We all love our phones. We use them to connect and to find amusement. But during finals week, the phone can seem more like an enemy than a friend. Here are five apps that will put your phone to work to help you own your exams!
1. Calm
“Calm” is definitely NOT what you’re feeling during finals. It’s more like a mixture of stress, fear, and planning to change your identity and move 10,000 miles away. But amongst the chaos that is finals, this app could help you find a little bit of “calm”. Meditation has been proven to help reduce anxiety and stress, and this app makes it easy, offering simple guided meditations. It also has beautiful graphics, and soothing sounds to listen to while studying or trying to relax.
2. Coffitivity
I can’t study in complete silence. I also can’t study while my roommates are talking away. But music can sometimes be distracting as well. However, this app provides the perfect white noise—the chatter of a café. You can’t make out people’s voices, but the noise is enough to help block other distractions. Plus, it’s been proven that coffee shop ambience helps boost creativity and production! This app is great to help you stay focused and remain productive—which is something we all need during finals!
3. UBhind
The phone is quite the temptation when you have papers that need to be written and lots of studying to be done. There’s that constant nagging that tries to get you to check Instagram for the 40th time today, or to make sure no one is contacting you. This app allows you to lock your phone for a chunk of time (don’t worry—you can still access the phone for emergencies if need be. And no, the newest cat videos do not constitute an emergency). It also tracks how much time you spend on your phone, your top used apps, etc. While this isn’t particularly useful for studying during finals, it can be a little (or not at all) shocking. Hopefully, putting the phone out of reach can help you get a little quality studying done!
4. Fabulous (Android) /Balanced (Apple)
During finals week, the stress is so real. It’s easy to forget to take a breather every now and then. These apps both allow you to take small steps back, reminding you to take some time for yourself. Your mental health is way more important than a good grade, even though sometimes it seems like getting a good grade is worth a limb or two. But take your mental health seriously, so that way you can focus better, be happier, and get more done. Stop for a second, take a deep breath, and remind yourself that everything will definitely be okay.
5. Sworkit
Physical activity is easy to ignore in college. Basically, we don’t have enough time, we’re too tired, and it is just something extra to add to the list of things that needs to get done. However, getting your sweat on every once in a while can help you think clearer and be more motivated. We all know the importance of physical activity. This app provides for you workouts you can do at home in relatively short amounts of time. In between studying, take the time to get in 10 or 15 minutes of physical activity. Not only will your body thank you, but you will get a mood boost and maybe feel motivated enough to own your finals.
Take a deep breath, relax, and get ready to rock your finals. Once it’s all over, you can breathe easy and treat yourself. You got this!