It’s a New Year, no doubt with resolutions to be healthier. Part of that “be healthy” mindset needs to be about the mind, as in incorporating affirmations, meditation, motivation, self-love and positivity into your daily routines. While this may seem like a high mountain to climb, there are several apps out there to help make wellness a much easier journey.
ThinkUp
Cost: Free
This is a positive affirmation app. Select the ones you like, record them in your own voice, add in some music, and voilà: your very own uplifting playlist.
Positive mantras can affect your mental health in a significant way, according to multiple studies. And ThinkUp says that hearing affirmations in your own voice makes them 10x more effective than if someone else’s voice were speaking them to you.
The Fabulous
Cost: $9.99/month or $95.99/year
The app was created in Duke University’s Behavioral Economics Lab. It uses science to help you cultivate positive habits that support a more productive lifestyle: exercising more, eating healthier, or trying out meditation.
To start, you’ll take a quick survey about your goals. Then the app will guide you to use strategies like integrated fitness programs, meditation sessions, and power-nap plans proven to help you stick with your new mood-, energy-, and productivity-boosting routines.
iWish
Cost: Free
Visual thinkers, this is the app for you. It’s basically a virtual vision board for your goals, wishes, and plans.
iWish allows you to create a “bucket list” of goals, from receiving an MBA to planting a tree in your backyard. Then use the in-app to-do lists and progress tracking to tackle each target in your own time.
Motivation – Daily Quotes
Cost: Free
Each day, the app sends you a motivational quote. (You pre-select the categories, so you’ll only see quotes that apply to you.)
If you want to go deeper, you can browse through hundreds of other quotes in the app’s library, find uplifting book recommendations, set motivational reminders throughout the day, and change the fonts and colors of the quotes you see.
Sanity & Self
Cost: Free, or $9.99/month for a premium membership
This app is like a podcast, a therapist, and a bullet journal in one.
Sanity & Self offers over 900 guided audio sessions on anxiety, self-love, dating, fitness, and more, ranging from three to 30 minutes — or up to 45 minutes, if you unlock the premium membership.
Plus, there’s an option to text an expert (for an additional fee) from their cache of coaches and mentors for advice on your journey.
You can also use the app to set personalized reminders to keep your goals on track and to journal about your progress.
Shine
Cost: Free, or $11.99/month for premium membership
This science-backed stress-reduction app helps you develop a personalized self-care program.
Every weekday morning, you’ll receive a message filled with affirmations, self-care advice, and the Daily Shine, a short, podcast-meets-meditation. There’s also a spot for journaling and a library of articles and guided meditations.
The premium membership allows you to join the Shine Squad, a space where you can get real-time advice from other users.
SelfishBabe
Cost: Free, or $5.99/month for a premium plan
This app is all about self-love. You’ll have access to the SelfishBabe blog, the SelfishBabe YouTube channel, and to SelfishTalk, a podcast hosted by the founder, Olanikee Osi. The main topic: helping women “selfishly and authentically love themselves”.
For a monthly fee, the app will send you daily affirmations and reminders right to your home screen. You’ll also gain access to their self-love video course, recommended podcasts and books, motivational videos, and more.
Be Focused
Cost: Free
The idea behind Be Focused: If you break work up into smaller chunks separated by breaks, it’s easier to stay motivated.
The app helps you divide tasks into 25 minutes of work, followed by five minute break interval. A great solution if you’re determined to kick procrastination to the curb this year.
I Am
Cost: Free
Another affirmation option. You can choose the types you want to receive based on your daily intentions, and set reminders for when you’ll receive them.
Forest
Cost: Free
A phone app to keep you off your… phone? Believe it. It has a game-like quality: When you want to put down your phone, you’ll plant a “seed” in the app’s forest. As time goes by, the seed you planted will gradually grow into a tree. But, if you pick up your phone and leave the app, your tree will die.
You can also earn rewards and unlock more than 30 new tree species to grow, share your forest and compete with friends and other users.
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