With a new year comes new resolutions which usually get forgotten as the year goes by. Whether it’s to pick up a new skill or to eat healthier and stay fit, it’s easy to put off starting on your goals till tomorrow, which more often than not, never comes. If you have an Apple Watch, you might use it mostly for its fitness tracking functions and to check notifications without reaching for your phone.
Use it to its full potential and work towards your goals anytime and anywhere with these eight Apple watch apps for productivity. Includes apps like customisable Pomodoro timers to give you laser focus without burning out, and habit trackers that can help you tick off items from your resolution list.
Check out other tips to help you achieve your New Year’s resolutions here:
Add and manage tasks from your watch
Image credit: Be Focused Pro
The Pomodoro technique encourages breaking up your time into 25-minute blocks with five minute breaks in between. After four blocks have been completed, you’ll be rewarded with a longer break of 15 – 20 minutes. Its main purpose is to help you focus on a single task for a set amount of time without feeling too overwhelmed.
Control the timer without reaching for your phone
Image credit: Be Focused Pro
Besides just timing your productivity blocks, Be Focused Pro allows you to create goals and tasks in-app, as well as custom timers based on your own working style.
Though the app works just as well on the phone, using it on the Apple Watch takes away the temptation of scrolling through other apps. You’ll also be able to sort your tasks according to due dates and levels of importance, so you’ll know which to tackle first.
Price: $4.48
Download Be Focused Pro
Image credit: Priscilla Tan
It can be hard to stay on top of your tasks, especially if you’re juggling multiple projects or constantly on the go. A hybrid calendar and to-do list app, Sorted 3 is a scheduling app that automatically creates to-do lists and schedules for you.
Image credit: Priscilla Tan
You can even add tasks directly through the smartwatch, making it easy to record tasks that may come up when you don’t have your phone within reach. The app syncs with Google and iPhone calendar apps, so you won’t have to worry about having important appointments slip through the cracks.
Price: Free
Download Sorted 3
Image credit: Priscilla Tan
One of the most common New Year’s resolutions would arguably be to start exercising more or be healthier. And what better way to motivate yourself than to earn shopping, dining and entertainment vouchers for your hard work?
Created in conjunction with the Health Promotion Board (HPB), LumiHealth is an initiative that allows you to gain rewards worth up to $380 just by regularly exercising and making better food choices.
Earn coins when you complete challenges and cash them out for vouchers
Image credit: Priscilla Tan
Besides setting personalised fitness goals based on your level of activity, you can also attempt health and wellness goals like managing stress levels and having better sleep.
Complete challenges to earn points and exchange them for HPB eVouchers that can be used at various merchants like Sakae Sushi, Cathay Cineplexes and Fairprice, or shopping malls such as Hillion Mall and Kallang Wave Mall.
Find out more by reading our full LumiHealth review.
Price: Free
Download LumiHealth
Image credit: Streaks
Cultivating good habits and breaking bad ones is never an easy feat. Streaks is an app that allows you to set goals and get scheduled reminders to break bad habits, or cultivate good ones. Be it walking 10,000 steps daily, quitting smoking, or reading more books, goals can be set to be completed over a period of time that’s comfortable and realistic.
Image credit: Streaks
When you set fitness related goals, the app syncs with your Apple devices’ built-in health apps to track activity levels. It even automatically checks off daily goals once they’re accomplished, so you don’t have to manually input your steps clocked, or workout sessions.
You’ll be able to track up to 12 habits at a time, and the app reminds you automatically when a task needs to be completed or progressed on. Plus, there’s an option to share your in-app progress with other users, so you’ll be able to cheer each other on and be held accountable for achieving your goals.
Price: $6.98
Download Streaks
Regular exercise is beneficial for keeping stress levels low, as exercise releases serotonin – a.k.a. the happy hormone. A nifty bonus is that you’ll feel more energised with lower stress levels, which in turn help you focus better and be more efficient and productive.
Image credit: Apple
If WFH is still the default for you and going to the gym seems like too much of a hassle, you’ll be able to conquer home workouts with Apple Fitness+.
Choose from a variety of workouts including yoga, HIIT, cycling, dance and cooldown exercises based on duration and fitness level. Videos are updated on a weekly basis, so you won’t have to worry about constantly doing the same old boring exercises.
Image credit: Apple
You can even stack multiple workouts and be automatically prompted to have a mindful cooldown session once you’re done, to prevent injury and ease you back into a state of rest. Follow the workout and monitor your real time health metrics recorded by your Apple Watch on your iPhone’s screen.
Price: Free one-month trial and $9.99/month thereafter
How to download: Subscribe through the Fitness app on your iPhone or iPad
Image credit: Priscilla Tan
Meditation calms the mind and increases focus so your productivity levels can increase. It’s especially beneficial for frazzled folks who are constantly wrestling with their thoughts. Timeless | Meditation is an app that features guided meditation sessions surrounding better sleep, relaxation, and emotional well-being. There’s also a library of guides to target focus in particular.
Image credit: Priscilla Tan
Scroll through their extensive catalogue of guided instructions and techniques by practising meditators which you can incorporate into your daily mindfulness routine. Using your Apple Watch, you can set personal practice timers, get reminders to work towards your meditation goals, and track your progress charts over time.
Price: Free
Download Timeless | Meditation
Those who frequent TikTok might be familiar with daily affirmations, with popular ones going around like “I don’t chase, I attract” and “what belongs to me will find me”. Affirmations – or positive statements – can help you concentrate on achieving specific goals while getting rid of negative thoughts.
Image credit: Priscilla Tan
I am – Daily Affirmations lets you choose positive messages to be scheduled and delivered throughout the day. Feel free to time them for junctures in your day where you need to be psyched up or have an added confidence – like right before a big meeting or presentation.
Receiving affirmations can prevent self-sabotaging through negative thoughts and instead convince you that you can do it. They can also empower and instil confidence so you’ll feel more encouraged and focus better on tasks.
Price: Free
Download I am | Daily Affirmations
“Breathe” session
Image credit: Priscilla Tan
Mindfulness is a pre-installed app in the Apple Watch that encourages you to set aside a few minutes a day to just breathe and meditate. If you have an Apple Fitness+ subscription, you’ll even be able to access guided audio recordings to lead your meditation session.
“Reflect” session
Image credit: Priscilla Tan
Even if meditation isn’t for you, it’ll still be useful to set aside some time for breaks in between work and take your mind off things through breathing exercises. Set a duration for your break and choose from “Reflect” or “Breathe” sessions. The “Reflect” session flashes questions for you to ruminate on, while “Breathe” simply brings you through a series of breathing exercises.
Price: Free
It’s not always easy to stick with your goals throughout the year, no matter how determined you might be at the start. Whether it’s to kick bad habits, have better time management or learn to wind down and cope better with stress, there’s an Apple Watch app designed for each area of your life that contributes to better productivity.
With these handy apps aiding and motivating you along the way, you might just be able to tick off every item from your New Year’s resolution list.
Check out more hacks to boost your productivity here:
Cover image adapted from: Priscilla Tan
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