Cellphone as a tool for wellbeing in your pocket

Mobile phones can be used as spaces for wellbeing, practicality, and life improvement if you know which tools to get hold of. Today, most of the latest Android and iPhone devices feature built-in screen time monitors. They’re useful for tracking how you spend your time online. You get a weekly report on how long you’ve been on various applications so you can build awareness around your cell phone usage habits.

In Nir Eyal’s book ‘Hooked’ – a guide for building habit-forming products – he unpacks what’s known as the Hook Model, a theory of building habit-forming products. Psychologists and wellness professionals have warned against the overuse of cellphones and the habit-inducing designs behind some apps, built to make us spend more time using them. But what if the online tools we used on our phones were habitually used by us for wellness, positive goal planning, and stress reduction?

Here are four areas where you can turn your phone into your wellness bestie.

1. Financial planning
If you sit down at the end of every month with your printed-out bank statements and get overwhelmed by how much you are spending and compared to what you’re saving, then apps like Spendee and My Finances are for you.

These apps help you track your daily expenses and keep your finances in check. Spendee for instance is a free budgeting app that enables you to track your spending and optimize your budget. It even has charts and graphs that allow you to analyze, organize, and plan your finances and also allows you to invite others to manage family and household budgets! My Finances on the other hand is ideal for expense control and managing a home budget. These are just a few of the hundreds of apps available in the market that can help you address your financial challenges and better organize your money.

Some argue that the first step toward change is awareness. Using financial planning tools that help with tracking and becoming aware of positive financial planning tips is a great start to reaching your goals.

2. Find your zen
In a hurly-burly world, the only thing you can control is your reaction to what’s happening around you. For a calm, more mindful approach to life, start every morning with meditation. It sets the tone for a balanced day, where you feel better equipped to handle whatever comes your way. Insight Timer is a brilliant free app for anxiety, stress and sleep. It has thousands of free guided and sound meditations that you can search for by theme, length, or instructor. The tool also features some of the best meditation teachers of our time, plus meditation sessions with celebrities known for their interest in mindfulness.

3. Asking for help
Sometimes all you need is a day off. For most of us juggling home keeping, work, wellness and our personal lives can take its toll. To get some respite from the many responsibilities of our day-to-day, industrial psychologists are recommending wellness days. These are work days where a person who is not ill chooses to take the day off to rest and recuperate. For those wellness days or any day of the week that you need assistance (because who wants to do household chores when you took the day to rest?), we recommend booking someone to assist you. Alen Ribic of SweepSouth notes that this type of assistance can take a massive load off your plate and give you the space to relax and unwind. The SweepSouth app lets you book a professional home cleaner the day before so that you can put your feet up and focus on unwinding.

It’s okay to ask for help sometimes, or even advice when you’re unsure and in need of it.

4. Watch what you listen to
As humans, we often receive peace of mind through listening to the wisdom of others. Audio streaming app, Spotify has a host of podcasts started by some of the 21st century’s greatest wellness gurus. ‘We can do hard things, a podcast by acclaimed writer, Glennon Doyle, opens us to honest conversations about the hard parts of everyday adult life and how to navigate them. For those days where you just need a pick me up, build a ‘start the day right’ playlist with some motivating songs, like Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Hills or ‘The World is Yours’ by Nas.

With these tools in mind, consider setting aside a few minutes each day to do something that goes towards your self-care. Your phone can be a healthy tool for you to plan your future, enhance your well-being and gain peace of mind daily.

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