Is There an App for That?
What are the Best Apps for Your New Retirement Lifestyle?
Make Technology Work for You!
In today’s world, there’s an app for almost anything! The key is quality and how it works for you personally. The right apps can make your life so much simpler, easy to manage and just more fun. But there are so many choices out there. This is a good place to learn from what others are doing.
Here's My Challenge to You
I will start the conversation by listing out few apps I have found most useful in my life. Then I invite you all to send me an email (janice@ijustretirednowwhat.com) to add in your own views and suggestions. I am happy to keep this post updated with new ideas.
Try to stick to these topic headings as much as you can:
- Brief summary – screen shot if you can
- Example of how you use it
- Cost or Is it free ?
- Do you need training and if so, where to find it
- Why you chose it
I will keep adding to this post and refreshing it periodically as we get more and more suggestions.
Don't Let Anyone's 'OK Boomer' Comment Stop You From Learning New Things
In this era of ‘Sheltering in Place’ my 93-year old dad is keeping himself busy on bad weather days with a new cadcam system. He also FaceTime’s with us each day and is learning to ‘touch type’. While so much is written about the pitfalls of technology in our world, we can certainly use it to our benefit too. So don’t let the younger generation’s ‘Ok Boomer’ comments stop you from learning and challenging yourself.
Let's Get Started!
Notion
Brief Description
Oh my goodness! I am loving this app, Notion. I never heard of it until a few weeks ago when someone suggested it. But it is now changing my life. It is essentially a complete organization app for everything in your life. It is super powerful and very flexible. Just because I’m retired doesn’t mean I’m not busy! So this app helps me save time so I can spend my time on what I love.
How I Use It
I am just having so much fun putting everything on here from recipes to packing lists to project lists. Notion can actually take the place of Trello and Evernote. I recently found a template for recipes and I am having a great time with that one. I have been putting all my project work related to this blog on there.
For anyone who has read my post on saving time and money Grocery Shopping, or the one Decluttering, you will know that I use Excel files for these sorts of things. I can see totally changing over to Notion for these tools. I have to learn a lot more about Notion in order to move these over. But when I do, I can see these tools being even more impactful on your life. And I will be sure to share them when they’re done.
Cost
Notion is free for personal use. You can power up to the Pro version for $4/month. I haven’t done that yet. I haven’t yet come across any reason to upgrade. I suppose as I learn more I will be enticed. But for now, the free version is just fine.
Training
I found a series of training on You Tube. I watched Carl Pullein and found him really helpful. I am sure there are others too.
Why I Like It
I love the fact that I can get my whole life organized on this thing. Plus it is also accessible on my phone so I can use it anywhere. And the pages look so neat and pretty with background pictures and icons etc. It is just so darn fun to play with.
Notion can take the place of Trello and Evernote as it has the same functions plus so much more. If you prefer a lighter hand, then just keep Trello and Evernote (scroll down to see their descriptions). They are great apps too. But if you’re an organization nut like me, I’m telling you, you’re going to love Notion.
Side Notes
Now if you’ve read my post on Block Scheduling, you’ll know I am fond of a saying that goes something like, ‘let’s not get a Mack truck to drive us to the corner deli for milk’. And if you open up Notion, you might accuse me of doing exactly that. Isn’t this a Mack truck? And I would almost have to agree with you. Except…I am going to use it for so much more than going to the deli. So for that reason, I can justify it. Plus you can link everything together.
I also found a tremendous support population out there from Facebook groups to You Tube channels. The official Facebook page also has a mentor/mentee sign up. I thought that was really cool. Adds another way to safely connect with a fellow human being, something we could all use a little more of these days.
One more note: Notion is offering a free Team Plan (normally $8/month) to first responders, researchers and others involved in the fight against this illness. I just think that is a super thing to do and I love supporting companies that are doing good things like this.
One Second Everyday
Brief Description
This app essentially does exactly what it says! It takes a one second video every day. So after a series of several days/weeks (whatever time you choose), you have this really cool collage of videos strung together.
How I Use It
My daughter turned me on to this idea when she spent four and a half months in Cape Town, South Africa last year. She wanted to keep a journal of her experiences. And this video collage was a terrific way of adding a wonderful visual to the written accounts.
Now you might be wondering what you’ll use it for. Trust me, I struggled with that too. After all, my life (especially now) is quite dull in comparison. So I gave this some thought and came up with some other ideas outside the norm:
- My flower garden. I am always trying to plant compatible perennials. For example, plants that when blooming at the same time have flowers with compatible colors. Also, I want to make sure my garden has blooms all through the season. So when do I have dull points when not much is blooming? Maybe I can plant something that blooms during that time and add it to the mix.
- Cooking ideas. I can record what I made for dinner night after night and keep record of what ingredients I tend to use most. I can see how diverse (or more likely not diverse) my menu choices are.
- A run or walk each day. There is almost always something interesting I see along the way. It can be as simple as a butterfly or maybe even just seeing a landscape I want to try to emulate.
- Document a project – big or small. Maybe you’re doing some renovation work, or re-doing a room. Wouldn’t it be fun to take a look back on each of the steps along the way?
Since my life isn’t nearly as exciting as my daughter’s, I am using it now for my flower garden. We are also planning a sort of re-do of my daughter’s bedroom (to help accommodate everyone working from home). I plan to use it for that too
Cost
What I am using is totally free
Why I Like It
I love the flexibility of this app. It is just a super simple idea that is only limited by our imaginations.
Secondly, I want to start to get more comfortable with video. All the training I am doing for my website tells me people like seeing video (like on Social Media and even on Pinterest now). But that is a new thing for me This will give me a chance to play around.
Trello
Brief Description
Trello is an app for organization, lists, projects, general notes. You can make different ‘Boards’. You can name different columns under each board (they are called ‘Lists’). And then each List has a place for different cards. Think of the ‘cards’ as the ‘to-do’ entries on your list.
So this lets you take a project and break it down into smaller parts. You can also share your project with different people – like family members.
How I Use It
I use Trello for every aspect of building this website. For example, I have a Board called Post Content. And it looks like this:
Content
Ideas
Work On Next
Ready for Review
Posted
Hold for Later
So every time I get an idea, I add a card under the ‘Ideas’ column (or List). I review the ideas and decide which ones I should work on now. When I choose and Idea to work on now, I move that card to the ‘Work on Now’ column (or List). Once I have a draft done, I move that card to the ‘Ready for Review’ column (or list), and so on.
Cost
This app is totally free. I downloaded it on my laptop and on my phone and iPad. So I have it wherever I am at all times.
Training
I found plenty of free training on You Tube. The app itself if pretty self-explanatory. But it just helps to see how other people use it. Plus you can find some interesting feature that may not be completely evident. For example, you can add color coding to add further organization.
Why I Like It
This has to be my absolute favorite right now. It feels great to have a place to record my ideas or plan my projects. Plus, I love moving the cards from List to List. It is just so satisfying!!
EverNote
Brief Description
Evernote does exactly what the name says. It captures every note. You can write your own notes. Or the best part is you can snatch an article and record it as a note. Then later you can go back to all these different notes and organize them into notebooks.
How I Use It
I use Evernote to record different ideas that pop in my head each day. But the biggest use I see for it is saving articles from different news sources. I often come across an article that I think I might want to share with friends. It also helps to save it for later when I have more time. Or maybe it’s something that could be a good foundation for a post to this site. I can just hit a save button. Then later I go and organize it in the notebook I want.
Cost
What I am using is totally free
Training
I found a series of training on You Tube. I watched Carl Pullein and found him really helpful. I am sure there are others too.
Why I Like It
I just love organization. And this app helps me feel organized. Also, I can’t stand still. So whenever I am idle, I am often reading news articles. But when I don’t have time to finish them, I can keep them for later. And I can be sure to find them when I want them.
I can put this app on my phone and my computer. The phone is best to record things because that’s just what I have with me when I’m reading things. But then I like the big screen for organizing.
iBooks
Brief Description
Use it to purchase and download books.
How I Use It
I tend to use this one on my iPad but also have it available on my phone. So when I travel (as I hope to again one day), it helps me not have to bring heavy books. I can read any one of several books on the flight or waiting at the airport. Also, if I am stuck in line somewhere, or waiting unexpectedly, it gives me something useful to do.
Cost
The app itself is free. But you have to pay for the books, of course
Training
It is pretty self-explanatory. Just go to the search feature, look for a book and then make the purchase. I didn’t see a need for any training. Just fiddling around I found the little buttons for marking the page or making highlights.
Why I Like It
Sometimes I think I spend too much idle time on social media. And reading the news just got to be so addicting but depressing. So this gives me something else to look at when I have down time. And it feels so much more satisfying to see the pages turn.
PlantSnap
Brief Description
Identifies the plant from a picture you take on your phone
How I Use It
When I’m out walking, if I find a plant I like, I open the App and use the camera to take an image of it. Then the App scans through it’s database and comes up with either the exact name or a short list of possibilities.
Cost
App is free.
Training
The App does a good job of taking you through the steps. So I didn’t find a need to look for training
Why I Like It
I am always looking for new plants for my flower beds. For example, I am interested in what is flowering now. I seem to have a dreary spot here after the tulips are done but the roses are not yet in bloom.
It is also a good way to start up a conversation with someone. If I stop outside someone’s house and take an interest in their plants, they are likely to start up a conversation with me. I never know who I might meet.
Duolingo
Brief Description
Helps you learn a language.
How I Use It
I used it before my trip to Italy a few years ago. I have some background in Italian, but nothing really formal. So I used this to help me prepare. I was excited to be able to converse with locals as we went shopping and dining.
Cost
The app is free. I think there’s a pro version. But I just use the free one.
Training
I didn’t take any training. I pretty much prompts you along. But like anything, I am sure there’s a You Tube video that can help too!
Why I Like It
I like it because you can learn just about any language on it. And you can do it anytime. I did a lot of my work on this app while I was commuting back and forth on the train.
I know it seems depressing right now to think about when will we ever be able to travel again. But honestly, this is the perfect time then to learn!