If you’re anything like me, your average day is filled with screen time.
Whether I’m writing on my laptop or managing Bossed Up’s Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts from my iPhone, I love being connected with you bosses!
But we all know the perils of being plugged in ALL the time.
The good news is, it’s not the phone and computer itself that are damaging—it’s how we choose to use them.
Here are six apps to integrate into your Internet usage to make sure you’re the boss of your devices instead of the other way around.
1) Happier
Working on your gratitude practice? Some people journal each morning, have a gratitude jar they fill with life’s best moments, or scrapbook to preserve memories. Happier is a digital solution that fits better into my everyday routine. Started by Nataly Kogan (who gave an incredible Ted Talk about her story), Happier is a community of people who believe in finding the good in everyday moments. With it’s delightful user experience and positive community, it’s hard to stay in a funk with this app on your phone.
Price: Free! Get Happier here >>
2) Simply Yoga
I love yoga—both for the physical and mental exercise I get from my practice. I like to start and end each week with a little yoga in the park with Teddy (my four-legged fur baby), but sometimes I don’t make it to my mat on Monday mornings. When that’s the case, Simply Yoga saves the day with its super-easy follow-along sessions that I can tackle on my phone at home or in my hotel room when I’m on the road for the corporate speaking and training I do. For the yogi on the go, this is a must!
Price: Free! Get Simply Yoga here >>
3) Headspace
I’ll be honest, I never thought meditation would be right for me, but this app is on my iPhone home screen because of its incredible ability to turn a bad day around and improve my focus 10 quick minutes at a time. The creator, Andy, has the perfect voice for guided meditation (it does help that he’s English and spent a decade training as a Buddhist monk), and he has a wonderful ability to break down the science behind meditation as he eases you into this new habit in a step-by-step way. The app is simply designed, easy to use, and has helped me improve my focus while reducing stress.
Price: Subscription packages start at $6.24 a month. Get Headspace here >>
4) TimeTune and ATracker
When I find myself on the brink of burnout, I know that one of the first steps to getting back on the path to sustainable success is to do an energy audit. You can’t tell what’s going on with you until you really know what’s going on with you, and these apps can help. TimeTune for Android and ATracker for iOS make it easy to track what you’re up to and then create beautiful reports in an analytics dashboard you can export to track your progress and adjust as needed.
Price: ATracker Lite is free, full version costs $4.99. TimeTune is free with in-app purchases available, get it here >>
5) Citrus
Some people have incredible social media self-control…and the rest of us are telling the truth. If you find yourself hitting ⌘ + t and typing in “Facebook” before you’re even consciously aware you’re doing it, you need some Citrus in your life. Citrus is a Google Chrome extension that will let you set a timer to block your access to any number of deliciously distracting websites. Less wasted time online means more time to do the things you love, so get some of that fresh-squeezed productivity in your life now, boss.
Price: Free! Get Citrus here >>
6) MedHelper
You want real balance? Start with the basics: making sure you’re taking care of your health. That’s easier said than done for anyone managing a chronic health condition or helping to care for an aging family member. MedHelper is tremendously helpful at keeping track of prescriptions and appointments. It also logs vital signs and helps record what’s going on with your body so you’re ready to give a rock-solid report at your next check-up. Our health is one of those things we take for granted until it’s jeopardized, but if it is, this app can be a life-saver.
Price: Free! Get MedHelper here >>
What apps do you use to stay balanced? Bringing work, love, and wellness together in what we do best at Bossed Up Bootcamp, our flagship training for women navigating career transition. But how the heck do you get it all together on your devices? I want to hear from you! Weigh in on the comments section below with the apps that help you live #likeaboss.
This article originally appeared on Bossed Up.
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Emilie Aries is the Founder & CEO of Bossed Up, where she brings work, love, and wellness together to help women craft sustainable career paths. Under Emilie’s leadership, thousands have gone from burnt out to Bossed Up by ditching the martyrdom mindset and stepping up as the boss of their lives.
Ellevate Network is a global women’s network, serving as the essential resource for professional women who create, inspire and lead. It is operated on the belief that the research is clear: companies and the economy perform better when women are fully engaged. The most dynamicnetwork of its kind, Ellevate is made up of successful, motivated and passionate professional women from various industries and walks of life with one common belief: that investing in themselves and in other women is good business. To learn more, go to www.ellevatenetwork.com.
Photo via Nickolai Kashirin.
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