I’ll be the first to admit that I do, in fact, want all of the agendas, trackers, bullet journals, stickers, and pens. It’s a yearly struggle in Target as I try to pick just one to use for the next year.
But at the same time, I know I have a track record of buying all of these things and then letting them sit because I’m afraid of commitment when it comes to placing a sticker or finally putting pen to page.
Since I already carry around my phone with me, I turned to the app store to see what apps could keep me on track. So, without further ado:
#1 Daylio
App by Daylio (available on android and apple)
This app is a journaling godsend.
Each day is recorded with a series of emojis split between two groups – moods and activities. And the app gives you a reminder to track at a time of your choice (mine is around the time I go to bed) so you don’t forget!
Moods start out with a 5-emoji scale ranging from ‘rad’ to ‘awful’ with their own colors to set them apart. You can even add or edit the moods with different faces, names, or color pallets to fit your aesthetic.
Activities are a variety of emojis and symbols broken down into the following categories: People, Animals, Nature, Food & Drink, Activity, Goals, Travel & Places, Holidays, Objects, and Symbols. Honestly, I can’t think of an activity that doesn’t have a symbol on this app.
If you do want to type something, there is a spot to add a note – so don’t fret about forgetting about that funny joke you heard~
Once you’ve saved an entry, it shows up organized by months – and it’s super easy to jump around to see what you put!
My favorite part is their Stats tab. It shows you:
- how many days in a row you’ve logged
- monthly mood chart – you can search it to see what your mood is when you do certain activities
- mood count – how many days you chose a certain mood
- activity count – how many times you chose an activity
- average daily mood – lets you see your best vs. worst days
- often together – you can search by mood to see what you most often do during it
Finally, they have a Calendar Tab that shows you an overview of the month color-coded by the mood you chose. If you tap on the date, it also brings you to that day’s entry. Beneath is a total of the moods that showed up during the month.
In the More tab (or settings), you can change colors, edit moods and activities, change the language (all major ones appear to be accounted for, though I cannot vouch for their accuracy), export your entries, and more.
They do have a Premium version, which can unlock more emojis, color pallets, no ads, and give you more goals to track for $5.99 – pay once, unlock forever. I would definitely recommend using the free version first, though, as I’ve used mine for almost a year and have yet to find a need to. Still, the Premium upgrade does go on sale every so often if that interests you.
Available on both the Apple Store and Google Play – click here for their site!
#2 Female Fitness – Women Workout
App by Leap Fitness Group (android) or Abishkking Limited (apple)
This app is completely free and it’s honestly the best exercise app I’ve come across – the ads never pop up during a workout, only after it’s completed, so you never have to worry about an ad throwing off your groove.
Plus, there is no premium version – so they don’t pester you to sign up with them or to upgrade to continue.
The workouts are challenging and really push you to get better. My favorite workout is the “Full Body 7×4 Challenge” which is a 28-day workout routine that slowly increases in intensity as you go. They also have specific workouts for your abs, arms, thighs, and butt if you want to focus on a specific place.
You can set a female or male voice to instruct you through the workouts so you don’t have to stare at your screen to see what’s next or at a watch to track time. After each exercise, they give you a short break to calm your body, breathe, and get a drink before you move on to the next part.
If you want to incorporate stretching to your morning or night routine, they do have short 5-minute stretches to get your body ready for the day or relaxed for a great nights sleep.
In the Report tab, you can see how many exercises you’ve done, their estimated calorie burn, and even track your weight as you go.
You can also sync the app to Google Fit.
Available on the Apple Store here! Available on the Google Play Store here!
#3 Google Calendar
App by Google LLC (on android and apple)
One of my favorite things about this app is that it syncs to my google email account.
So whenever I have a flight or hotel confirmation email, Google automatically adds the information to my calendar without my having to flip between them to ensure the info is correct.
It even links back to the source email so you can find it easily in the calendar app instead of having to worry about searching for it in your mail – which is great when you book well in advance.
You can set goals, reminders, or events and then view your info in a schedule, day, week, or month overview. With multiple colors to choose from, color-coding is easy and keeps your info right on track, no matter how busy you are!
On top of this, you can see all of your calendar info online as well via your google account, so if you want to add something on your laptop you can! You can find it as its own web page or as an add-on at the right side of your Gmail page. See it here!
Available on the Apple Store here! Available on the Google Play Store here!
Outside of these apps, my favorite ones to have on my phone are for the various hotel, airline, and other travel apps.
Having your reservation right on your phone makes checking in so much easier, especially since a lot of apps are letting you check-in straight from them now! This is especially great for overseas travel as you only need wifi and can instantly get to your reservation page (or you can screenshot it so you have a back-up in case wifi is a bit spotty or non-existent).
What are some of your favorite apps?
Till next time,
Sam
The Traveling Ace 