If you’ve ever explored health and fitness through your smartphone’s app store, you probably know there are thousands of programs and subscriptions you can download (and pay good money for) that promise to get you in shape and organize your life.
But the road to getting motivated is paved with good intentions—not to mention a screen full of apps that have been downloaded and abandoned. Sometimes the best routes to fitness and personal organization are the simplest.
Here are three smart ways you can use the standard tools from your smartphone to meet just about any health goal, whether you want to sleep better, eat healthfully, get in shape, or simply get motivated.
Set up ‘be healthy’ appointments
Let your phone’s reminder function prompt you to do more than get to your next meeting on time. You can use it to remind you to take your medication or vitamins, go on your next workout or run, or have a healthy midday healthy snack.
When you take the time to write obligations into your calendar—and set reminders and alerts—you make it less likely you’ll bail on the promises you make to yourself.
An easy way to start: If you tend to be a night owl, set an alarm each evening to prompt you start an unwinding routine about an hour or two before your desired bedtime. That might include dimming the lights, turning off the television, taking a warm bath, and tucking into bed with a good book. All these things can help you get to bed at a reasonable hour.
Be strategic with your timer
You probably have heard you’re supposed to brush your teeth for two minutes. But do you actually do it? Let your smartphone timer help you.
Have time management issues? Use the timer to track how long it takes you to do basic things, like wash the dishes or fold a load of laundry. Once you know how long something takes (what feels like half an hour may really only take 10 minutes) you'll be better able to schedule tasks and prioritize.
Your timer can help you get in shape, too. Use it to time how long you hold plank pose or to count how many body weight squats you can do in 30 seconds.
Motivate yourself
Want to take your fitness reminders to a whole new level? Many phones allow you to customize your alarms with snippets of your favorite songs—or even your own voice. Hearing the first few bars of “Eye of the Tiger” or your own voice screaming “Let’s goooo!” is much more motivating than "beep, beep, beep."
