Imagine a day in your life. You wake up, head to the gym, drive to work, make some calls, head to your favorite restaurant, catch a movie, and go back home, set an alarm for the next day and finally fall asleep.
Now imagine if your smartphone helped you at every step of your entire day. Mobile applications or ‘apps’ are software applications that you can download onto your smartphone or tablet. There are so many apps available, and there’s pretty much an app available for every possible scenario. They’re supposed to help you organize and live your life better.Almost everyone remembers that delightful game called Snake on old Nokia phones. That was probably the first app. But the real breakthrough came in 2007, when Apple introduced the iPhone, and users began consuming music on their phones. Today, there are millions of apps in the virtual world. Here’s a list of some of the best, across work, rest and play categories.
Work
Yast
Time — it’s something we could all do with more of nowadays. Yast doesn’t quite carve out a 25th hour in your day. However, it does help get the most out of your work routine. This ‘time-tracker’ lets you monitor how long you spend on various office chores, over weeks, days and months — thus building a picture of what you are doing, and how you could do it more efficiently. You can also track time spent on non-work activities, such as making tea for the rest of the office, or updating your Facebook status.
30/30
According to the developer of this productivity app, the best way to accomplish a task is focus on it for half an hour, then take a half an hour break. The way it works is that, at the start of the day, you assign a certain period of time (it doesn’t have to be precisely 30 minutes) to specific chores. The app then reminds you when work on these jobs is due to begin and end. It’s amazing how a ticking timer focuses the mind — with the clock counting, suddenly the temptation to randomly email someone, check for text messages or wander to the water cooler is dramatically reduced.
REST
Calm
Seeking a break from the stresses of everyday living? This new meditation app is a good starting point. Choose from a number of calming background images and noises (rain pattering on glass, waves swelling against the shoreline) and access an array of short motivational ‘programs’, designed to relieve anxiety, boost creativity and energy levels, aid sleep.
Sleep Cycle
This innovative app works by analyzing your movement to determine which phase of sleep you are in, waking you in the ‘lightest’ point (within a timeframe set by the user) so that you begin the day rested and alert. You place your phone beneath the pillow, allowing the accelerometer in your iPhone track movement of the head and body.
PLAY
MyIbidder
For shophaolics and collectors of curios, eBay is wonderful. However, being pipped at the death in an auction can be a turn-off. To the rescue comes iBidder, a ‘sniper’ that places a bid at the very last second, thus increasing your chances of securing the desired item — and at a reasonable price.
Luminosity
Technology can’t make you smarter — but it can ensure you get the most from you grey matter. ‘Brain trainer’ Luminosity has been designed by neurologists to help boost your cognitive powers. You negotiate a series of puzzles, created specifically to utilize different parts of the brain. The more you play, the better a work-out your brain receives.
