5 free apps that will help you stop wasting so much time

Wednesday, 21st March 2018, 4:08 pm
Updated Wednesday, 21st March 2018, 4:08 pm
If you spend too much time on social media, these apps could help (Photo: Shutterstock)

Technology is everywhere these days - which means all of us are constantly faced with distractions.

If you're struggling to stay focused and get things done because of a mild smartphone or Netflix addiction, you're certainly not alone.

Here are five fantastic apps that will help you to stop surfing and start using your time more wisely.

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If you lose precious time in the mornings because you simply can't get out of bed, Alarmy is a game changer.

Rather than allowing you to hit snooze over and over, this alarm app will not stop ringing until you complete a task designed to wake you up fully.

You can choose your challenge - take a photo of something in your home (perhaps the fridge, or the sink in your bathroom), solve a tricky puzzle, or simply shake your phone 10 times.

Simple but effective, this app will help you to claim back your mornings and start the day without rushing around.

Available on iOS and Android

Alarmy will wake up even the deepest of sleepers (Photo: Shutterstock)

Moment - Screen Time Tracker

Download Moment and run it in the background to track how much time you spend using your phone, and even how much time you waste on individual apps.

Find out how many times you lift your phone up per day, and how many hours you spend looking at a screen - the results will undoubtedly surprise you.

Moment provides you with a daily report so you can learn more about your smartphone habits, and then take the steps required to change them.

Available on iOS


Simple but extremely effective and satisfying to use, Trello is a project management tool that allows you to visualise your goals and tasks from start to finish, and helps you to complete them.

The app is designed so that you can use it for work projects with a group of colleagues, or on your own to keep track of personal goals.

Create totally customisable to do lists, monitor what you are currently working on and feel satisified when you move the task to the completed list.

Available on iOS and Android

Use Trello to stay organised both at home and work (Photo: Shutterstock)

Productive - Habit Tracker

Stick to your plans of healthy eating, exercising or meditating with the help of the Productive habit tracker.

The intuitive interface allows you to customise and schedule the habits you want to keep up for any time of day and set reminder alerts to complete them.

Productive will then collate statistics about your progress which you can review and use to monitor your progress.

Available on iOS


If you can't trust yourself to stay off social media or gaming apps but still need to use your phone for work or studying, there is an answer.

Flipd hides distracting apps for as long as you need it to, while still letting you access the emails, calls and texts that might be urgent.

Challenge yourself to stay off of your phone and use the app to track your productivity and progress as you go.

Available on iOS and Android