Because who doesn’t want to be this relaxed?
With colder weather arriving, stress piling up and the general chaos that is the world today, who doesn’t just want to run away from it all to relax?
It’s something we often forget to do – take some “me” time and just reconnect with ourselves; to remember that we have a life outside work and that it’s important to take that time. In an effort to be more calm, I’ve been using two iPhone apps which have brought pretty interesting results.
The first app is called Lift, and is available for iPhone users or you can use their web version. The app offers different “habits” that one can select, broken in to categories like health and fitness, mindfulness, productivity and more. Within those categories are specific targets (ie: “21 days to your best sleep ever”), broken down in to steps that you practice each day. The app tracks your progress, shows you the progress of other users and offers the chance to provide “kudos” to others practicing the same goal. Essentially, it crowd-sources success! Lift pulls from different information sources (IE: Health.com, Calm.com) to provide you with the baby steps to reach the ultimate goal. I’m currently working on three goals: 10 days to mindful living, 21 days to your best sleep and intro to meditation. Feel free to join me and track my progress!
What I like about Lift as well, is the ability to set reminders that appear on your home screen (in the case of the iPhone) to take the step to reach the goal. It can remind you each day to hit the gym, to listen to the next lesson or whatever step is needed for the plans you’ve selected.
The second app I’m using stemmed from downloading Lift, and is Calm – Meditation and Relaxation. I’m using it to supplement what I’m learning in the Into to Meditation segment on Lift (which is sourced from Calm.com, the makers of this app) and it helps me remember to take two minutes out of my day to refocus, balance and then proceed. It offers a number of background sounds and images that add to the peacefulness, and the guided meditations are great for someone (like me) who is just starting out. It seems that the Calm app is only available for iPhone, but their website is a good resource for those of you using other devices.
So, take the time and reconnect with yourself. Even just a few days in, I’ve noticed a difference in my own way of thinking and my ability to be more relaxed; of course, stress is still going to happen. But at least this offers a way to pull back from that stress and refocus.
Update
Okay – so I forgot to plug the Twitter handle for the Lift app: @liftapp
Also, be sure to follow the creators: Tony Stubbletine, @tonystubbletine (Lift) and Alex Tew, @tewy (Calm). After posting this, I was tweeted by both of them!
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