Given the recent self-quarantining and social distancing, people have been complaining that they are bored at home, not knowing what to do with themselves. Well, have no fear! We know you have the delivery app sitch on lock, but we’ve rounded up the rest of the best apps (most are free) that will keep you busy indefinitely.
Eat, Pray, Love but mostly Eat
Kitchen Stories
Kitchen Stories is a recipe app that offers users thousands of step-by-step recipes. You can find the perfect recipe you’re looking for with the search feature, which allows you to filter based on specific nutritional information, dietary restrictions, and even difficulty level to cater to all lifestyles. From weeknight favorites to seasonal twists on classics and so much more, there’s a recipe that’s sure to please all users. Found a recipe and need to make a grocery list? You can place the recipe into a shopping list that integrates directly with your reminders.
Project Foodie: Guided Cooking
Project Foodie is a video-driven app that demonstrates a dish, from prep to finish. Once you choose a recipe, it’ll ask you how many people are eating (between two and 10), and the ingredient list will adjust to that number. You can add each ingredient individually — or add them all at once with the touch of a button — to your grocery list. The app even details the necessary kitchen tools so you know what to expect from the get go!
Have Some Fun
I Love HueÂ
Have a lot on your mind? Get lost in I Love Hue’s mood-soothing, visually-satisfying game based on color theory. Described as “a gentle journey into color and perception,” the app is ideal for getting lost in the tranquil background music and simple yet impactful design. The app is free to download and play, but you will require an in-app game currency called Prisms (which you either buy or get for free by watching an ad) to unlock certain levels.
Libby
Libby is a free app where you can borrow ebooks and digital audiobooks from your public library. You can stream books with Wi-Fi or mobile data, or download them for offline use and read anytime, anywhere. All you need to get started is a library card.
Once you log in, you’ll be able to search through the entire catalogue of your local library, and find whatever books and audiobooks your heart desires. The app has ready-made lists like “new and popular books” and categories that collect everything from fiction to romance to mystery, so you can search through all of your favorite genres with ease.
The New York Times Crossword
The New York Times Crossword puzzle is a fun way to keep your brain stimulated. Monday puzzles are easiest, and throughout the week the puzzles progress in difficulty. If you find you can’t do the harder days, you can always go back into the archive and practice on earlier Monday and Tuesday puzzles, or buy packs of puzzles, which cost about $4.99 for 10 puzzles. You’ll get a gold medal when you finish a puzzle properly, and it’s fun to try to keep a streak going as you complete each day. It costs $3.47 a month if you don’t get it with a regular New York Times subscription.
Pacemaker
The best DJ app around allows you to stream and beat-match songs from Spotify, basically resurrecting the mixtape. You can its beat-matching capabilities to create mixtapes that can be shared with friends. Use this app to spice up your home workout routine, have a dance party with your family, or just cue the tunes while you cook your famous cacio e pepe!
Radiooooo
Radiooooo is the wonderful musical time machine that allows you to travel through space and time. Pick a country, pick a decade, and let yourself get carried away by the most beautiful musical collection in the world! It allows you travel the world
Mental Health
Happy Not Perfect
Happy Not Perfect has a whopping 200+ mindful exercises that help you practice more positivity, meditate, and lower stress. You can use it as a journal, to create a daily relaxation routine, and even to send good vibes to friends on the app.
It’s also got a clean, soothing interface that makes it easy to use, but one downside is that you do have to pay for a subscription ($9.99 per month) to use a lot of the features.
Stoic
This immersive, comprehensive mental health tracker isn’t just another beautifully-designed app — nothing wrong with that, though! Stoic gives you the tools to get through everything your day has in store — ups, downs, in-betweens — including journaling, targeted exercises to help soothe stress all through the lens of stoicism philosophy, which TL;DR: is the belief that the world is inherently unpredictable and therefore, we need to maintain a strong sense of self to navigate it to the best of our abilities.
Train Your Brain
Elevate
Elevate is another awesome brain training program designed to improve focus, speaking abilities, processing speed, memory, math skills, and more. Each person is provided with a personalized training program that adjusts over time to maximize results.
The more you train with Elevate, the more you’ll improve critical cognitive skills that are proven to boost productivity, earning power, and self-confidence. Users who train at least 3 times per week have reported dramatic gains and increased confidence.
Lumosity: Brain Training
Lumosity’s cognitive training program is a fun, interactive way to train your brain and learn about how your mind works. Start by taking a free 10-minute Fit Test to set your baseline scores and see how you compare with others your age. Then, practice a set of three exercises every day to keep your mind sharper than ever.
Work It Out
ClassPass Go
We’ve written about how much we love this app before, but ClassPass Go has everything from cardio to balance training to meditation. Its super minimalist interface and customizable workouts are perfect for the living room or the kitchen!
Down Dog
Since the spread of COVID-19, Down Dog has made all their apps – Down Dog, Yoga for Beginners, HIIT, Barre, and 7 Minute Workout – completely free until April 1st! Choose your music, level, and the duration, and the apps will create the perfect workout for you. We’ve been loving the Barre app in particular.
Any other apps you’ve been using to keep busy? Comment them below!
ALW FOUNDER, your way of spending time during this period is commendable….