BEING a mum isn’t easy. Whether one’s a stay-at-home mum or a working mum, there’s always too much to do and too little time. But as they say, there’s an app for everything. If you’re a mum, here are some apps that you might want to consider installing on your mobile phone so that you can get through the day easier.
FAMILY MANAGEMENT: Cozi
This app has been described as a family management tool and that is exactly what it is. With this one app, you can create, coordinate and oversee every family member’s daily schedule. You can also share “to do” and grocery lists with other family members. The shared calendar allows all family members to view appointment reminders and weekly agenda. And to keep things simple, Cozi uses a colour-coded system that assigns a different colour for each family member.
TIME MANAGEMENT: aTimeLogger
In order to achieve effective time management, you first have to know where all the time went. This app, aTimeLogger, allows you to keep track of exactly how you are spending your time. Devoting just a few minutes a day on this app will help you generate daily, weekly and monthly statistics in the form of diagrams and graphs so you can then plan and manage your time better.
MEAL PLANNER: BigOven
One of the biggest challenges a busy mum has to deal with on a daily basis is what to cook for the family. BigOven is possibly the best app to resolve this problem. With a database of over 350,000 recipes, you will never be short of ideas again. It has a convenient Meal Planner tool that allows you to add recipes well in advance so you’ll know exactly what to cook in the days ahead. This app also allows you to create a grocery list where items are sorted by department or by recipe and can be ticked off as you shop for the items. Best of all, this app is eco-friendly and helps you to reduce waste through its Use Up Leftovers features where you can discover recipes that uses whatever ingredients you currently have in your kitchen so that nothing goes to waste.
EXERCISE: Super Mum Workout
Taking care of the children and the household leaves very little time or energy for exercise. An ideal app to combat that situation is the Super Mum Workout app (unfortunately it seems to be available for iPhones only). This app offers a series of instructional videos that help busy mums still get in a workout while they balance kids, home and work. Its presenter, Brandy, was a stay-at-home mum with two children. Before having children, her background was in Sports Medicine and Physical Therapy. She used her education to create toning and strengthening exercises to help busy mums get back to their pre-pregnancy weight by fitting them into everyday life.
MOTIVATION: Rise
One unique challenge some working mums face is the guilt they might sometimes feel about continuing to work despite having children. Some do it because of financial necessity while others do it because they love their work. That doesn’t mean they are not devoted mothers. Still, the stress and anxiety of feeling they are not doing enough for the family might be there, which can eventually lead to sadness and depression. Rise is an app designed to deliver self-affirmations specifically for working mums. Set to calming music, the positive affirmations in this app was written by working mums, for working mums, with the goal of quieting any critical or toxic inner voice, so that working mums can find peace, calm and self-acceptance of their decision to continue to work after having children.
Oon Yeoh is a consultant with experiences in print, online and mobile media. Reach him at oonyeoh@gmail.com.