Apps are meant to make our lives easier, not complicate them. Here are the best 15 apps that I can’t live without. They make my day better—and hopefully yours, too…
I’ll be honest, I have a lot of apps. I have screens upon screens of them on my phone. Anytime I hear about a new one or one that gets rave reviews, I have to try it.
Because of this penchant for downloading, I try to stick to the free versions before I commit to paying for them. I’ve been disappointed a time or ten by an app that just didn’t work well, or didn’t work for me and my needs.
Apps shouldn’t complicate our lives. They should streamline our day, make us more productive, entertain us, and fill a need. Sometimes, when an app looks really interesting, I’ll download it only to realize that it’s creating more work for me rather than less.
If I don’t need a solution that an app provides, I allow it to create the problem. If my scheduling app is working fine, getting a more advanced one isn’t going to make my day better—it just makes it more complicated.
So, with this in mind, I’ve gone through my multiple screens to find which apps are the best, which ones are my favorites, and which ones are the most useful to a busy mom. I’ve moved them all to one screen to see how long it would be, if ever, I bothered with the other ones (so far, so good).
The Best Apps for Busy Moms
I mention busy moms because their app needs are going to look different than those of a middle manager with no kids or a college student. And because I am one, which means I know which apps make my day more productive and which ones just drag me down.
Of the 15 apps that I found helped me, three of them were work-related, two made me more productive, one was my go-to shopping app, two I use for exercise, and seven encompassed my hobbies and goals.
I was surprised that more of these apps weren’t for time management. I feel like I use my phone a lot for keeping on task, working schedules, and planning my day. But it turns out that I play and learn on it more that plan.
I didn’t include on this list apps like social media, calendar, email, and text messaging because these are pretty standard and used equally by everyone. I also use these in moderation, so they are not as big a part of my day as they might be in someone who is an influencer or a corporate exec, or who texts like their thumbs are on fire.
These 15 apps are my favorites and for good reason. They make my day smoother and keep important information at my fingertips. They also help me stay on task with goals I’m trying to reach. And they help me relax when that’s what I need.
So, here are the apps I think every mom would benefit from having and why…
The 15 Apps I can’t live without
Productivity
Cozi
Cozi is the perfect app because it combines shopping lists, individual schedules, and recipes. By linking it with my husband (and anyone else I want), we can share our lists and calendars so that we always know what we need at the store and when we have to be somewhere.
Todoist
This app is all about lists for me. I track my reading, my to-dos, my projects, and anything else. I get such a sense of accomplishment when I check things off and they disappear from my “Today” list.
Work
Dropbox
I love Dropbox for its ease of use. I keep work documents here, printables I’m sharing, and my own writing projects. You can share files easily and have important documents within reach all the time. This is great when I need to send something to a client while I’m taking the kids somewhere.
Evernote
I am constantly switching from my laptop to my phone, depending on where I am or what I’m doing. This makes it so much easier. I can take a photo with my phone, save it to Evernote, and then load it on my laptop to put in my email that I send to readers. It holds everything from pictures to notes to my address book.
Pocket
Research is not my favorite thing, so I love saving things to Pocket for later. Articles, reviews, and recipes are some of the things I save to this app, so I can later read through them. Categorizing these things also makes them easier to weed through when you’re looking for something specific.
Exercise
8Fit
This app is the best workout app I’ve ever tried. I’ve been using it for almost two years and love it. Every day, I can pull up a great workout with music and warm-ups/cool-downs included. If you’re a busy woman, this might be a lot easier than making time for the gym (and more effective—I’ve lost 25 pounds using this).
Runkeeper
Whether I’m running or walking, I love using this app to track where I’m going and how far. I use it to see if my mile time is improving, what route I used (it uses GPS to track distance), and rate what I thought of each workout. It also has plans for you to use if you’re training for a 5K, for example.
Shopping
Amazon
I use Amazon all the time. Sometimes to price check when I’m out, sometimes to get reviews, and sometimes because I need to buy something. I’m not a crazy shopper, but this app helps me with my planning, budgeting, and yes, purchasing. It definitely gets a lot of use.
Hobbies and Goals
Kindle
Reading is my favorite way to relax, so I use this on a daily basis. I don’t always have my actual Kindle on hand, so when I’m out or waiting somewhere, I can jump right back in where I left off in whatever book I’m currently reading.
Libby
Ditto. This app is great for organizing, acquiring, and managing my library e-book and audiobook loans. I listen to audiobooks on this when I’m running. I can also easily renew ones I haven’t finished and look for new titles.
Memrise
This year, I am trying to study Mandarin more, reviewing what I learned years ago and increasing my vocabulary. This app is great for vocabulary and learning pronunciation from native speakers. (Note to homeschooling parents: I recently paid for a subscription because I am also teaching my children basic French and Spanish, so this app does double (triple!) duty.)
Headspace
Headspace is my preferred app for meditation. I find the creator’s British accent so soothing and enjoyable, it takes some of the pain out of intentional mindfulness (which is something I am trying to cultivate after years of rushing and multitasking).
She Reads Truth
This app is my favorite for studying the Bible. You can pick your preferred translation and read the Bible, or take part in community-wide Bible studies and connect with others, sharing your thoughts, encouragement, and prayer requests. It’s open on my phone every. single. day.
Feedly
I love reading blogs, but don’t have time to go website to website. Feedly curates the posts from all my favorite blogs so that I can read through them whenever I want. This app makes checking in on my favorite writers and bloggers super easy.
Podcasts
Like Feedly, Podcasts is the app on my iPhone that lets me get all the best podcasts together for easy listening. It also notifies me when a new episode is put out. This app is my friend on long walks and runs.
There are some amazing apps out there, and more are created every day. But sometimes more isn’t better; just enough is best. These are, in my opinion, the best apps I’ve found that make my life as a busy, homeschooling, work-at-home mom easier and more enjoyable. If I had to, I could get by with these alone.
If you haven’t yet, give them a try. They’re my favorites, and hopefully will be yours, too!
What apps are your favorites? Which ones can’t you live without? I’d love to hear in the comments!
Interested in more on time management and productivity? Check out these posts:
The Top 10 Productivity Apps that Every Homemaker Needs
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