Apps I learned to love during Quarantine

And what I learned from them

During quarantine like many I had oodles of spare time on my hands as living in Washington State there had been few places to go. The restaurants were closed for a while. Concerts had been cancelled and movie theaters were closed. You couldn’t even go to your nearby coffee shop for some time and enjoy simple cup of coffee. This put me into an introverted mood. Looking inward is where used the I had time and energy I had. I have found each of these apps very useful of course.

This is one of my favorite apps. It is an organization app that lets you keep create projects for personal, business or organizational team use. There is a mobile version for both IOS and Android as well as desktop version for Mac and Windows. It also integrates into many widely used messaging and team apps such as Slack, Jira, and Microsoft Teams. Those are all bonuses to using this app.

My impression of Asana app is that it is easy and intuitive to use. Most of my use was on the mobile version. The reason I started using Asana is I need a way to keep track of what I need to accomplish in a given time. I use it for my personal tasks or projects around my house or personal projects such as learning French. Asana is not cluttered with a lot of filler material in the UI. You get just what you need.

When we open the app it will start where you left off. On the Home page we can create new projects. I usually have many projects going at once so one feature I really like is being able to choose a color for the project icon.

Once you have created a project and you are in that project you create tasks. Here you can choose list or board to show all of your different steps in your project. I choose board for my layout as that gives me more definition as to where each step is in the project. I create columns across the top that list ready or backlog, then in progress and then finished or accomplished. This is the project view. It is easy to drag-n-drop each task to a new column as needed.

When you click a task this is where you can see more of the task specifics. Due date, Assigned to, and notes on the task can be read here. The thing I like most here is you can also create separate subtasks as well and assign due dates for each.

Beginning my day with the Stoic app helps to set my daily intentions. I love this app. It gives me a chance to organize my thoughts at the beginning of the day.

— Chance to list three things you are grateful for every morning.

— Stoic quote for contemplation at the beginning of your day.

— Also you pick one thing that is most important to accomplish that day. And then at the end of the day the app has you reflect on your progress for this one thing and reflect why it was finished or not. You get to review yourself.

Another great application for you phone if you have trouble tracking how long you spend on any project during your day.

— Create multiple lists or activities

— Reminds you to stop looking at your phone and concentrate.

— I enjoy this app because it helps me to concentrate on what I am doing without having to worry about how much time I am setting aside for this or that particular task. I do not have to watch the clock.

— Teaches how to meditate, most apps just give you a chance to meditate this app teaches you how to meditate. This app has opened my eyes to the possibility of meditation with guided meditations that you can do everyday.

— Introductory meditation course is 28 days long

— Helpful lectures on meditation and mindfulness.

— Voice instructions are clear

— A chance to meditate. They have guided meditations that are fun to listen to.

— Soothing soundscapes, helps me concentrate more. Sometimes when I am into a project I need some white noise to help me concentrate better. For me total silence or a timer do not always work so well and I need a little background distraction that will help me concentrate.

— Small independent development team, husband and wife team