Not too much or not too little is all we ever want in life. Unfortunately, we tend to work to death, sleep too long, and break our routines, taking ourselves into a world of endless melancholy. Recalling the time you’ve experienced this? When the quarantine hit many of us, it even hit our balance in life. We sought escapism, and a few moments of relaxation became a never-ending affair (why not? Balancing family and work isn’t an easy call). And that’s fine. Shutting everything down was a means to get through those challenging times. But, when escapism becomes a habit, your free time always goes in vain. While work-life balance is becoming a topic of discussion, knowing what to do with your free time and how consciously you choose to spend it defines your future. If you’ve read the book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Steven Covey, which is considered a business bible among leaders, one of the habits “Sharpening the saw” applies to anyone’s personal and professional lives. It encourages you to strive for a sustainable lifestyle by creating time to recuperate, recharge and become effective in the times ahead. Covey devised four compelling aspects to sharpen your saw – Physical, Mental, Social, and Spiritual. Being tech geeks, we came up with a list of the best technology tools to assist you in this process. Lucky you!
Physical
The mind-body connection is so powerful and etched. Tuning up yourself physically amps up your productivity and peace of mind. Why not start with some physical activities in your free time, when you’re away from work? You don’t have to start gleaning the tutorials; get started with these apps:
- Johnson & Johnson’s 7-minute workout app Short yet powerful workouts can make your day. Starting your workout routine with a 30-minute or an hour session can eventually leave you uninterested in the process. The 7-minute activities in this app are an excellent way to kickstart your physical pump-ups or give yourself a break from monotonous long walks.
- Withings Smart Scale We call it the next level of tech as it monitors your weight, water percentage, body mass, body fat, and heart rate.
- Lifesum As necessary are workouts to your body, the diet plays a silent key role. Lifesum is here to curate customized diet plans based on your lifestyle.
Mental
Is anxiety attack your daily visitor, but you still let it run its course? It’s time you had an action plan to improve your mental health. Because only when you’re mentally fit does everything else fall in place. A few apps that can provide mental support are here.
- DayOne If you’ve maintained personal diaries as a child, journaling your thoughts can bring you peace even today. The app makes it easy and convenient to jot down your unusual times. .
- Calm To all the music lovers out there, are your ear pods the saviors during stressful times? Then, tune into Calm app for soothing and restful music that takes you into a meditative state.
Spiritual
While mental health keeps you balanced and happy, spirituality comes as the next layer to it. We can say that both are interlinked but distinct. Utilizing your free time to learn something about spirituality adds a layer of hope and gives the feeling of oneness with the universe. Getting on a spiritual train is not a one-day errand, but you can start with this one app.
- Headspace Spirituality starts with meditation. It’s never easy to sit alone with your thoughts shut. This fantastic app educates beginners and makes meditation easy.
Social
The next time we are restricted with quarantine (hopefully never again), or during the times when you feel alone, staying connected with the world makes you realize you’re one in many. We don’t want you to become a social media buff but exercise your social muscle. Few apps that can get you to feel the real human connection:
- TapeReal Ads, filtered photos on social media channels make the real world hidden behind. This app allows only audio and video posts (with no ads btw), bringing you back into the world of authentic human connections.
- Bunch You don’t have to get out of bed on a bad day, fix breakfast, or don outfits only to get stuck in the traffic hoping to meet your friends. This app is the love of all gamers as it has a video chat overlay, so you’ve got to see your buddy’s expressions when you smack them down.