As the New Year picks up speed, you may find yourself struggling to keep your resolutions in check. Priorities shift and schedules become cluttered--how did you ever think you could accomplish so much this year?
If you're starting to lose hope, keep reading! There are lots of great resources available to help you keep your resolutions going strong. Plus, since most of us are already on our phones pretty often during the day, why not utilize them?
Here are four simple-to-use goal tracking apps that can help you achieve your 2020 goals and reduce the stress of resolution maintenance.
Streaks
Rather than trying to hold yourself accountable for several resolutions, the American Psychological Association (APA) suggests changing one behavior at a time. "Setting small, attainable goals throughout the year, instead of a singular, overwhelming goal on January 1 can help you reach whatever it is you strive for," says psychologist Lynn Bufka, PhD. "Remember, it is not the extent of the change that matters, but rather the act of recognizing that lifestyle change is important and working toward it one step at a time."
If you want to take a one-day-at-a-time approach to your resolutions, consider downloading Streaks. This Apple Design Award-winning app helps you maintain consistency when reaching your goals. You can track up to 12 tasks you want to complete each day, like walking a mile, drinking two bottles of water or meditating for 15 minutes--just remember the APA's tip about not setting too many resolutions at once! Your goal is to keep your "streak" going for as long as possible.
The app allows you to customize your goals with icons and colors, shows you statistics about your habit consistency and even has a reminder tool to keep you accountable. It's also compatible with your Apple Watch and Apple Health app, so you can track your health goals more easily.
MyFitnessPal
MyFitnessPal, an app created and managed by Under Armour, is your one-stop shop for health and wellness resolution tracking. For those looking to lose weight, gain weight or simply learn more about their nutrition, MyFitnessPal offers an easy-to-use food logging system.
You'll first set up your account by selecting your current weight, goal weight, weekly goal and activity level. Using that information, the app will determine how many calories you should consume daily to reach your health goals. By logging your meals, snacks and workouts, you can keep a close eye on your dietary and fitness habits, and make the necessary changes to improve them.
Besides its main food-logging function, MyFitnessPal also offers lots of additional tools to help you reach your goals, like 28-day fitness and health plans, a workout routine builder, a recipe library and more. If you're a walker or runner, you can also download the MapMyRun app, also from Under Armour, which syncs your workouts directly to the MyFitnessPal app.
Cozi
If you're looking for a way to keep your whole family on track in the new year, check out Cozi--a three-time Mom's Choice Award Winner and The TODAY Show "must-have app" for a better life. Cozi keeps you and your family organized via shared calendar, grocery list, reminders and more.
Using the Cozi shared calendar, you and your spouse can create a collaborative schedule; add color-coordinated appointments, events and practices so no one misses a beat. If you're feeling too busy to focus on your new year's resolutions, Cozi can help you build a routine and find time to dedicate to your goals.
The app also offers tools like shopping lists and to-do lists that can be updated in real-time. Shared shopping lists can help you keep track of what was needed on that last-minute grocery run, and shared to-do lists can be used for tracking the kids' chores, vacation packing lists and more. There's even a recipe box feature that keeps all your favorite meals in one place--add the ingredients to your shopping list with a quick tap.
Flora
Although we could be taking the dog for a walk or preparing healthy meals for the week, we often find ourselves wasting valuable time on our smartphones instead. If your phone is one of the biggest barriers keeping you from achieving your goals, try using the device to combat itself!
Whenever you want to cut off phone-related distractions, use Flora to plant a virtual seed. As you focus on achieving your goals (rather than focusing on your screen), the seed will grow into a healthy tree. However, if you can't resist the temptation to check your messages for the third time this hour, your tree will start to wither.
Flora even allows you to create a group challenge--gather your friends and see how long you can keep your plant alive together! Plus, if you really want to hold yourself accountable (and help the earth), you can name a price for your tree. If you end up killing your virtual tree, you have to pay the price to plant a real one!
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