Photography by Keren Levand (@kerenlevand) from Unsplash
What's getting you to minimize your screen time?
For some people, it might be the need to refocus on other endeavors and enjoy connections with their people, environment, or moments. While we willingly put our phones for those significant, beautiful parts of our lives, we also try to use the power of technology to boost what we have— seeing our phones not as villains but as allies (with control, of course!)
We tested out three apps that do just that, balancing out what otherwise be too detrimental to our progress for you. Take a peek below of our three favorite wellness apps that you could use daily, and see what fits your needs at the moment:
Get (mentally) fit.
Photography by Benyafez Studio (@benyafezstudio) from Unsplash
Our app of choice: Paradym
We all heard of being physically in tip-top shape, but it's only recently that we've dallied and consciously trained our mental fitness.
Although it seems like we'd be tested out through rigorous brain exercises, mental fitness training allows you to reflect on your usual behavior. From there, it teaches you what you can do to better adapt to situations that could put you under emotional or mental strain.
Paradym teaches you just that.
We tried it out and were surprised by the personalized approach to developing our mental fitness. You can choose from stress, anxiety, balance, and more. It'll also ask you other relevant questions about your goals and what you want to achieve— creating a customized 'program' you could follow daily. The approach gave us an option to focus on one thing at a time without being distracted or overwhelmed by choices that might not be relevant to what we need. With options to listen to real people grounding their stories into your chosen areas, little exercises you could apply daily, and even reflection prompts you could look forward to every day, you can develop the practice of introspecting and uncover better ways to adapt to the ups and downs of our journey.
Our in-app favorite: Options to read or listen to the exercises! Perfect for when you want to rest your eyes or engage in some quiet moments, or if you need the extra accessibility to use the app.
Keeping it real.
Photography by Christina Moroz (@chrismoroz) from Unsplash
Our app of choice: BeReal
Being on social media platforms could sometimes take a toll on us, especially since we only see snippets and cut-out versions of people without knowing their whole story.
While we still love our usuals, we jumped into the rising hype of BeReal— a social media app where you could only do three things. Take one snapshot of your daily life in under two minutes, post at a synchronized time with your friends, and engage with them through real-life emojis and comments.
At first, it felt like a sensory blackhole. There are no options to take videos for your post, or feature sounds— a stark contrast to content-rich social media platforms. What you'll see, instead, is a glimpse of your friends' lives in the most mundane state, and for some reason, it makes us feel more open to starting conversations with them. Although it pales to the content we see on other platforms, it definitely feels more personal and real— a true gateway app for connecting with the people we care about the most.
Our in-app favorite: Real emojis! Get to capture how you'd actually react as if you were in the same room with your chosen favorites
Five Minutes of self.
Photography by Наталья Кленова (@photo_tatti) from Unsplash
Our app of choice: The Five-Minute Journal
If you're a big fan of journalling or gratitude exercises like we are, then you might have heard of The Five-Minute Journal.
The Five-Minute Journal is a physical journal that includes daily prompts for night and day that hone your ability to seek the positive in your day-to-day life. It asks simple questions that encourage you to ponder on the little things at present, building a better perspective on how we see the world.
If you don't find yourself being the type to write down notes and want to give it a shot, The Five-Minute Journal is available in app form, and it features just enough of what makes the journal a crowd-favorite among Women in Progress®️ across the globe. We were surprised at how they kept the physical sleekness and minimalistic approach with their digital counterpart. It made it easy to focus on the prompts and the little quote snippets you can take for the day. It's simple & easy, cutting down on the noise to focus on you. All to develop a higher sense of self while seeing the good things in life daily.
Our in-app favorite: An option to view your most used words for a quick glimpse of what you've been feeling or highlighting as you journal
Try these apps for yourself and see what good they could bring out in your daily routines. Whether you’re cutting down or enriching yourself even more digitally, they’re sure to resurface something positive in one aspect of your life.
Thumbnail by Наталья Кленова (@photo_tatti) and Keren Levand (@kerenlevand) from Unsplash