6 apps to help you simplify your life

While many mobile applications serve as a mere distraction, these apps can help simplify or streamline your daily life.

When the iPhone and app store rolled out, the slogan, “There’s an app for that” pretty much summed up the whole craze for apps.  Fast-forward to 2016 and apps are everywhere.  They can help you do everything from tracking your exercise all the way through to finding new recipes and, lets not forget: to help you simplify your life. We tend to forget how much we rely on them daily.

As I look across my devices, there are a lot of apps that I use for both my professional and personal life. However since this is a work-related blog, I decided to focus on a handful of apps that I use regularly that help me on a daily basis in the office.

SnagIt by TechSmith

Cost: $49.95

Get it: Desktop App

This tool is perfect for laptops, particularly those used for business purposes. SnagIt is a screenshot program that can capture images, video and audio. It can often be used to help simplify emails between coworkers, because as we all know: A picture’s worth a thousand words.  It also has the ability to markup any picture on SnagIt before you send it off to someone else, showing them exactly what it is that you are looking for or having an issue with.

Headspace

Cost: $6.24-$12.95 subscription per month, Free mobile app

Get it: iOS, Android

Headspace describes itself as “a gym membership for the mind.” It uses meditation and relaxation techniques to help energise your mind. The app promises to make you less stressful and also to help you focus more.  It has the science to back up its claims. For me, the app helps recharge my batteries and helps me with my productivity. It’s especially helpful on those long and stressful days that we all face once and a while. It’s also great for use outside the office as well.  A wonderful tool to help you de-stress.

Duolingo

Cost: Free

Get it: iOS, Android

Want to learn a language? Is time something that you have little of? If so, Duolingo is the app for you. Available on both desktop and mobile, the app allows you to conquer the daunting task of learning an entirely new language. Surprisingly, the app also makes this extremely manageable, allowing you to set specific goals that are actually realistic, including the option to set the goal to as little as 10 minutes per day. For those with busy schedules who may never have believed they had the time available to learn a new language, Duolingo proves that it’s actually possible.

OneNote

Cost: Free

Get: iOS, Android

OneNote is an app designed around note-taking. It allows you to easily keep all of your notes in one place and organise them as you please, which can be perfect for the busy worker traveling from meeting to meeting. It also allows you to share your notes with other people that have the app, allowing you to easily help out a coworker who may have missed a meeting due to illness or some other reason. This is also helpful for people working globally or with coworkers who work remotely.

LiveScribe

Cost: $129.95-$235.85 (Physical Pen), Free (Associated App)

Get: iOS, Android

Technically this isn’t an app, but it is enabled by an app, so we’ll make this the exception. LiveScribe is a “Smart Pen” that captures handwritten notes in digital format. Rather than just saving the notes as is, LiveScribe can digitally display how the notes were written in real time, and demonstrate any changes that may have taken place. It also allows the person using it to record audio, which will sync with the notes being written and can be used to explain them in real time.

When you mix the real time changes and audio aspects, you can bring a co-worker up to date who may have missed a meeting.  This is especially important when you work globally and may have meetings that fall out of the workday with coworkers. It’s also helpful for avoiding things getting lost in translation to a text response.

Kaspersky Password Manager

Cost: Free (Basic version), £10.99-£14.99 (Premium Version)

Get it: iOS, Android

Password management is incredibly important but also can be quite a pain. It’s important to have complicated, not easily guessable passwords to properly protect your private data, but with the number of different passwords you need, it can be hard to keep track of all of them. Luckily, this app allows you to store the passwords you use for a variety of sites, all protected by one main password (make sure it’s a good one!). This way, your passwords can be as complex as possible, and you don’t need to worry about forgetting them.

I’ve told you mine, but which apps make your day easier? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Tips
Sign up to receive our headlines in your inbox
  • For all other countries