A while ago I posted about my favorite apps, but like all things tech that list has quickly become outdated. Here is an updated list of apps that have made my everyday life a little easier.
1. SleepMatic – Mr. Ice Cream gave me the Fitbit Charge HR as a “push present” when Max was born because he thought it would be a fun way to track our sleep with a new baby (you can see my sleep data here). Don’t worry new parents, the data shows that your sleep does get better! When Mr. Ice Cream’s parents recently gave me the AppleWatch, his dad immediately pointed me to the SleepMatic App that gives you detailed sleep analytics. The app shows you how your sleep is affected by heart rate, differentiates between light and deep sleep and records how many times you wake up each night.
2. Dark Sky – This isn’t a new weather app, but it’s the one Mr. Ice Cream and I have loved for a long time. The app tells you the weather at your exact location, down to the minute of when it’s suppose to start and stop raining, so you can plan your outdoor time accordingly.
3. DayOne – This app is a personal journal. For someone whose natural disposition is to be anxious, this app is a good way to take a breath and jot down what’s on my mind. It’s also a great way to easily write down funny things Max says or quick moments I want to remember. For instance, the other day Max got a bit of marker on his sock and he came to me and said “I’m a mess. Change me”. I know one day I’ll love looking back at these memories.
4. Productive – This app is designed to help you build good habits and organize your life. Recently Mr. Ice Cream and I have been making an effort to practice daily meditation. We can track our progress with this app and set custom reminders for ourselves. If anyone has a mindfulness app that they love, please share! This app is also great for reminding us to brush Max’s teeth everyday!
5. Feedly – Feedly is an RSS aggregator and a great way to organize the blogs you follow. I never thought about how much I love this app until I had a couple friends recently ask me how I keep track of all the blogs I follow. They were either directly going to each website to check for new posts or relying on Facebook to show them new articles.
6. 1Password – I hate creating and remembering new passwords and I used to use the same one across multiple services. Obviously this isn’t ideal, so a few years ago I let Mr. Ice Cream talk me into some small level of protection. This app stores and/or creates logins for any site and only requires you to remember one master password to access everything. I have the app on my computer, iPhone and iPad, allowing me to seamlessly access my passwords on all my devices. A few months ago Mr. Ice Cream even convinced my parents to give up their “password book” (literally a paper notebook with their passwords in it) and begin using the app to manage their passwords.
7. Simple – We are big believers in using technology/software to help manage our personal budgets and we love Simple. It’s an exclusively online bank that has fantastic built in budgeting and saving tools. Simple makes saving for large expenses extremely easy. Once you set a goal, such as “Hanukkah 2017”, it will set aside small amounts of money into that goal until you reach it. There is a beautiful app for your phone that makes it easy and fun to track your expenses.
8. Texture – Texture is a digital subscription that gives you access to over 200 magazines. It’s great for road trips when you want the ease of browsing through all your favorite magazines without the weight of carrying hard copies.
What are some of your favorite apps?
honeydew / 7504 posts
I use LastPass, which is similar to 1Password. Total game-changer.
My other new favorite is NextDoor. It’s kind of like facebook but for your local neighborhoods. So you join and add in whatever surrounding neighborhoods you want (like I have most neighborhoods within 3-5 miles of me added). People post requests for recommendations for services like carpet installation, they post stuff for sale, they create meet-ups. I’ve bought a few things from it, and got a recommendation for the company who installed our new HVAC this summer – a company I never would have heard of had it not been for this app, and they were awesome! But you never actually “friend” anyone, so you can pretty much see anything anyone in your chosen neighborhoods post. I’ve found out about so much cool stuff in my area from the app!
blogger / apricot / 250 posts
@littlebug: I used lastPass for several years before switching to 1Password and it is definitely great.
I will check out NextDoor. I’ve never heard of it, but I love discovering new apps!
nectarine / 2243 posts
1password really was a life changer for me. It makes coming up with super complex passwords (and managing all of them) SO easy. That and enabling 2 step authentication for everything that offers it. I’m trying to get my parents on board; they basically use names of their (now dead) pets for all of their passwords
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
Our security manager at work recommended 1password. Especially for my parents who still keep a “notebook”
blogger / apricot / 250 posts
@Littlebit7: I thought it was a miracle when my husband convinced my parents to use 1Password! They’ve been using it since December and love it!
blogger / apricot / 250 posts
@T.H.O.U.: that’s what my parents used for the longest time! The best was that the cover of the notebook was labeled “all passwords”!
apricot / 400 posts
I highly recommend the 10% Happier app to help with your meditation practice (I also recommend reading Dan Harris’s book – fascinating!). It’s got lots of meditations and also tracks how much you’re meditating and will send you reminders, if you want.
blogger / apricot / 250 posts
@poppygirl15: I’ll check that out! Actually I got into meditation after reading Dan Harris’s 10% happier book!
persimmon / 1427 posts
My favorite app is Slice. It tracks when your online orders will arrive (which is especially helpful around the holidays). It will also alert you when something you bought is on sale and will prompt you to automatically request a refund request for the difference.