There’s an app for everything, even self-improvement. If you’ve been wanting to add to your list of skills or get you that career boost, you may need a bit of digital assistance. Here are 10 great apps we’ve come up with that can help give you that much-needed edge in the workplace.
1. Elevate – Brain Training
Price: Free, with option to upgrade to premium paid version
Download: Android, iOS
Elevate – Brain Training aims to exercise your gray matter. Improve your cognitive ability with a battery of daily tests derived from 14 different in-app categories that include Focus, Precision, Refinement, Syntax, Error Avoidance, Memory, Inversion, Brevity, Processing, Connotation, Comprehension, Agility, Contextualization, and Visualization.
2. Luminosity
Price: Free, with option to upgrade to paid premium version
Download: Android, iOS
A quick mind is an important consideration if you want to be and stay marketable. Keep your grey matter healthy by plugging in Luminosity, an app that aims to train your brain using different challenges and mini games. Its fun and interactive activities come tagged with what you think needs improving on—attention, memory, etc.—and its slick visuals makes you forget that you’re actually doing mental exercises.
3. HabitRPG
Price: Free
Download: Android, iOS
Some jobs are seasonal, which means that they have cycles, which can be a bit off-putting after you’ve gone through them several times. The solution? Turn it into a game! HabitRPG does exactly that: it turns your life into a role-playing game where your character earns points and equipment every time you fulfill tasks you’ve listed. Fail to finish them and a chunk of HP will be knocked off your character. Best be honest about your track record, though. Cheating by ticking off items you haven’t done yet ruins the fun.
4. Flipboard
Price: Free
Download: Android, iOS
Flipboard is a great app that can help improve your creativity. With a fast list of articles, photos, and other odds and ends collated from different online sources, it’s almost impossible not to find anything that will give you that light bulb moment.
5. MindNode
Price: $9.99 (approx. Php 449.00)
Donwload: iOS
It’s one thing to think of great ideas, and it’s another to organize and implement them. MindNode helps you with this by creating mind maps of your thoughts, which can be especially useful during brainstorming sessions.
6. DrawExpress Diagram Lite
Price: Free, with option to upgrade to paid premium version
Download: Android
A good mind-mapping option for Android users, DrawExpress Diagram is a gesture-recognition diagram application helps you create flowcharts for better idea organization. It has a huge array of functions and templates that can make you see the bigger picture and help get your point across.
7. OmmWriter
Price: $4.99 (approx. Php 224.00)
Download: iOS
OmmWriter is an app that all aspiring writers can appreciate. It’s basically a blank page accompanied by soothing music, which will help you focus on what you want to put down. It’s currently for iPad, Mac, and Windos PC users only, but hopefully an Android version will see the light of day.
8. Negotiation 360
Price: $2.99 (approx. Php 134.00)
Download: iOS
Thinking of improving your business bargaining strategies? Download Negotiation 360, an app created by Harvard Business School Professor Michael Wheeler. It’s a tool that assesses your negotiation strengths and weaknesses in order to prepare you for the next time you’re closing a deal. It features a scorecard which rates your performance, and offers you best practices which you can apply in real-world settings.
9. English Grammar Handbook
Price: Free
Download: Android
Impress your current or prospective boss by polishing your English speaking and writing skills. English Grammar Handbook is a comprehensive guide for proper usage and syntax with thousands of examples to help you along.
10. PowerVocab Word Game
Price: Free
Download: Android
Here’s another great app that can help you improve your communication skills. Play PowerVocab is one of the most popular vocabulary games on mobile. You’ll definite enjoy activities such as “Learn Words,” Challenge Quiz,” and the like. Plus, you can also challenge your friends to make things more interesting.
Of course, there are many more apps that train your brain to think better, be more creative, and so forth. Game playing is an legitimate and effective way of learning new things, so make sure you make the most of your time on that long commute, during that queue at the bank, and whatever other situation you find yourself with a few minutes to spare.
Have a few apps to suggest yourself? Leave a comment to share!