Christmas, New Year, resolutions and more simply mean a long to-do list. In the daily struggle of work-life balance, we hardly find time for recreation and given the few minutes we settle for social media updates. But did you know that technology has really upped the game over the last couple of years and there’s practically everything you can do with a touch on your phone? Well, with the best apps for parents, your productivity score will up too!
We list the best apps that every parent will need to increase their productivity, save and manage time better and have all the time in the world to be a better parent to their child. Download them now!
1. Packr
If you are the parent who loves to travel with your kids, we know how dreadful the word ‘packing’ can mean. This app comes as a life-saver for the globetrotter parent. Just input where you are going, when, and the probable list of activities you are likely to do at the destination- camping/business meeting/ fun trip with family etc. The app generates a packing list that you can customise to your needs so that the next time you travel, all you need to do is use this list. Now, that means precious minutes saved and when you are travelling with kids- you know that is a lot.
Download: iOS and Android
2. Welltory
Ranked by TechCrunch as the “Google Analytics for humans” this app of 2017. Getting the inputs from your various fitness apps, be it Fitbit or Google Fit, Welltory tracks your heartbeat (using state-of-the-art PPG technology) and helps quantify your stress, energy level and overall health. The app explains how your activity affects your sleep pattern, stress and energy levels and helps you chart your lifestyle the way you want it to be.
Download: iOS and Android
3. Any.Do
Another popular task management app, Any.do lets you take notes, remind you of the essential stuff and syncs across various devices and various platforms. The assistant feature in the app helps you in your reminders, lets you create events and takes notes when you are on the go and even shares your grocery list or things you have forgotten to buy with your family so that life can get back to being simple!
Download: iOS and Android
4. Expensify
With the daily struggles of parenting and the pressures of doing it just right, monitoring your day-to-day expenses tends to take a back seat. How do we wish we had an assistant that dutifully jots down every little purchase, including the online ones as well as local kirana’s hand-written bills? This award-winning app does just that and lots more. With cool features like ORS scanning for manual bills, currency converter, rate exchange calculator and miles tracker for trips- start the new year with this super app!
Download: iOS and Android
5. If This Then That (IFTTT)
The one cool app that works with all of your other best apps like Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, etc. With IFTTT, you can control everything around you with your voice, stay informed on the latest news updates, get updates on your searched list history and its availability and even transfer your images from one social media platform to another seamlessly. The various applets bring together your favourite services for a seamless experience. It’s just like one little assistant beside you doing what you want!
Download: iOS and Android
6. Pocket:
Reading a lot of articles and saving them for a later read? We do that too- and we use the bookmark option on the browser, but doesn’t that get too taxing after a while? It becomes easier to just search that on the net than locate the bookmark! Enter Pocket-your personal planner for websites, articles you want to read and videos you want to watch for later. Tap the button and save them for later reading (don’t forget to tap this when you are done!)
7. Scanbot
This comes in super handy when you are reading something in your child’s textbook and need more info about it. Open the OCR mode in the app, scan your child’s textbook, and click on Actions. You will get all the info about the pages you scanned, URLs if any and all other info. You can also share it to the cloud making it an easy option for future reference.
8. Your Hour
Think of this as an app that resembles your mom during your exam days! Serves the exact purpose! One of the best apps that help track time spent online and on social media, this app tells you how many minutes in precise you have spent with each app, which is your most used app and also helps lock the app after it exceeds a time limit you specify. The Happy Hour option is an incentive that everyone works to increase!
9. Todoist
Planning a class party? Or a family reunion? Tired of having to do and re-do lists constantly? Enter Todoist. A free-app that has options that require a Premium subscription, it helps you make a list, set deadlines, also share it with other people in your group so all of you are in the same page and helps track your progress in the given task- however big or small it is.
10. Any.do
Bored of a dozen lists and reminders and things-to-d that you juggle within your everyday life? This app puts it all in one place. Make your grocery, and shopping lists and other important stuff such as tracking your calendar with this one-app that helps save precious minutes in your daily life. The best part? Syncing it across devices such as phones, tab, desktops etc is a breeze with this app- so your list is up-to-date.
11. Recipe Organizer
Loved a recipe that you came across? Finding it hard to remember? Don’t reach out for the paper and pen anymore. This app does it for you, by letting you keep all your favourite recipes in one place. You can organise them based on tags, genre, and category and even share them with your friends and colleagues. What’s more? You can upload your own recipes so it stays in that handy list, makes grocery lists and does lots more that make it every busy mom’s best friend.
12. Evernote
If you have a big problem like me of
keeping things safe and then forgetting that safe spot then you totally need this. I save all my receipts, bills, warranty papers, class schedules, repair shop numbers, important links, research links, visiting cards, recipes and more on Evernote. The keyword search is so fantastic that it makes you literally forget things. It helps you stay organised and remain productive.
13. Rescue Time
Feel like you are wasting time mindlessly? Is social media getting the better of your life? Rescue your life from the hands of social media and other distractions with this app! This app monitors the websites and apps you use and helps you with a customised report- categorized to your needs and tells you how time is spent where- precisely to the minutes! Just how cool is that?! Of course, the call between productive and non-productive tasks is finally made by you and with the help of customising options on their website, you can extract a lot more data from their monitoring reports.
14. Productive
This app is one that helps you stick to a habit in the long run. The app helps you plan your schedules to create healthy new habits, and analyse daily, and monthly progress to help you plan ahead.
Mansi Zaveri
Neha Savla
Simrun Chopra
KSP Team
Shweta Ganesh Kumar
