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PavDBronze
Contributor
Our top tips on WFH.Blog
For many of us, this is the first time we’ve ever worked from home. It’s not always an easy transition to make. After all, your office is literally designed for productivity while your home is geared towards comfort. That means it’s more important than ever to figure out how to keep on top of your workload, maintain a healthy work-life balance and nurture your business relationships So, here are some tips that will make it easier to stay productive at home and keep up to date with your work: Set some ground rules The first and most important thing to do is set a schedule for each day. Make sure you stick to it and have clear guidelines for when to work and when to be doing other things. If you have kids and they’re studying at home, get them involved and make a schedule that works for everyone in your house. That way, you can all keep on achieving. Make sure your household all know about each other’s meetings, lessons, assignments and workloads. That way, you won’t be disturbed when you’re in daily video call meetings, and you won’t disrupt your kids’ concentration during their study time. Schedule breaks Sometimes, it’s easy to get so engrossed in your projects that you lose track of time. Taking regular, timed breaks when you work from home is essential to keep completing quality work. When planning your day, remember to plan a lunch and tea break. That way you can take a well-earned step back and return later refreshed and motivated. Set your alarm for regular breaks for meals, coffee, minor chores or simply to get up from your seat and move. Make sure to exercise We may not be free to roam wherever we like right now, but it’s still vital to get some fresh air and exercise at least once a day. As well as the obvious benefits of clearing your head and helping you feel more fresh, the open air helps you digest food more effectively, improve your blood pressure and heart rate, and strengthen your immune system. You can still go for a walk, jog or cycle, so make the most of it! You’ll feel healthier, happier and ready to deal with the workday ahead. Check in with your team There’s no denying it, working from home can often feel like a very solitary experience. However, you’re not alone. Many people feel isolated, so it’s worth catching up with your team at work to see how everyone’s handling it. Set up a weekly call or set time aside for informal meetings to check in with everyone. You’ll leave with the feeling that you’re all in this together, and that kind of morale-boost goes a long way both in work and personal. When you’re not working, make sure you’re still keeping in touch with friends. Video calls can make it easier to maintain a balance between working and socialising at home. Here are some of the best video calling apps to help you get started. Keep calm and carry on Staying positive and upbeat when you are home can be difficult, but mental health is as vital as physical health. Set aside some time each day to clear your head from stress and anxiety, so you can relax at the end of the working day. Here are 5 apps to give yourself a mindfulness refresh. Bonus tip Tune into the radio! Since the vast majority of us have been working at home, radio listening figures have gone up by 20%, and for a good reason. Hearing somebody else’s voice is a calming influence, and listening to your favourite station is a great way to bring a touch of your office into your home. Plus, hearing a song you love getting played on the airwaves is much more rewarding than just streaming your regular playlist. Those are our tips to make the most out of working from home? Do you think we’ve missed a key pointer? What’s working for you? Let us know in the comments below.
PavDBronze
Contributor
Apps for Easter.Blog
Looking for fun things to do at home with your family this Easter? Why not get creative with some Easter apps? You won’t need to go on an Easter app hunt – we’ve picked out the best ones for you. Just sit back, crack open a chocolate bunny and check out our guide. Greeting cards Easter greetings cards are a great way to keep in touch with family and friends, and they’re fun to make too. With the Happy Easter Greeting Cards app for iOS (£1.70 on App Store) you can create your own cards and send them via Facebook, WhatsApp, email and more. Personalise your messages and choose from a range of stickers, photos and emojis. If you have an Android phone, try the Happy Easter app instead. It’s a simple tool that lets you design and send your own greetings. Get it for free on Google Play. Easter egg painting Painting and decorating eggs is good fun, especially for kids, but it can get messy. Why not use virtual eggs instead? With the Easter Egg Painter app for iOS (free, with in-app purchases) you can create all sorts of wacky and wonderful designs. Just choose a background, select an egg colour and pattern. Children will love it and, best of all, there’s no washing-up and no dried egg to chisel off the table afterwards! If you’re looking to unwind over Easter, you should try the Easter Eggs Glitter Color by Number app. It’s a virtual colouring book with pictures of bunnies and decorated eggs. The colour-by-numbers system means you don’t have think too much, so it’s great for de-stressing. Check it out on Android (free, with in-app purchases). Easter feasts Are you planning an Easter family meal? If so, head straight for BigOven. It’s a meal planner app with more than 500,000 recipes. There’s a host of handy features too, including a ‘Use Up Leftovers’ search that’s perfect for Easter Monday meals. You can get BigOven on iOS or Android (free, with in-app purchases). Another great cooking app is Tasty. It gives you step-by-step instructions for every recipe, and even has videos to show you (or the kids) how to cook them. There are more than 4000 dishes to choose from, and you can filter by vegetarian, vegan, low-carb and more. Check out Tasty for free on iOS or Android. Movies and games When the cooking’s done, you might need a sit-down. And spending time with some family movies or games. But where’s the best place to start? If it’s games apps you’re after, you’re spoilt for choice. Have a look at our iD guide to addictive apps and games for inspiration. Or, if you want something more challenging, try a board game app. Games like Monopoly , Ticket to Ride and Catan are all bestsellers that will keep you and the kids entertained for hours. For another Easter treat, you can’t go wrong with a big-screen movie night. Our iD guide to movie streaming apps will help you find the right site. Movies, games, eggs and cards – what more could you want from your Easter weekend? But if even those delights aren’t enough to keep the kids happy, check out the App Store best of 2019 and our Top tips for the perfect family staycation. There are enough ideas in those to fill even the biggest Easter basket. Whatever you get up to over the long weekend, have a very Happy Easter! And don’t forget to tell us which apps you enjoyed using the most. Just post a reply below.
PavDBronze
Contributor
How to prepare for a music festival.Blog
Planning on heading to a festival this year? We have got you. Find out the best festivals to attend, what to pack and other handy tips to make the most of your summer of fun! Plan ahead to get a good spot Now is the best time to plan for a music festival. The longer you wait, the harder it is to get hold of a ticket - and prices get expensive. Keep in mind that the more popular the music festival is, the quicker they’ll sell out of their cheapest tiers. Find your fest on social media and follow their accounts to stay updated with tickets release dates, times and more. Pick the fest right for you Deciding on what festival to attend can be difficult. Check out these favourites from around Europe: Wireless Festival 3rd – 5th July London’s Wireless Festival takes place at Finsbury Park. If you’re into the hip-hop, R&B or rap music, this could be the one for you. Expect headliners from around the world. Lovebox Festival 12th – 14th June The Lovebox festival at London’s Gunnersbury park offers three full days of top hip-hop, techno, house and R&B. Primavera Sound 4th – 6th June Whether you like underground, alternative or pop music, you can find it all at the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona. It’s also a great place to meet other fans. Ultra Europe 10th – 12th July This dance music extravaganza takes place in various locations. In July, you can catch one of the most well-known of these events in Split, Croatia. See more festival ideas here Buying your tickets Tight on cash? Don’t worry because when it comes to paying for your ticket, you’ve got options: Spread the cost With the growing popularity of overseas festivals, a payment plan can make life easier. For instance, you may want to pay 25% of the value up-front and pay the rest in instalments leading up to the festival. Ticket exchanges Even if a festival is sold out, you may still have a chance to find a ticket. Search major ticket exchanges online like Stubhub and SeatGeek, and you may stumble upon a hidden gem, although you may pay more at this stage in the game. The best things in life are free Why not check out some free festivals? For example, the Leigh Folk Festival is a free, open event. That way, you can spend more money on your wardrobe! Not sure what to pack? It’s not always easy to know what to pack. But for both camping and non-camping festivals, bring your photo ID, phone and a few extra quid. But let’s break it down in more detail. Your ticket/wristband – Simply put, never leave home without it (it happens more often than you may think). Hydration Bags – Rather than splashing your cash on water bottles, take a hydration pack with you. Sunscreen – You’ll be spending lots of time outdoors and, even if it looks cloudy, it’s deceptively easy to burn. Sunglasses – Essential for protecting your eyes from glare. And looking cool. Cash and/or credit card – Although lots of festivals now do contactless payments, it’s a good idea to have backup cash or a credit card. Rain jacket or poncho – Pop one of these in your bag and the party won’t stop if the weather turns on you. What to bring to a camping music festival (besides good vibes) Take the stress out of preparing for camping by making a list. Microsoft To Do will get the job done. Do keep in mind you may not need all of these, but here are some suggestions: Tent and extra tent pegs – it can get windy! Air mattress Blanket Chair Battery-powered lights Cooler Solar shower Towels Battery-owered fan Phone charger Bug spray Health and safety tips We know you go to festovals to let your hair down, but we’ve got a few pointers for staying safe at shows. Stay hydrated. Check the festival rules and bring sealed bottles of water with you if it’s allowed. Eat something between the dancing and headbanging. You’ll want to keep your body energised. Take some earplugs. By saving your ears, you’ll have many more years of festivals in front of you! A decent pair of shoes is almost as important as your ticket. Your feet will get a workout as you walk to the various venues, so bring along some old trainers. What are your top festival tips? Let us know below…
PavDBronze
Contributor
The 5 best motivational apps.Blog
Congratulations, you’ve made it to January with your New Year’s resolutions intact! That must mean you’re pretty serious about staying on track to make those changes for 2020. Last month we gave you a guide to the best Apps to help keep you on top of your 2020 goals. Now that you’re organised and ready to start hitting your goals, here are a few apps to keep you motivated throughout the year. Fabulous: Daily Motivation Available on Android and iOS Price: Free basic membership or from £7.99 monthly premium Google Play Store: 4.5 Apple store: 4.5 No matter what your goals are, you need to stay focused and have the energy to work your way towards them. That’s where Fabulous comes in. Instead of working on a single target, the app takes a holistic approach to your wellbeing. It won’t outline exactly what you have to do to achieve your goals, but it lays the foundations to bring them within your reach. With features like quick, intense exercise sessions, mindfulness sessions that help you get rid of negative thoughts, and personalised health advice, Fabulous is a great tool to set you up for each day. And if you feel like you’re already making major progress, upgrade to a paid subscription to unlock all the features. At £9.99 monthly or £95.99 for an annual membership, it costs about the same as Netflix and will put you on the right track. Forest: Stay focused Available on Android and iOS Price: £1.99 with in-app purchases Google Play Store: 4.5 Apple store: 4.9 Is your phone distracting you from your work deadlines or exam revision? The Forest app may be just what you’re looking for. When you head into the app, you’re given a seed to plant. If you can stop yourself from procrastinating, it’ll gradually grow into a tree. But, if you leave the app and start getting distracted from your task, the tree will wither. The more trees you successfully grow, the bigger the forest. You’ll be amazed how much more you can accomplish in the time! And it’s not just about virtual forests. When you earn coins in the app, you can spend them on planting real trees. To date, the app has helped plant over 600,000 real trees. So, you can help conservation efforts while staying productive. Strides: Habit Tracker Available on iOS Price: Free with in-app purchases Apple store: 4.7 Here at iD, we love Strides. We’ve mentioned this app before, but in case you missed it, it’s extremely useful for putting all the goals you’re working towards in one place. Keeping organised is one of the best ways to stay on track, and Stride makes it easy. You can build charts to see your progress on each of your resolutions or targets, plus you can even set reminders for extra motivation when you could do with a boost. So, ‘it’s Friday’ is no longer an excuse! It might be on iOS only, but Strides is totally free and is able to track just about any goal you have, in a way that suits you. Give it a go and see how you can progress. iWish - Life Goals, Bucket List Available on Android and iOS Price: Free with in-app purchases Google Play store: 3.9 Apple store: 4.7 What about your bigger life goals? Well, there’s an app for that too. iWish has a huge list of bucket list goals that people frequently set out to accomplish but rarely manage. That’s because targets like ‘learn to work smarter’ or ‘run a marathon’ seem unrealistic without the initial stepping stones in place. iWish gives you step by step goals to put you on the path to achieving the big one, whether you’re learning a new language or starting out in stand-up comedy. Everything is more achievable when you plan ahead, and iWish makes your plan crystal clear for you. And when you’ve started ticking your goals off your list, you can easily look back through all your achievements in the ‘iDid’ tab. ENLIVEN Motivational Quotes Available on Android Price: Free with in-app purchases Google Play store: 4.7 If an inspirational quote is what gets you fired up and ready to achieve, look no further than ENLIVEN Motivational Quotes on the Google Play store. You’ll get a new quote every day that you can comment on, add to favourites or share with your friends on social media. You can set the ideal time to get your motivational quote, whether it’s on your way to work or heading to the library to complete coursework. Plus, with ENLIVEN’s included meditation technique, you can achieve mindfulness at the same time as feeling inspired. Those are my favourite five apps that help keep me motivated and on course with my resolutions. Is there any motivational app that have been missed that you think deserves an honourable mention? Let us know below!
PavDBronze
Contributor
Plan the perfect Valentine’s Day using your phone.Blog
Forget about those ‘get out of jail’ petrol station flowers and the generic heart shaped card. You can make this Valentine’s Day a special one with the help of a few handy apps on your phone. Get ready for heart-eye emoji levels of affection. Make them a personalised card with Funky Pigeon If your other half is one of those ‘I’ll just be happy with a card’ people, why not go creative and give them a personalised one from Funky Pigeon? It’s super easy to design on your phone and will be professionally printed and sent in just a couple of days – or delivered First Class (if you’ve left it to the last minute). So, dig out all your romantic and funny couple’s photos and make a card they’ll want to keep! Download Funky Pigeon free on Android and iOS . Order a bouquet for you beau Giving your loved one a bouquet of flowers is a great way to kick off Valentine’s Day. We’re not talking about the slim pickings in your local supermarket, though. Bloom & Wild offer an amazing selection of bouquets that arrive as buds and bloom into a beautiful array of colour. There’s a great app that’s free to download, and you can choose next day delivery for free. So, even if you’re late ordering a gift, you can still save the day with a last-minute romantic surprise. And if you’re really out to impress this year, you can even order so they’ll receive a new bouquet every month. Download the Bloom & Wild app free on Android and iOS . Create a playlist for them Shakespeare wrote “If music be the food of love, play on”, and we wholeheartedly agree. Why not make your partner a personalised playlist with all the songs you both love? Whether you use Spotify, Apple Music or any other streaming service, curating a playlist is completely free and loads of fun. Plus it really shows that you’ve made and effort and thought of them by creating something personal. Aww, aren’t you lovely! Book a romantic meal for two Looking for something fancier than your local pizza place? Then consider the Open Table app ‘the one’. It’s perfect for finding and booking a great restaurant for you and your partner. You can search for tables by location, cuisine, price and even special offers. Plus, booking couldn’t be easier. So, whether they love Indian food or prefer a quaint Italian bistro, finding a table for the 14th should be a doddle. If you’re single but fancy nabbing yourself a hot date in time for the 14th, check out our favourite dating apps. Whatever you’re doing to celebrate, we hope you have a good one. If you’ve got any tips for creating the perfect romantic day, leave a comment below. Or, head to our competition page and tell us what you’d love to do on Valentine’s Day for your chance to win a £50 restaurant voucher (perfect for a follow-up date)!
PavDBronze
Contributor
The App Store best of 2019 is here.Blog
Getting a new iPhone? Apple have recently unveiled the top apps on the App Store for 2019, and there are some absolute crackers on the list. From incredible camera software to addictive games, we’ll show you the apps that should take pride of place on your home screen. Game of the year – Sky: Children of the Light Review: 4.8 Free Apple have declared Sky: Children of the Light as their number one game of the year on the iOS platform, and for many great reasons. Designed by the team that created Journey (the 2013 game of the year), Sky contains a whole host of experiences made to be shared with a friend. Sky contains seven different realms that each represent the various stages of life. You arrive as a Child of the Light, and the aim is to return fallen stars to their constellations in each realm. The more fallen stars you collect, the more ‘winged light’ you receive, which gives you the ability to fly further across the kingdom. It’s also a great way of meeting new people, and the huge range of cosmetic items make your character really stand out. App of the year – Spectre camera Review: 3.7 Purchase: £2.99 If you’re looking to take beautiful, scenic long exposure photos but don’t want to fork out on a DSLR camera, look no further than the Spectre Camera app. For regular phone users trying to get that postcard-worthy shot, holding the phone perfectly still and guessing the right amount of light are both very tricky. Using clever AI, Spectre takes care of both and the results are amazing. You’ll be able to remove crowds from that gorgeous scenic shot, capture stunning horizons like paintings and make waterfalls beautifully misty. Top free games Mario Kart Tour Review: 4.8 If this one isn’t already on your home screen, download it right now! Mario Kart Tour takes the best elements of the classic Nintendo game and turns it into an accessible, portable portrait-configured adventure. As well as all the classic Mario Kart courses (Rainbow Road, *shudder*), you’ll also find brand new tracks inspired by real-world cities. As your racing improves and you get better at using perks and drifting, you’ll earn Grand Stars to spend on new drivers, karts and gliders. Keep practising with different characters and karts to find your perfect, formidable combo! Find out more about Mario Kart Tour. Aquapark.io Review: 4.6 If racing games are your go-to when you’re commuting or taking a break from work, you’ll love aquapark.io. The concept is simple – make it to the bottom of the water slide first and beat the competition. It’s not that easy though! You can knock other players off the course to improve your chances, but they can also do the same. You can even use your momentum going into corners to fly off the course and land further ahead, which is great when you’re falling behind. But make sure you know how close your opponents are, or you could be in for a shock at the finish line! Color Bump 3D Review: 4.6 Color Bump 3D is one of those games that’s perfect to lose yourself in at the end of a hard day. All you have to do is roll the ball to the finish line without touching any other colours. Sound easy? Think again. There are over 100 levels and they each get much harder as you progress. By the time you think you’re beginning to get the hang of it, you’ll need extremely steady hands and precise movement to make it through each round. Top free apps WhatsApp Messenger WhatsApp shouldn’t need any introduction, but in case you’re yet to give it a go, it’s a messaging platform that offers far more features than simple texting. Using your internet connection, WhatsApp lets you text and call friends without using up any of your texts or minutes allowance. And you won’t need to request your mates’ usernames either. The app works seamlessly with your contact list, so anyone in your contacts with a WhatsApp account will be added automatically. Send gifs to your friends, make a group to catch up with family, or even call your mate as they travel the world – all for free. Instagram Give your travel photos a new lease of life on Instagram. It’s a great platform for connecting with friends, editing those postcard-worthy snaps and showing off your adventures to the world. Instagram Stories are great for sharing the funny things that happen throughout your day, while the app picks up on the photos that interest you and show you similar content you’re bound to love. Snapchat Share that funny moment as soon as it happens with Snapchat. The app opens straight to the camera, so you can instantly send photos to your mates. There’s also a whole host of editing options, and new lenses and filters are frequently added to keep your snaps funny and interesting. If you like staying up to date with the news but don’t have time to follow in depth, You can even quickly browse the latest breaking news stories posted by BBC, Sky, Vice and more. Or, you can watch live stories from the Snapchat community either locally or across the globe. Those are the top iOS apps for 2019? What’s been your go-to app this year? What kind of app are you hoping to see on the App Store in 2020? Let us know below!
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