Getting a jump start to your morning can be difficult for many individuals. Coupling the fact that individuals may find themselves with an improper sleep schedule, the next problem that afflicts individuals waking in the morning is not being productive. The morning is an opportune time to get things done and have your morning started on a good foot. Today, we will take a look at ten awesome applications that will get you out of bed restfully, started on a productive day, and able to get adequate sleep so your next morning is as successful as your first.
Sunrise (Free)
With Sunrise, you are able to connect various services, like iCloud and Google Calendar, to have all of your calendar and social media organized and there for you to read comprehensively. Facebook connectivity allows you to keep up with events and birthdays, LinkedIn spices up meeting notifications by giving you a detailed profile of the participants. This is topped off with weather info and Google Maps support for directions.
Google Now (Free)
Google Now is a service that allows you to be notified of the information you need to know in the time in you need it. From directions to the meeting to weather reports for the day, Google Now gets your morning on a good footing while also supporting you throughout the day. If you have a calendar report that you have a flight in a few hours, a “card” appears showing flight info and directions to the airport. Google Now is a part of the Google Search app.
Morning ($2.99)
What sets this application apart is the UI that makes it approachable and easy to use. Unlike the other applications mentioned, which either sacrifices being feature packed for a simple design vice versa, Morning gives you all the features you come to expect from an application like this, without the clutter. Morning offers you weather reports, to-do reminders, traffic information, stock and news, as well as event countdowns.
Alarm Clock 4 Free (Free)
Alarm Clock 4 Free is everything you need in terms of sleep, middle of the night occurrences, and your morning start. The Sleep timer allows you to listen to your iTunes music, gradually decreasing the volume until you fall sleep. Once you are sleep, the handy flashlight allows you to get some light in the dark during your mid-night bathroom trip. The UI offers the current time whenever the application is open, along with the current temperature, the date, and battery status.
Top of the Morning ($0.99)
For a less expensive option to Morning for iOS, you can check out the Top of the Morning: Morning Assistant application. This application offers a full weather report, a list of to-do task reminders, calendar events, as well as top news and stock market stories. While I’m not personally a fan of the font, I find that the UX of the application, with its gestures, makes it a very affordable application to keep you well informed at the top of your morning.
Elevate (Free)
The start of the morning is an opportune time to gather information. Your brain is fresh from six to eight hours of rest and it has a fresh slate to take in what the day has to give them. In addition, it offers a great way to bring in a routine, unlike the middle of the day which can be so unpredictable. This is why I recommend Elevate – Brain Training for giving your morning a kick-start. Through three quick and brain boosting activities, offered daily, you are able to keep your mind sharp to possibly combat memory issues later in life. Plus, it’s free!
Sleep Cycle ($0.99)
You can’t have an amazing morning if you aren’t having a good night. Many times, the root of inadequate sleep, if you do find yourself getting into bed at a reasonable hour, is movements and waking in the middle of the night. Not fully getting into a deep REM cycle means you aren’t truly getting a full night’s sleep.
Sleep Cycle keeps you informed on the times you were in deep sleep and when you were awake at night. By placing your phone under your bed sheet, you get a full report on the quality of your sleep and the time you were truly sleep. Plus, Sleep Cycle offers music for you to get into a relaxing rest, and iTunes compatibility to wake up to familiar tunes.
Any.do (Free)
You’re up and taking a look at what is ahead of you today. The various other applications we recommended have to-do features, but they aren’t full-fledged to-do applications. Any.do is an awesome and minimalist to-do manager. Cloud support allows you to have full access to your tasks on various formats. Predictive text, location notifications, and voice-to-text features allows you to spend less time planning and more time doing.
Wunderlist (Free)
Wunderlist is a wonderful program that I make use of everyday for keeping my life in order. You can organize tasks by category, star important tasks, set alarms, and digest them in various views. This can be from daily view or by the week. Each task can have its own checklists, notes, and you can even share tasks. Wunderlist is a great, free option for ensuring your life is in order.
Acorns ($1.00/Month)
Starting your day with smart decisions is the key to a great rest of your day. Acorns is certainly the latest app on the scene for smart decision making. With Acorns, you can take the spare change of purchases made and invest it into a diversified investment portfolio.
Acorns can be a great integral part of your day by checking the app each morning to see how your investments are doing, and simply clicking the acorn icon to send off the spare change for the day before to invest. Making this a daily task makes investing easy and builds your overall net worth. Acorns is set to be available in the latter part of this summer.
Which application do you feel gets your morning to a great start? Let us know in the comments below.
Featured photo credit: http://myurifemme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/sleep-too-much-urifemme-FUD.jpg via Myurifemme
