Using Your Phone for Self-Care

It’s no secret how much time we spend on our phones. There’s not much we can’t do. For me personally I run my blog and podcast and other business ventures on it as well. I also use it to enhance my self-care. Self-Care is an everyday way of life. It’s about managing what you need at any time to bring out the best version of yourself.

Self-Care Apps

There are a lot of self-care apps available on your phone. You have to be open and willing to see the larger picture. I love to use it for social apps too but nothing beats turning my phone into a practical place to organize my life. I hear people have a lot of negative feedback and I think honestly it’s due to personal use. There are people who aren’t on their phones as often and balance life just fine. It all boils down to self control.

Monitor Phone Usage

Phone usage and the usage of electronics in general increased during the pandemic. We had to rely on them due to not being able to have one on visits with others. Our family utilized our FaceTime more than we ever have. Also apps like House Party or Facebook groups were used to keep in contact with loved ones. I have been attempting to monitor my screen time by using my phone to monitor it. I get a weekly report to see if my usage was up and on what apps it went up or down on. This helps me to see where I gave my time and I find ways to cut it down!

Phones and Self Care

If there are things you do for self-care there are also apps that can help you achieve the goal. For instance I’m not that good on my own when it comes to how to mediate.

Calm App

It’s something I want to get better at doing. In the meantime I use Calm to assist. Not only does it help with meditating but I can also find meditation exercises for every member of my family. I use the night time stories to help me sleep with the voices of my favorites such as Tabitha Brown. My children are able to use it to have their favorite characters tell them sleep stories too! We increased yoga and meditation as a way to regulate our emotions and health.

Notes

Using my Note app is a game changer. When life was fully open before the days of pandemics I carried a notepad on me. Although I’m home and have access to every notebook I own, in a pinch I can save ideas to my notes. Knowing I’m not beating my brain because I can’t remember something important is a form of self care. Also I’m like Dory in that if I write something that isn’t in a notebook I won’t remember where I laid the paper down! I’m able to have peace in taking notes. I’m an organizer and I use it for those purposes.

Audible

I love old school hard bound books. I love magazines too. I love having the ability to turn pages. I can’t get used to not having a book in my hand. However there are so many times when having access to a book when I’m out and about doesn’t work. I love having Audible back me. I usually get the Audible versions of books I already have so I can have a book on hand. I also enjoy listening to the author tell their own stories in their own voice. It’s like having a book podcast on the go! I’m never alone with Audible when I’m at an appointment that is taking too long.

Goodpods

I found Goodpods through BlogHer. I went to the Creator’s Summit and heard all about it. Goodpods is the reason how my own podcast (Blogcast) Conversations with Toi was birthed. I reached out to one of the owners, JJ Ramberg on a whelm and the rest is history. Goodpods is the Instagram of podcast. You can follow your favorite podcasters, friends, or family and see what they are listening to. It takes the question of what podcast you recommend to visualization. You can discover other amazing podcasts from all over the world. If you already own your podcast, get on the app and claim yours today!

Tidal

Music has been apart of my life! My family has a singing group, my mom was a choir director of the choir I was on and sang solos, and my dad is a drummer. In addition to that my mom was a theatre major and produced plays for years before I even moved to Pennsylvania. Music is life. So it’s no wonder why music is a backdrop to how I deal with self-care.

There are many music apps. I like Tidal because it offers any music I want, it makes playlists according to what I listen to the most, there is music for working out, videos, and podcasts on one app. It’s my go to for all things music. Music for every mood. Music therapy is real and I’m a firm believer music is healing! Growing up we learned that if the preacher couldn’t reach someone, the choir can!

This is a small list of self care apps. Some people use financial apps to help organize their money. Organizing of any kind is self care. Knowing where you can find the things you use often is helpful. This is why for me I can’t create in spaces that aren’t organized. So I organize my phone to make it useful and helpful to the way my brain works. If my phone isn’t making me money, I need it to add to my mental health but using it as such. Getting away from phones is key too! Taking phone breaks is a great help! Using it wisely that it fits my lifestyle works just as much!!