Like most members of the Millennial/Gen-Z generations, I spend a lot of time on my phone. Over the years, I’ve become very attached to certain apps. I like some apps because of their entertainment value, others I like because they help keep me organized and happy. Either way, here are the 5 apps that I couldn’t live without. Maybe you’ll discover an app or two that you’ll want to try out!
1. HQ
The HQ app hosts live, online trivia games twice a day Monday through Friday at 3pm and 9pm, and at 9pm on Saturday and Sunday. Not only is it a lot of fun to play multiple choice trivia, but if you manage to answer all of the questions correctly, you can win real money. Usually the prize is $2,500, and all of the winners split the money equally. On Sundays, the prize amount is usually higher, ranging between $25,000 and $50,000. Even though I’ve never won a game, it’s still exciting to get the chance to win money and flex my trivia skills.
Download: Google Play, iTunes
2. Oodles Books
I absolutely love classic literature. Oscar Wilde, Charlotte Bronte, and Jane Austen are just a few of my favorite authors. The Oodles Books app has thousands of classic books and audiobooks available for free to download. If it’s available in the public domain, it’s probably available on the Oodles Books app. This app helped reignite my love for reading. I love listening to audiobooks when winding down before bed, and this app has made that a lot more accessible for me.
Download: Google Play, iTunes
3. Daylio
Daylio is a super user-friendly mood tracking app that allows you to select your mood and whatever activities that you’ve done that day. All that information is then transformed into easy to read monthly and yearly charts to help you see any patterns with your moods. As someone who deals with mental illness, this app has helped me communicate more effectively with my therapist since I can just show her my charts to give her a better idea of how I’m doing. It has also helped me see which activities improve and worsen my moods.
Download: Google Play, iTunes
4. Clue
My pet peeve with most period tracking apps is how heavily gendered they are. Clue, on the other hand, doesn’t use gendered language at all nor does it try to portray menstruation as this super cutesy, flowery event. It’s a very straightforward app that allows you to track your period and any symptoms that may come along with it. It also learns from the data you enter, so it can predict when your future periods will come up, and it even gives you a little notification a few days before it predicts your period will arrive. Since I have PMDD, a condition that is like a severe form of PMS, keeping track of my period helps me know when to expect certain symptoms to pop up so I can better prepare for them.
Download: Google Play, iTunes
5. Labyrinthos Academy
This is likely my favorite app on the list. I absolutely love reading tarot, which is a card-based divination system. The only bad thing about reading tarot is that it’s sometimes hard to remember what each card means, and since I often give readings to my friends and family, it’s important for me to memorize those meanings. Labyrinthos Academy is a fun little app that helps you learn the meanings of different tarot cards through multiple choice games. It also helps you practice giving readings by having you keep a tarot journal on the app.
Download: Google Play, iTunes
While these free apps have certainly increased my attachment to my phone, they’ve also all made a positive impact on my life. Though people like to complain about the “dangers” of technology reliance, mobile phones and apps are just as capable of doing good!
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