Change Your Life With Apps During The Lockdown

With news that the lockdown will be extended for an undefined amount of time, you might be finding yourself chomping at the bit for things to get back to normal. It’s totally understandable that the usual routine of getting up, watching TV, cooking dinner, and then going to bed is starting to grate on you. You might be looking for something to fill the empty void that is now your day to day life with something a bit more fulfilling.

This might NOT be you. You might be just as busy with work as you were before. Maybe, you are a front-liner, desperately trying to keep the country on track. Some of us, however, have been granted a once in a lifetime pause, in which you can do all the things you wished you could do if only you weren’t so busy. A theoretical hyperbolic time-chamber, where more or less everyone is in the same boat. Without the standard responsibilities of time or the distraction of outside interference. Why not use this time to better yourself with apps!

Learn To Trade.

I started trading on practice accounts a few years ago and I found it to be a great way to learn how markets respond to issues around the world. I would be watching the news and hear that a company or country had an issue and I use that info to trade with it. I have never traded with real money, although after practicing with fake money I am confident that if I did, I could turn a profit. I made some fake money off of Brexit, Gold, and currently, I am making fake money off of Oil. It’s a really fun game and a really good way to learn how markets work.

You might end up “Wowing” all of your friends with your in-depth knowledge about France’s Consumer Confidence Indicator, and why its important. All while you lower the top of your S-Type SVR, giving the finger to the plebs scurrying around after you trying to pick up the 20s that are bursting out of your Hermès Birkin…Who knows.

I personally use Trading 212 but there are many others!

Learn to play an instrument.

Since the lockdown, YouTube channels have exploded with adverts for guitar and piano learning apps and programs. All promising to make you an aficionado within a few weeks. Now, I cant even begin to back up these claims as I have never used them but by the looks of it, they could help you. At the very least, teach you a few basics. (Guitar not included) Fender Play can even teach you the Ukulele

Get in shape!

Yes! Getting in shape during a lockdown with no gym, impossible right? I’m probably going to get a lot of hate from the fitness community but its actually super, super, easy to lose weight and get in shape even without gym equipment. There are hundreds of fitness apps out there and you have probably used one or two already.

To start with, I use “My Fitness Pal”. It’s amazing for tracking your intake of calories. You literally add your height and weight, how much you want to weigh by what date and it breaks it down for you. All you have to do is scan or add the foods/quantities you eat and it tells you how many calories you have left for the day. It links to your smart watch/pedometer and gives you a live view of your calorie burn. Couple this with your favorite 30-day bum, chest, and abs workout application like, “Six Pack In 30 Days” or “Plank Workout at Home” and I promise you, if you follow the routine, you will leave lockdown a much healthier, fitter and more attractive person than when you entered. Prove me wrong.

I also want to mention Samsung Health. If you have a Samsung device use this app in conjunction with My Fitness Pal. If I ever feel that I’m putting on a few extra pounds or if I’m starting to slim out too much and need to put on a bit of muscle, these two apps are what I use to turn it around as fast as possible.

Learn a language 

Take it from me, it’s a lot easier than you think. I started out with Duolingo, Tinycards, and memrise and at first. The concept of learning a whole new language via an app was not something I could comprehend, but after I got past the first few levels on each app I realized that it was a lot easier than I thought! I arrived in Japan fully able to translate Katakana and Hiragana, and was able to say a few need to know phrases. It gave me a great head start. Kanji was a bit of a different story though, we don’t talk about Kanji…

If you have no interest in learning a current language then why not learn an ancient one. Duolingo also teaches Latin!

Learn to code

I don’t know about you, but I always wanted to learn more about computers and what goes into an app or a program. Maybe even get a job using computers to fix problems with my newly acquired skills. Maybe I could even create a game and become a bazillionaire and loose it all because I forgot to file taxes, and I’m in prison for life now. Baby steps, but you’ll get there. I recommend SoloLearn: Learn to code for free. It makes it really easy to follow along and challenge yourself and others with what you have learned.

Get More Confident Giving Speeches

Does your job require presentations? Would you want a job that requires public speaking? Would you like to appear more confident when talking to a group of people? Closing statement? Best man speach? Argument? A pitch to your parents about why a playstation is actually an educational tool, and that they need to buy you one now! Hell, maybe you just want to give that acceptance speech that you recite to yourself in the mirror every night a bit of a punch. Then Orai is for you!

Orai-AI Communication Coach is a personal speech coach in your pocket. It gives you instant feedback on all of the speaches you practice, Helps you learn through fun and interactive lessons and will help you become a more effective public speaker. Seriously, give this one a go and your speeches will really land that punch you intend them too.

When this lockdown is over, who do you want to be? Think about this. The friends and colleagues that you haven’t/won’t see for potentially upwards of two months are finally going to meet up with you after this all blows over. It’s going to be painfully obvious who spent their time learning, progressing, and growing as responsible human beings, and the ones that spent there entire time binging Netflix, eating Snickers, and staying awake and drinking way longer than they should have been.

I’m not talking total overhall of your life. Just adapt a few apps into your un-busy schedule. Take working out for example, 30 push-ups, 30 sit-ups, 30 squats and a 60-second plank will take fifteen minutes maximum. In a 14-16 hour day its not a big ask.

Diet isn’t guess work anymore. You dont need a thousand-dollar coach to stand over you, and tell you not to eat that loaf of bread.

You dont need to sit in a class or spend thousands to learn a skill anymore. Tens of coders have spent hundreds of hours working on thousands of lines of code to deliver you an easy to use app that can potentaly change your life. A fast track way to learn any skill you want and all you have to do is download it. Dont be afraid to turn to technology for help, because at the end of the day.

There’s an app for that.