The new year is almost upon us. Hopefully, 2018 was a good year for you, but if you want to make 2019 even better, you’ll want to set up some New Year’s resolutions. What better way to achieve your resolutions than with the technology you already have at your disposal? You can use your devices to keep on track and help you achieve your goals — all you need are the right apps. Let’s take a look at some resolutions that you may have, and some of the best New Year’s resolution apps to help you achieve them.
Check out our picks for the best deals to get you ready for the new year, and make sure to avoid our favorite New Year’s resolution enders.
Read more — Scribd
Scribd is one of the most popular apps for accessing magazines, ebooks, graphic novels, and even audiobooks on the go. The app provides personalized recommendations, but you can also browse by topic, or explore what’s currently trending. You get access to some of the most popular publications on the planet, including Bloomberg, Time Magazine, People Magazine, Fortune Magazine, and Money Magazine. The app is also incredibly handy if you’re a university student since it allows you to search for dissertations, scientific studies, government reports, and even sheet music. Your unlimited selection of books will not only sync across all your devices but will be ready for you to read offline. The app is free to download and comes with a 30-day trial period, but a membership costs $9 a month.
Learn a new language — Duolingo
So you want to learn a new language? Well, felicidades! Estamos muy orgullosos de ti! You should try Duolingo. This app will give you as much as you can handle in the form of short, lesson-orientated bursts. You can learn at a gradual pace, too, and even practice with your friends. There is a bit of gamification here, so it will feel almost as if you’re playing a game and striving to reach the next level. There are 23 languages to choose from including Spanish, Italian, French, German, Russian, Greek, and er — Klingon? Whatever you learn, Duolingo is one of the best language-learning apps out there.
Set good habits — Way of Life!
The more information you provide the app, the more effective it will be at helping you get rid of those nasty habits in the new year. You can set up reminders and custom messages to give you that little push you need in your daily life. The app also allows you to keep journals and notes, in addition to logging your exercise, and even how much water you drink. The free version limits you to only three items you can choose to track, but you can upgrade to the premium version for $5 to get access to unlimited items.
Fall in love — Match.com
If you’re looking for love, then Match.com is one of the best dating apps you can download. A veteran of the dating game, Match.com wants you to find love by “winking” at matches through the app, whether that’s from your own searches, or through Match’s own recommendations. You’re going to want a subscription to get the most out of it though, and that can get a little pricey — $21 a month for six months — but it does allow you to see who’s viewed your profile and liked your pictures, as well as a lot of other features.
Change your career — Glassdoor
If you’re looking for a new job, or you’re thinking about changing careers, the first thing you’ll want to do is some research. Glassdoor offers much more than the latest job listings. You can check out reviews for the company, salaries, benefits, and other things that are important to you. You can also use the Know Your Worth tool to calculate your current market value and search average wages. You can even see what former employees have to say about a company.
Save more money — Qapital
If you’re not great at saving money yourself, then you might find a rules-based app like Qapital will work for you. It links to your savings account, then uses IFTTT (if this then that) rules to trigger the transfer of money every time you perform a specific task. So if you’re addicted to Starbucks, you can set up the app to save $5 every time you buy from the coffee shop. There’s a freelancer rule, which sets aside a certain percentage for tax every time you get paid, and it can provide alerts or stop payments when cash is tight.
Get in shape — Nike+ Training Club
Nike+ Run Club is a running app that takes an adaptive approach to your training. Based on your goals and fitness level, it will adapt its recommended training curriculum to better suit your progress. Not only does the app help you stay motivated by integrating with social apps like Facebook, but it will allow you to send a “shoutout” to a friend to help them stay motivated. This app is even available for Apple Watch.
Lose weight — MyFitnessPal
This app will let you keep track of your health wherever you go. Not only will it help you keep track of your calories, but you can use it to scan items you are about to buy at the supermarket to get additional nutritional information. MyFitnessPal works with a huge database of more than 5 million foods, and it also has a companion Apple Watch app, which will make this app essential as a companion to all your other fitness apps. The app is compatible with most of the top fitness apps including Strava, Apple Health, and Runtastic.
Eat healthier — Foodprint by Nutrino
Foodprint by Nutrino will highlight the foods you need to eat to become healthier but in a personalized way. It suggests what foods to eat based on your personal preferences, or dietary restrictions like diabetes. In the app, you can plan your meals based on your goals. You’ll also want to log your food, exercise, and other information so that the app can learn more about you. Foodprint by Nutrino will even show you a list of the restaurants nearby that serve whatever kind of food you want to eat. Plan ahead and get healthy with this great app.
Get organized — Wunderlist
When collating our best to-do list apps a lot of the same names pop up again and again — and Wunderlist is one of those that’s always mentioned. It comes with simple tools to create tasks and share them among your immediate family or friends, and since it has abolished its premium service, it comes with more free features than many other competitors, including time limits, comments, and the ability to assign tasks to specific people.
Travel more — Skyscanner
If you want to travel, you will need an app to search the best deals on flights and hotels. Skyscanner helps you nab great deals as well as check out reviews, compare prices, and book right in the app. You can even search and find a car rental with Skyscanner. It is a comprehensive travel app that will help you plan your next vacation.
Meditate — Headspace
If you’re stressed out or want to improve your focus, then this meditation app might be just the solution. The app will take you through the basics of meditation and track your progress. It also has a buddy system, so you and your friends can keep each other motivated. You get rewards the more you use the app, and it has a Take10 foundation level, which is free. After the 10-minute Take10 sessions, you can continue with a range of guided meditation techniques. You will also be able to download the sessions for offline use. A premium membership will run you $13 a month — or $95 a year — but you can also purchase a one-time subscription for $400.
Quit drinking — Twenty-Four Hours a Day ($6)
Twenty-Four Hours a Day is a book that was written back in 1954. It offers inspirational quotes for meditation, and it helps people who are dealing with problems with alcohol live a sober and healthy life. You can also share inspirational messages by text with others. This is a must-have app filled with amazing inspirational messages that can be with your wherever you are.
Quit smoking — QuitNow!
If one of your resolutions is to stop smoking, then there’s an app that can make your difficult task easier. QuitNow! is a motivational app that helps you to quit by reminding you of when you quit, as well as serving up a variety of reasons to keep going. It’ll show you how long it’s been since you smoked your last, how many cigarettes you haven’t smoked, how your health has improved, and — best of all — how much money you’ve saved by not lighting up a death stick and by rethinking your life.
Concentrate/sleep more — Noisli
One of the ways to achieve better health and relaxation in the new year is to make sure you get a good night’s sleep. This app generates high-quality ambient sounds such as rain, wind, a forest with birds, and many others. This app can be used to help people suffering from insomnia, possibly to soothe a migraine, or simply when you want to concentrate while studying or reading. If you suffer from Tinnitus or ADD and ADHD, this app can also be of help to you.
If you want to dig in a little deeper, head over to our picks for the six best budgeting apps and our comprehensive list of the best health and fitness apps. Or if you’re looking to kick back and relax a bit, check out the top games for iPhone and Android.
