12 Apr 2020

Social distancing is proving to be pretty rough. I know, I know, woe is me, I can’t boogie with my friends or chill at the beach... but for real, it’s a dampener on my vibe as I'm sure it is for yours as well.

But hey! Good things come to those who wait, so let's just shine it on and adjust to the self-isolation game, daydreaming of when we can hug our mates again.

If you've been spending too long scrolling down an endless pit of Instagram and Facebook feeds, it's time to use that phone of yours for the better! Here are some apps to keep you sane, entertained and healthy during iso!

 

1. Ted

This is the prime time for you to inhale other peoples nuggets of wisdom and get learnt up!

The Ted app is unreal for a plethora of reasons. If you're missing meeting new people, Ted allows you to hear peoples stories from all realms of life. You feel connected to their anecdotes, values and beliefs. If you're finding it hard to keep motivated and inspired whilst working from home, there are infinite encouraging talks on there. My fave recently has been Elizabeth Gilberts' 'Your Elusive Creative Genius'.

Ted also has tonnes of educational, animated videos on myths, legends, literature, history and philosophy which I find myself inhaling on the reg, enjoying feeding my mind!

2. Calm

These are uncertain and frazzling times. If you're feeling especially lost and anxious, Calm is the perfect mindfulness app to help you experience better sleep, lower stress and less anxiety through guided meditations, breathing programs, stretching exercises and relaxing music.

The app is literally recommended by psychologists, therapists and mental health experts so it's a pretty legit way to look after your mental health. The world isn't going to heal if we're all hysteric headcases. So let's all take a breather and zen the hell out.

3. Centr, by Chris Hemsworth

Being cooped up inside all day doesn't do wonders for our bods. Especially for me who has been binge-eating chocolate as a coping mechanism for these chaotic times. 

For a lot of us, we walked to and from destinations, went to the gym and/or had physically demanding jobs. Now, we aren't getting enough exercise in, making us feel sluggish. So this is where fitness apps come in.

Centr has been a vibe. Like, hello, I'm basically training with Thor?! Due to iso, Chris Hemsworth has allowed his app that has the world's best trainers, chefs and well-being experts in the palm of your hand, free for 6 weeks! So get amongst it. 

Some more exercise app recommendations would be 30 Day Fitness, Nike Training Club and Sweat: Kayla Itsines Fitness. Get moving!

4. Goodreads and Letterboxd

Now, with all this time on our hands, I'm sure we're all looking for new books to read and movies to watch. 

I've always loved Goodreads as I can track what I've read, what I liked and disliked and find what to read next! If it weren't for this app, I would have never found most of my favourite books. Since now is a prime time to make your literature game strong, Goodreads can help you figure out what books are perfect for you!

Letterboxd is the film version of Goodreads. Especially if you're a movie buff, this is where you'll find gnarly deep cut and indie movies. Like Goodreads, you can also track what you've watched, what you want to watch and get groovy recommendations. 

5. QuizUp

Come on, we couldn't get through isolation without a bit of fuuuuun. QuizUp is a trivia game where you can vs people around the globe and your best mates. All my friends and I have been battling it out to be the overall winner of the Harry Potter trivia. 

There's trivia from general knowledge, music, movies, business, education, science, history, sports...the list goes on and on. Who wants to vs me in the FRIENDS trivia?? 

6. Duolingo

You know how you've been saying "one day, I want to learn French". Now is that day! 

Duolingo is a fun, entertaining way to learn a language right on your phone. The games will keep you motivated and inspired to practice your chosen language. If you stopped scrolling through Instagram for just 10 minutes to muck around on Duolingo every day, in a few months, you'd be surprised how far you can get. Merveilleux!

7. Zoom

We're all missing our mates. It's pretty depressing, there I said it. But Zoom is the perfect app to boogie and yarn with your beautiful friends over the phone. Make it a ritual to have a group gatho on Zoom every Friday night. 

 

Honourable mentions go to Kahoot! because my friend made a Kahoot quiz on her life and it was a hoot and a half. Costar, because who doesn't want daily astrology reminders? And Centrelink...haha, who doesn't love Cenno right now?