graphics for these newsletter, invites to group hangouts, youtube thumbnails, resumes, classroom decorations, and so much more. They have templates to help you learn, or you can design from scratch.
Apple Home - The apple home app controls the smart devices in your home - lights, TV, speakers, etc. This app essentially works as a remote control for your house, and it is so convenient!
YNAB - YNAB stands for “You Need a Budget.” It is an amazing budgeting app that sorts and organizes all of your transactions. You allocate money to different categories, and it won’t let you allocate more than you have. It is an amazing way to get a pulse on where your money is going and make a plan for where you actually want it to go. After you have been using it a while, it generates tons of graphs and charts to display trends and patterns in your spending and saving. Proceed with caution - the data can be convicting!
Yuka - Yuka is an app where you can scan products and it will rate them based on their ingredients. If it scores poorly on Yuka, it will offer you recommendations of cleaner buys! If I am out running errands and am looking at a new baking mix or makeup product, I will scan it to get a quick read on its ingredients!
Duolingo - Duolingo is such an amazing language learning app. They have also added math and music. Along with Spanish, I have been doing some of the music lessons recently, and they are a really good way to refresh your skills on reading music or learn for the first time!
Headspace - Headspace is a meditation app (that you can actually get for free if you are an educator). I love their breathing practices, and I find that if I have just a few spare minutes in my day, my time is much better spent going through one of their exercises than scrolling through social media on my phone!
Shop - Shop is a very practical app that you can use to track packages. Essentially, you link it to your amazon, gmail, etc, and it will pull tracking numbers, making it easy to track all your packages in one place. You can also add them manually, if you would prefer. Especially around birthdays and holidays, it is so handy to make sure you have gotten everything you ordered!
And those are my most-used daily life apps! I hope you found this list helpful!
Thank you so much for reading! I will talk to you next week!
Take care,
Caroline