Top 5 Apps Guaranteed To Help You Overcome Through Tough Times

The pandemic that early 2020 brought into the world has left no fragment of our daily lives unscathed. We have all felt the impact it has had on our jobs, our routines, our activities, our children, and our relationships; this is aside from any obvious health related matters of course. This has all led to great divide and isolation the likes of many of us have never seen before. Many people, children included, have found their mental health has been negatively affected. Anxiety can leave you down and quite paralyzed. Over the past nearly two years, I have found 5 apps that have been quite useful to me, to help me through challenging days and times and have really put me right back on top, feeling quite able and confident to face the new year ahead. I am so happy to share these with you.

I know this app comes preinstalled on many phones now but I only recently discovered the vast world of podcasts. They are like radio shows available at the push of a button. There are so many shows of various topics; but for this list, I am sharing a very specific show that I do not start my day without…the Joel Osteen Podcast. For anyone who had not heard of Joel Osteen, he is often called “The Smiling Preacher”. If you have heard him speak, you know why. To hear him speak, he just sounds like he is smiling. His messages are so positive and leave you feeling full of hope and confidence. He is even mentioned in Khloé Kardashian’s #1 New York Times Bestseller Strong Looks Better Naked A new 30-minute message is posted each day and on Fridays his wife usually gives a shorter 10-15 minute message. I usually listen in the car or while I am putting on makeup in the morning; it sets the perfect tone for each day.

This app I found after reading Atomic Habits by James Clear. Atomic Habits is a book about different ways to implement habits for success. One of those methods, used by this app, is by starting small and building as you master each one; kind of like baby steps. And if you have ever been in a funk, sometimes starting small can feel big enough. If you find yourself needing a fresh start and plenty of motivation or help implementing a new routine, (back to the office after teleworking anyone?), this is the app to help with that. The app offers alarm reminders, daily motivation, community discussions (like Facebook-style posts), challenges you can do individually or in a group, morning and nightly coaching, guided meditations, and so much more. And might I add the sounds and voice narratives on this app are so unique and soothing. You will quickly get hooked using this app.

Anyone who follows me on Instagram knows I love my Daily Yoga app. I have used many different ones over the years and this is my current favorite. They have hundreds of classes in every level and sort. You can select the perfect class for you by filtering level, time duration, body part, time of day….they have it all! Even if you have never done yoga before, this app will make it your new favorite. The way this app really helped me this past year was by offering something physical I could do when my body would not cooperate with doing anything else. Yoga is so gentle on the body and so healing at the same time. I loved focusing just on the breathing aspect of it which then helped me when I would draw on that during the course of my day; especially during high anxiety and stressful times. Each day that I would do a session, I could feel myself getting stronger and that means everything during times you are feeling very weak.

This app I found after trying out the award winning Calm app; it is nearly identical but a Christian version. I am pretty sure they are made by the same developers. This app offers a daily meditation, reads through Bible scriptures by book, by mood, by feeling; it has so many guided meditations that are by subject or for bedtime when you need help winding down. It has music, and kid options like Bible stories by age range. It offers meditations by featured people like Danny Silk. (I listened to a guided meditation that was so incredible that it led me to find a book by him, Keep Your Love On. ) This app is my go-to when I am feeling discouraged and it provides such comfort and peace at times when it is very needed. Even if religion of any kind is not your jam, it has plenty of offerings you could still find peace from. Like the name says, this app feeds your soul.

I saved the fun for last. The Daylio app is kind of an accountability partner/diary/habit tracker. You select or create categories for your day. My categories are: Social, Food, Health, Chores, Self-Care, Better Me, Productivity, and in each category, you select different activities. At the end of the day, you select the activities you did, and you can create whatever activities you do or aspire to do. Some of mine are visit with friends, eat healthy, no sugar, do for a walk, yard work, blog, etc. It has a space to record notes or gratitude for the day and an option to post a picture. The app stores your entries and creates weekly and monthly reports and tracks your achievements. You can customize the colors, set goals, and it shows you your progress. Over time, it will even show you what habits often result in you selecting it was a good day (or bad). There is power in declaring something you want to do and by setting up an activity you want to do, it stays in the back of your mind and you automatically are more likely to do it. This app can really grow with you if say, you start off at ground zero: you can choose ‘brush your hair’, ‘shower’, ‘wash your face’….or once you get going, you can choose your higher daily habits you want to master to crush your life/business goals. This app gets really fun when you look back to see your progress; it is very motivating and you become your own cheerleader!

I hope you will check out some of these apps for yourself. I know you will love them as much as I do. And if there are any that you don’t see here that have been helpful to you, that you love, share them in the comments! We are all in these tough times together, even if we are a bit more distanced from one another. xoxox