So this is a mix of my most frequented of the iPhone apps right now, A bit of a variation in the objectives for each of them but just bear with me
Just in general, I usually like everything organised. Although not always the case, especially under stress (my current messy room a breathing testament), when things are less frantic it's quite calming to have everything in it's proper place. So that's how I fell in love with Flipboard. Literally say goodbye to the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram apps, because this just compiles them all into one newspaper like mobile format. As well as this data is compiled within the app noting which links you click on to work to discern your interests, and then deliver you the best news in those fields. There's also the options to read through hundreds of magazines and newspapers, and articles that fascinate you can be compiled into your own personal journals. Pretty fantastic time saver tbh.
I'm pretty sure that every single friend of mine will just skip through this one paragraph because i'm quite sure i've spent about half an hour per person outlining Evernote's extraordinary additions to my study life :) Literally everything has been made easier on so many levels, whether it's not needing to bring a laptop to lectures in a rush: just being able to use my phone and open the Evernote App and then access it on Mac App, Ipad, Tablet, Online anywhere in the world etc. You can use the apps to take photos, create customised notebooks per subject etc. So what i'm basically saying is that it is a must-have for every student.
They also have Evernote Social, to record social meetups with new people, add in business cards and where you met etc, so you never forget another thing, and also Skitch, within which you can sketch on photographs or scans and make them interactive and easy to understand whichever way you retain information. There's many others as well and they're becoming increasingly popular, but those are the three is use at the minute. The possibilities are endless, and where Evernote is concerned, I'm a huge fan though. BEST PART OF ALL, THEY'RE TOTALLY FREE!
(Language Learning)
If you guys have seen my previous post on All the Languages I'm Dying to Learn from a few months back, then it will have already occured to you that i'm a bit nuts in that area. Overly ambitious and extremely interested in all things linguistic, to the point that I've decided my theoretical and very lucky kids will be learning a minimum of four languages. Truthfully speaking it's the easiest passport around the world and the joy that one feels from being able to communicate with someone foreign in their own tongue is unlike anything else. If however, you're in the same boat as me and it's a little difficult to find that spare year or two to journey to Berlin and become fluent in Deutsch, then I definitely recommend both of the above lifesaving language sites, able to utilise on desktop websites and mobile applications alike.
DuoLingo offers for English Speakers the chance to learn Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French and German, and is growing at such a rapid rate that they're hopefully adding more languages soon. They offer you incentives to unlock new lessons by scoring points as the result of completing tasks daily and consistent practice. They challenge you via speaking, writing, and also pieceing together sentances, so it's an incredibly varied option for learning any of the languages.
Memrise is slightly more broad in their direction: they have language learning activities for Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Kanji, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Swedish and Turkish to name a few. They teach via vocabulary definition but also use fluent speakers to sound out the words as well.
Both systems have varitions on a long-term memorizing technique, categorising vocabulary and lessons into sections, and then putting a time line on it. What that does then is let you know when it's been a while since you've studies "Greetings and General convo" for example, and helps ensure that you keep the information retained.
What to say about Tinder really. Like i said, one of the most frequented apps, just purely for seeing the entertaining people and having a right old laugh, the vibe is actually a wee bit trashy on the app though, basically for the general population Blendr wasn't flirty enough so they just had to get onto this new craze. Not that i'm one to judge, i've fallen under the time-wasting spell of it's flaming allure (get it...the logo....ugh just no)
If Tinder is a wee bit trashy, the Grindr is a whole lot of imagery and requests that you just can't unsee. Definitely one for the gay man about town who fancies rofling at all the requests while drinking with friends.
7. Rdio (music)
Rdio is pretty fantastic, and although you have to pay for an add free listening experience, i've crammed so much more music into my phone for so much less memory used syncing the songs that way instead of using the iPhone Music app. As well as that, they're always keeping me in the loop of new and emerging artists and all around great music so I never can complain, and always have a new tune in my ears. Fantastic for music-fanatics
When it comes to personal fitness setting myself goals never seems to be the problem, it's keeping to them though that causes issues. Like most people, I love the idea of having an excellent bill of health and then some, but when you take into account all the things that want to get done through the day as well as some down time/procrastination (I'm no robot, i'll be the first to admit it). RunKeeper makes it a bit easier, actually tracking all of the minute details of your goals and progress or otherwise setting the goals for you
As you guys will see below, I've mentioned Pocket Yoga, and those are for the days where i actually feel like i have energy to properly do some exercise, get out the mat and the buddhist music etc etc. That being said though, there are very many days when even doing those activities seems like just too much work, so on those occasions, i sit down on a comfortable stretch of carpet and open Smiling Mind, a meditation session in an app. All you do is listen, and breathe, and forget about all the problems and dramas going on around you. It's the perfect rejuvination!
10. Pocket Yoga
Just as good a rejuvination and usually better, there's nothing quite so good as stretching out and zoning out into the world of relaxation that's a good half hour yoga session. Not that i need any incentive to do more on the days i have energy to do a session, but they offer you Karma points for every half hour you complete, which you can use to unlock other poses
11. 7 Fitness
I'm sure you guys have heard about this one already but there's a new stream of apps that have hit the smartphone sphere that claim you can get the bulk of your daily exercise done in seven minutes. Tough news to everyone as it literally means that none of us have any excuse not to do it anymore, it takes less time than a shower or a tea break. I sorted through the numerous apps of the same thing but found that this one actually looked to be the original, and most certainly the best of all the copies. It's certainly not likely to make me look like Zac Efron anytime soon but I enjoy the seven minutes and can definitely see some early changes so far.
12. Goodreads
Picture this: you're in a bookstore, with your phone on one percent and you come across this obscure little foreign one-of book that you just have to have....but you have no money. You want to save the name so you can come back later on and pick it up, but how to quickly get all the details? Goodreads sees to that. Among many many other things it's got a scanner that takes the barcode from just about any book in the world thats been properly published and then saves all the details for you. It also has forums of book-lovers commenting on every sort of title from Nancy Drew to The Theory of the Leisure Class. You're given the option of rating books you've read and making a list of the ones you have, and also the ones you still want to read. Really terrific app
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So, in case you guys couldn't tell, I'm a bit of a fanatic when it comes to making lists, and most of these apps definitely cater to that sort of thing, but I also find the majority of them usefel on a practical level for getting things done quickly and efficiently (Grindr/Tinder excluded of course, nothing but the giggles can redeem either of them)