A few weeks ago, the phrase “social distancing” didn’t mean much to people. These days, you hear it frequently. It’s all about flattening the curve by physically staying away from other people in the wake of the novel coronavirus. With companies closing their offices to restaurants shutting down, a lot of people increasingly working from home and are advised to indoors.
Sheltering in one place and keeping to yourself is enough to drive anyone a little crazy. However, with the bit of magic tool called apps, you can save yourself productive, connected, and healthy. We have curated some apps that may be your only saving grace during this pandemic. Sit back, scroll through, and download these trending apps to stay clear of isolation lunacy.
1. Werk-At-Home
Source: Dribble
Working from home can get incredibly dull. You may be prone to losing focus and productivity, which can affect the quality of your work. Whether it’s a pile of laundry that suddenly looks more appealing than your bosses’ to-do list, or a quick three-hour binge of that one Netflix show you’ve been dying to watch, staying productive at home can take a little extra effort. There are millions of apps that help you keep organized through lists, reminders, schedules, and routines such as Todoist, Toggl, Wunderlist, etc. Here is one that has been raging in app stores that can keep you in check, help you organize and follow a routine, so that you can genuinely WERK IT –
Fabulous
Source: MegaByte
What is it: Fabulous is a companion that helps you develop new habits in the form of rituals. The app helps you create a routine with a series of challenges to complete. As you keep doing them, it develops a habit. It is great to help you achieve goals such focused work, healthy lifestyle, etc. The app can be used for any type of goal whether it is health, fitness, nutrition, sleep, or work.
Price: Free for basic features with subscriptions for advanced features. It offers a package for enterprises as well.
2. Keep Fit In Your PJs
Source: Vector Stock
Gyms are closed, parks are empty, no one is allowed to step out. Does that mean farewell to fitness? No, at all. Research shows that being sedentary is bad for your physical and mental health. Being cooped up in one place can involuntarily make you lazy and idle. It is essential to move around, stretch, relax, and keep fit. Whether you are watching tv, working, or even using your phone, you can improvise and still stay healthy. Apps like Seven, FitOn, Calm, and Asana Rebel allow you to customise your fitness regime while giving you options to do non-equipment workouts or even 5-minute interval stretching/yoga. One such app that has been encouraging people to stay fit and healthy at home is Down Dog.
Down Dog
Source: Boomzi
What is it: Down Dog has a series of apps for yoga, yoga for beginners, HIIT, Barre, seven minute workouts, and prenatal yoga. Every routine can be personalised to your requirements and goals. Every app comes with a virtual trainer, focus based music and detailed routines.
Price: Completely free till May 1st and till July 1st for students, teachers and health professionals.
3. So Close Yet (Not) So Far
Source: istockphoto
Social distancing gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “I miss your face.” With most people being locked down in their homes, meeting family and friends has become a luxury. Moreover, with offices being closed, and employees advised to work from home, coordination with colleagues and organizing meetings have become a problem. However, once again, technology has come to the rescue. Group video platforms are making a heroic rise from last resort to the daily routine. For corporate use and video chatting, apps like Zoom, Google Hangouts, Skype, etc., have become the new virtual office. Many people are also using Facetime and Whatsapp Video calls. Here is one app that takes video chatting to a new level of fun –
Houseparty
Source: Android Police
What is it: Houseparty is the face-to-face social network where you can connect with the people. The app makes connecting face to face effortless, alerting you when your friends are “in the house” (when they open their app) and ready to chat so you can jump right into the conversation. It also allows people to play games in the video calls! Hence, it is called Houseparty.
Price: Free with in-app purchases
4. #socialmedia4lyf
Source: kit8
Social Media has become the crux of this pandemic. Whether it be a source of entertainment, a medium of creativity, or a hub for information, it has risen and will continue to rise. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, LinkedIn, Snapchat, etc., are in one way or another helping all through this tough time. News platforms have taken on social media as one of their primary channels now to dispatch information. People are having conversations and discussions regarding this pandemic. Besides, people are also trying to bring positivity into everyone’s lives with the #stayathomechallenges. One of these platforms that have become the hot cake is TikTok –
TikTok
Source: Google Play Store
What is it: TikTok is a video community powered by music. Whether it’s dance, free-style or performance, creators are encouraged to let their imagination run wild and set their expressions free. Designed for the global creators, TikTok allows users to quickly and easily create unique short 15 seconds videos to share with friends and the world.
Price: Free with in-app purchases
5. Get Your Game Face On
Source: Vector Stock
The biggest sector of mobile applications is, well, becoming bigger. Yes, gaming applications are the go-to thing to open when trying to kill time. Many people around the world feel like a whole chunk of their time has been returned to them as they are all at home. With the extra time in their hands, mobile games have seen a surge in use. With numerous categories ranging from simulation to board games to action and adventure, there is always something for everyone. After the virus, multiplayer games have become popular. It is going to be endless to list them all here but here is a multiplayer gaming app that has seen a recent surge in use –
Roblox
Source: Steam Community
What is it: Roblox is a virtual universe that allows you to play, create, and be anything you can imagine. It is essentially a multiplayer platform with an infinite variety of immersive worlds created by a global community. You can customise your avatar, play with your friends, chat with them or even create a world of your own.
Price: Free with in-app purchases
6. Replenish Your Fridge
Source: Good Housekeeping
Another big change during lockdown is the purchasing of food. Supermarkets and grocery marts have all starting relying on a house to house delivery. Households that are run by the elderly or those that have young children at home are increasingly choosing to use grocery delivery to get their daily rations. Moreover, with restaurants now prohibiting dine-in options, they too have succumbed to delivering. Thus, it only makes sense that mobile apps for groceries and food delivery have seen a sudden rise in usage. As these apps are available based on location, all you have to do is search on the App Store or Google Play Store –
Grocery Delivery Apps
Food Delivery Apps
7. New Day, New Skill
Source: Vector Stock
Ever wanted to try your hand at something new, but always had, well, life in the way? Now is the best time to get down to it finally. With more time in your hands, you have all the freedom to learn something new. With online learning becoming a new age medium, you can almost learn anything using the internet. Recent times during the lockdown, people have turned to learn how to cook by themselves or even just learning some new fancy recipes. On the other spectrum, people are busy acquiring new skills ranging from knitting to coding with apps like Skillshare, Khan Academy, Duolingo, Udemy, and many more. As I said, it can virtually be an exhaustive list. Here are two apps that might interest you in this locked-down world –
Tasty
Source: Prototypr
What is it: Tasty is a platform that has over 3000 recipes with an easy step by step instruction mode. It is your own very cookbook that allows you to filter by any ingredients, cuisine and social occasion you’re in the mood for. You can customise the app to your dietary needs and get recommendations for your next meal based on the time of the day, day of the week and even holidays.
Price: Free
Masterclass
Source: AppScanLab
What is it: Masterclass is a platform that allows you to learn from the industry bests, anytime, anywhere, at your own pace. Teachers such as Gordon Ramsay, Natalie Portman, Chris Voss, etc., have created classes that range from acting to writing to sport to music and many more. Each class is made into a movie style allowing you to watch it at your own pace and save it for later.
Price: Free with in-app purchase such as subscriptions
8. Season: Coronavirus, Episode: Stay At Home
Source: Vector Stock
At this time, with no sports and increasing new fatigue, people looking for more content to watch. Which means, most are turning to stream videos. Platforms such as Youtube, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and many more see surges in subscriptions. Amazon Prime has also made some shows and movies free at these trying times. One of the new upcoming things between Netflix users is Netflix Party, which is a web extension that allows people to sync movies/shows and chat on the chatroom as they watch. One other platform that was launched during the coronavirus was Disney+ –
Disney+
Source: NotebookCheck
What is it: Disney+ is a streaming platform for all your favourite movies and TV shows from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic. The platform offers everything from new releases to classics, plus tons of TV shows, and exclusive Originals. As of now, it is only available in certain regions, namely, Canada, Netherlands, US, Australia, New Zealend, Ouerto Rico, Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, India and France. It will be launching in various other countries throughout this year.
Price: Subscription with 7 days free trial
9. Go Simple, Read A Book
Source: Freepik
A great way to spend time is to simply read a book. Thanks to online platforms such as Kindle Store, Google Books, Kobo Ebookstore, and many more, now reading books has become very accessible. No matter where you are, at any time of the day, you can read a book without having to physically go out to buy one. However, an upcoming concept is audiobooks. Here is an app that has been on the rise and is rising during this lockdown as well –
Audible
Source: Android Police
What is it: Audible is a platform, created by Amazon, where you can listen to the world’s largest selection of audiobooks and original podcasts. You can stream or download your books on Audible to listen while commuting, at home, driving on long car journeys, running at the gym, or just about anywhere else. You can listen to it offline, discover new books by sampling it, and customise narration as well.
Price: 30 day free trial with subscription
10. Keep Up With The World
Source: 123rf
Last but not least, at these trying times, it is important to keep up with what is going around in the world. It is crucial to keep yourself informed about any new updates. Although we see news fatigue set in, everyone is still up to date with the help of news channels, social media, news chatbots, etc. Consequently, even news applications have seen a rise in usage. The App Store and Google Play offer a great range of apps from the world’s most popular news platforms such as The New York Times, BBC, CNN, and many more. Even local news platforms have applications available for download. All you have to do is search for news apps on the store, download, and never miss out on any affair around the world.
News Apps
With these apps, we hope that you will keep healthy, connected, productive, and busy. Stay safe, folks!
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