With the first few weeks of 2016 under your belt, you’re doing great if you’re still on board with the resolutions you set at the start of the month. In fact, if you’ve made it past the end of January you’re already doing better than the one third of Americans who quit their resolutions within the first 30 days.
That in mind, there’s no doubt about it – sticking to your pledge of personal betterment can be difficult. But thanks to technology, you don’t have to be alone in your resolve. From learning a new language to managing your money better to keeping track of your workout schedule, there are a number of smartphone apps that can help you out this New Year.
If You Want to Better Manage Your Money
Mint: Personal Finance & Money
Mint is an excellent tool for both professional and personal use alike. The app for Apple and Android offers a user-friendly way to create budgets and track bills. Its platform syncs with most financial institutions in the United States, transforming data into useful and visually stunning infographics of your money and where it’s going. Intuit, the company behind Mint, also has a number of other financial apps which all play nicely together.
Personal Capital
This is another top-rated personal finance app available for both Apple and Android. While it lacks the interface appeal of Mint’s colorful pie charts, it has many practical and effective tools to help you create budgets, track your investments, and plan for retirement. Like Mint, Personal Capital has a desktop version so you’re never without your financial plan.
If You Want to Improve Your Health
Apple HealthKit
If you’re an Apple user, this app is already built into your phone. The HealthKit app integrates with other health and wellness platforms to provide an overview of everything from the number of steps you took in one day to your heart rate to calories burned. Pledging to lose weight was the number one New Year’s Resolution made in 2015, and this app will keep you on track to do that, all while pleasing the most data hungry of users.
Twilight
Improving your personal health isn’t all about fitness. Twilight is an Android app that filters out the blue light in your smartphone or tablet screen during evening hours, helping you get a better night’s sleep. With adjustable color tone and brightness settings, this app is perfect for chronic in-bed phone users (though perhaps you’ve pledged to stop checking your email in bed as part of this year’s resolutions).
If You Want to Become a Whiz at Languages
Duolingo
The most popular platform for learning a new language, Duolingo offers free, step-by-step lesson plans for more than a dozen languages, including Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, and Esperanto. Is the language you want to learn not there yet? Rest easy – Duolingo adds a number of new languages each year. Each language has a built-in placement test, perfect for non-newbies who want to brush up their skills.
Google Translate
The Google Translate app for Android is perfect for people whose resolution is both to learn a new language and to travel more. You can download offline packs for more than 90 languages, meaning you can translate signs, buy tickets, and ask questions in the local language on the go – no WiFi or network connection required. By having translations available at your fingertips, you’ll organically expand your vocabulary.
If You Want to Master Organization
Google Now
The Google Now app taps into a recent trend in the online organization scene: cards. Cards categorize your life into a series of mini dashboards. From your calendar to your to do list, your local weather forecast to your upcoming boarding passes, Google Now has the ability to manage all aspects of your life. Its cards sync with dozens of other apps if you don’t want to use the Google Suite.
Congratulations! You’re now set to conquer and achieve your New Year’s Resolutions with your newly-equipped slate of smartphone apps.
