Download That Self Care App

Bright, blue screens shine my face at night. I have to admit that I do look at my phone at night before bed. 😮 Wait What? Says this reader who is reading a self-care blog. It probably is one of the sleep killers to not getting the best rest at night. By the way, the only affiliate link I have on here is on the Happiness Planner FYI. So this post is dedicated to my #techies out there who live, breathe, and almost worship their phones. 📱

Why is self care becoming a thing when it could have been a thing years ago? Research says the surge of social media has caused those negative feelings convert into a powerful self care tool.

"Some experts say [people’s] use of the informational resources on the internet increased awareness about self-care in general; others would say the always-on news cycle of the web combined with the depressing nature of social media led to a growing need for self-care tools."

Alright, seeing my friends' post surge to 200 likes on #instagram while I'm stuck in the 30s to hopeful 50s likes can feel a little, tiny, weenie jealous🤨.

Happy pictures everywhere and I'm wondering where are all the juicy negative feelings that people have? We can't live in a perfect world. Turn on the news. Social media can paint the perfect picture. So how do I combat it? Jump straight to the app to avoid FOMO.

So let's start: I am going to give you the top self-care apps that I believe will improve your self-care and overall #happiness.

Since some people are not in to journaling in a paperbound book, the alternative is to incorporate those self-care #strategies into an app and the self-care apps are catching on.

The Happiness Planner (android/ios) Basically an e-version of the Happiness Planner.

Roadmap for Happiness

🤤Benefits- Quote of the Day, reminders to reflect, calendar, schedule, to-do, rate yourself daily, roadmap to happiness, to-do lists

😊Pros – Easy to follow, easy to use, and easy to keep track of mood, basic functionality, Free! No distracting ads.

😞Cons- Basic- almost lackluster in creativity, enter notes on lines, no summary of tracking of mood, redundant daily reflection

I've been using it for about a week and a half daily and here are some screen shots. Feeling a little vulnerable but that will be another post later (the power of vulnerability).

Rating Your Day

To Do Lists with Reminder and Photos to add

Journey-Diary, Journal (android/ios/chrome extension) Daily journal log capturing location, weather, and motion activity.

🤤Benefits: Free but premium also available at $4.99 at the time of this post. Premium includes writing up 10 photos, more style texts, yearly relive moment entries, backup, remove PDF watermark. Add location, take pictures, calendar overview of posts, and Publishable to a blog or print to PDF. Wordpress functional. Sync over WiFi and access it anywhere. Articles of other posts.

😊Pros- Clean and easy to use. Post whatever you want and add a picture to make it look like a blog post. There’s a smiley mood track and includes what you’re doing motion button (stationary, in the air, working out). Ads don’t seem as prominent or in your face.

😞Cons- Will need to upgrade to get the most out of the app but if you’re looking to just blog with photos, then this will work the best. If you want the google fit session, or add more photos.

Google Fit upgrade features, inspiration journal prompts, articles to read

Life Hacks (android/ios) – Great tips in life*Ok, ok this isn’t really a journal or planner but more of an awesome self-care hacks and tips . Who said it isn't helpful to learn some useful things in life like:

Life Hacks Give You Life Tips

🤤Benefits- Free! Different categories of life hacks: technology, food, general, health

😊Pros – learn something new everyday that is functional and helpful

😞Cons- Ads and eventually you’ll only learn so much new hacks that it becomes uninspiring or obvious

Categories include health, relationships, money saving, everyday tips

Daylio (android/ios)- A mood tracker to the very minute of your day.

🤤Benefits- Select your #mood, add your activities you did that day, get a summary by monthly, and average daily mood,

😊Pros – know how you feel and post it frequently; help find trends in your week or your day that can help you change your behavior to have more #happy faces than not, utilize the activity list to remind yourself some ways to do something #positive for your day like have a good meal, watch a movie, hang with friends, which all of these can be hard during a work week

😞Cons- Moods. (period) that is it. You can’t add extra notes or posts about why you feel that way in that particular moment. It can be considered a supplement to your e-journal if your e-journal doesn’t have a mood tracker built in. Free with ads but about $2.99 for premium service. Sometimes there are sales which can be about 50% off. The premium extras would be unlimited moods, infinite reminders, automatic backups, export entries to .csv (excel file).

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The Grid Diary (ios only) – Journal in squares to create a daily overview of reflection, positivity, and future strength.

🤤Benefits – Snappy grid with self reflection questions that are different everyday such as “When sailing against the tide, the only way out is forward. What progress have I made today? Insert photos, notes, mood, and weather. Prompt library and different use of template questions.

😊Pros- Makes the journal feel more personable and utilize more thinking skills to help increase your mojo and creativity. Asks outlook questions that helps you feel more prepared for the future. Free and Premium for $1.49 per month or $4.99 for lifetime. Pro features include password lock, sync, export into pdf, txt, night mode, formatting tools, custom font style, custom reminders, remove ads.

😞Cons- Ads from time to time but not as blatantly obvious. It would be cool to order into a hardbound journal.

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Recommendations: My top pick out of the top four would be the Grid Diary due to it’s elegance, creativity, and self-reflection prompts. It's intuitive design and beautiful layout makes me want to journal everyday.

If you have the android, I would use Journey-Diary due to it’s easy to use, no fuss, posting. The extension is a major plus since you can work across your phone to your desktop. If you're a blogger, this can be helpful to make new blog posts.

Challenge: Try one app for 5 days and let me know how it worked out for you. Or if you found an app that was better, let us know 😊 by signing up below as a member.

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What's the self care diet? Find out how eating this one time a week can make you power through with ease.

Take Care,

Ian