Stay on top of your daily activities by making the most out of these apps.

Smartphones have cemented their positions in our lives. The declining prices and increasing availability means that smart phones are now accessible to almost anyone. Some might even say that we have become slaves to the smart phone: we find ourselves constantly looking down o them to see if any new notifications have come in; and putting down our hands on them in reaction to phantom vibrations. Nevertheless, we should recognize the smart phone of its true potential in scheduling, while keeping up with our hectic routines. The tasks of keeping track of errands, taking notes and keeping tab on friends, all come together in a simplified neat device --- the smart phone. In order to add to the effectiveness of your smart phone, here are a few must have apps for you to stay on top of your daily activities.

Fabulous

Incubated at Duke’s Behavioral Economics Lab, this app is the ultimate habit forming app. Forgot writing your new year’s resolutions on a paper; this app tracks your activities every morning and afternoon, 24/7 in a day of the year. You can set time slots for drinking water, doing exercise, and completing your top agenda. It then basically organizes the day ahead. By enabling the “Make me fabulous” option you can get into the groove for some exercise, meditation, yoga or stretches. A different set of habits give you a lot of options to fine-tune your day. You can also set timelines and goals. The sometime intrusive nature of this application --bombarding you with push notifications the first thing in the morning – has been noted by the developers, as it might be a little annoying at times. But habits are hard to form, aren’t they? The app is currently only available for android, as a release for the AppStore is still in progress

Best for:

• Good habit forming

• Scheduling everyday events like naps and exercise

• Behaviors, and self-motivation and tracking

Calorie Counter

Do you often put on weight and feel helpless about it? You’re not alone. Wonder how you could keep a count on your daily consumption? Calorie Counter from MyFitnessPal is just the thing for you. Again, a quick email or Facebook login lets you set up an account in a minute, and you’re ready to go. By providing basic information about your activity, current weight, height, you can choose whether you want to lose weight or maintain weight. Based on how aggressively you want to pursue your fitness plan, the app sets a calorie limit for you. Now all you have to do is enter information on your diets, and the app keeps count of the calories consumed. Be sure to stay under your dietary limits, and clock up at least a few minutes exercise if you are pursuing mild plans or better yet hit the gym if you are pursuing ambitious plans. But you should definitely install the apps before starting your exercise regimen.

 

Best for :

• Keeping calorie count of the food consumed

• Organizing meal plans

Money Lover

If you are having a tough time getting your financial balance right, and worried about not running out of money, go to the play Store and download Money Lover immediately. It’s free and is available on all platforms, Android, Apple and Windows. The app calls itself a Money Manager, Budget and Saving Planner. The app is great for those who lose track of their spending and bills. You can also get access of your budget plan on the web from your PCs. To get started, you can jump right in to the app without signing up, but if you want your data to sync across devices and get full features, you might want to sign up at the beginning. The app lets you pick your currency, and slowly builds on keeping track of your receipts, setting reminders, conducting detailed analysis, setting categories and sparing savings. A premium feature that cost money unlocks other additional features for savings, and budgets. Of, course, whether you want to spend a bit more to save a greater amount later is up to you. The free version of the app however works is in general sufficient.

Best for :

• Tracking transaction

• Putting bill payment reminders

• Cloud Syncing