From neck pain to eye strain or even RSI, a sedentary lifestyle at work can lead to a lot of health problems. But reminding yourself to get up from your seat and take a break, isnât that easy either. One way to fix this problem is to get a smartwatch like Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch or even a cheap fitness band like Mi Band. these are programmed to automatically remind you, to get up and start moving, if you are sitting in one place for too long.
But guess what, even if you donât own a fitness band or a smartwatch, you can still download a third-party app on your computer or smartphone, that will remind you to take 5-10 minutes to break, every hour or so. That being said, letâs check out the best apps to remind you to move at work.
Taking Break isnât Enough
There are three major factors which lead to body strain from a desk job
The best calendar apps don't simply make it easy with set up and manage reminders, but will also integrate with office software platforms. Best calendar apps 1. Add your bills to the app and Prism automatically tracks your bills and sends due date reminders to help you prevent late payments. You can use the app itself to pay your bills by scheduling payments to be made the same day or several days in advance. Prism eliminates the need to login to multiple accounts paying bills.
So, to fix this, weâll suggest apps that not only give you a reminder to take a break at work but also suggest some light exercise and block the blue light coming out of your devices. Best picture viewer app for mac. Letâs begin.
Also read: 8 Best Workout Apps to use without Gym Equipments
Apps to Remind You to Move At Work1. WorkRave for Windows
WorkRave is a simple application that reminds you to take a break on your computer. Once installed, the application shows you a notification every few minutes reminding you to take a short breather of 30 seconds. It is called a microbreak. After every 45 minutes, the application reminds you to take a longer break of 10 minutes. This combination of breaks ensures you get sufficient time to stretch your body without moving away from your desk. It shows a popup with the exercise animations so that you can follow the steps properly.
Of course, you can customize the âbreak timeâ from the Settings. There are different modes like the quiet mode, reading mode, etc, you can choose a preference in the options. If you tend to ignore subtle notifications, there is also a strict mode that would block you from working and force you to take a break. WorkRave is available for Windows and Linux for free.
If you have Windows 10, you can simply activate Night Light by following these steps. Press the âStartâ button, go to settings and click on System. Look for Display option and click, Turn Night Light On, and adjust settings.
Get WorkRave (Windows)
2. Stretchly for macOS
If you have a computer running on macOS, use Stretchly. Itâs an open-source cross-platform app i.e. itâs available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Like the previous app, it reminds you to take micro and short breaks after set time intervals. It runs in the system tray by default and only notifies you when its time for a break.
The interface is rather minimal, 30 seconds before a break starts, Stretchly sends a notification to prepare you for the upcoming break. You can also choose an audio notification when the break ends. Stretchy also comes with a unique feature called Strict Mode, which once enabled wonât let you skip breaks.
The most important feature of this application is that it monitors your computer usage, and if it detects an idle time more than the break time, it automatically resets the break time. It makes the application efficient and wonât bug you unnecessarily when youâre concentrating on your work. Stretchly is completely free and opensource, you can get it on GitHub.
Like Windows, macOS also comes with Night Shift feature built-in, which automatically changes the color of a display to a warmer temperature at night. To activate this, simply, Go to System Preferences and click on Displays option. Night Sight has its own section, you can turn it On or Off, and adjust settings.
Get Stretchly (macOS)
3. Stand Up for iOS
Even if you donât sit in front of a computer all day, you still should stretch every once in a while. Stand Up is a great iOS app that sends a break reminder on your iPhone. You can set a time slot in which the app would send you a notification after every few minutes urging you to stand up. You can select days, break timing, location, and notification sound in the settings.
Another great reminder app for iOS is Desk job. Unlike Stand Up, Desk Job sends you a reminder to exercises. You can set a time interval for breaks in which you can get up from your desk to exercise.
Finally, to prevent eye strain from the blue light coming from your iPhone, you can use the native Night Shift feature. Just like macOS, all iOS device has included this feature since iOS 9.3. To enable this, go to Settings, tap Display and Brightness, and select Night Shift. Here you can turn it on, adjust the schedule automatically, or set a custom schedule.
Get Stand Up and Desk Job (iOS)
4. Randomly Remindme for Android
Randomly Remindme is a custom reminder app which not only reminds you to step away from your computer, but you can also set a reminder for anything. The biggest advantage of this app over other apps is that it can be triggered through a variety of options. App memory high mac. You can choose random which would send notifications at random time intervals during the day so that it doesnât get predictable. Hp qtp tutorial pdf free. You can set triggers based on location, time, or interval based. The app is free on the Play Store.
This next Android app, Office Stretch Exercise will teach you how to make the most of the short office break and stretch effectively. Office Stretch Exercise app has a collection of exercises that you can do right from your desk. There are 8 exercises in total which aims at your shoulders and neck muscles, you can follow the instructions to complete each set. If you follow the routine regularly, it can alleviate back, shoulders, and neck strain. The app is free on the Play Store.
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Like Windows and Mac, most Android smartphone also comes with a blue light filter called Night Mode. To activate it, just go to Settings > Display > Night Light. This would reduce the strain on your eyes and help you focus better. Ambify pro mac free download. If your phone doesnât have the feature, you can download Twilight from the Play Store.
Get Randomly Remindme and Office Stretch Exercise (Android)
Best Apps to Remind You to Move at Work
These were my picks for every platform, all of these apps help you take a break and prevent you from sitting too long. Best audio note taking app mac. Eye strain is a very common problem and most OEMs have built-in solutions for it like the Night Shift in iOS and macOS, Night Light in Windows, and Blue Light Filter in Android. For Neck, shoulders, and back problems, apps like Office Stretch Exercise, WorkRave, and Deskjob work great. Tell us how do you keep the strain away while at work in the comments down below.
Read: Best Weight Tracker Apps to stay fit and Healthy
The whole concept of GTD (Getting Things Done) revolves around the productivity tools like Calendar and To-Do apps. Especially, in the current situation of home quarantine and lockdown, where the majority people and teams are working from home, itâs essential to keep track of tasks and clear them before the end of the day.
In 2020, task management apps arenât just limited to create and complete tasks. They offer more functions to increase overall user engagement. Some of the features include habit tracking, basic project management, location-based reminders, calendar integration, and more.
While choosing an app over the other, itâs essential to invest in a platform that is easily available on rival platforms. That way, all your tasks get synced over multiple platforms, and you donât lose data when switching between the devices.
We have hand-picked top five task management apps for iOS and Mac. In this post, we are going to talk about their features, price, theme engine, and more. Letâs get started.
Also on Guiding TechMicrosoft To-Do vs Todoist: Can Microsoft Beat the AceRead More1. Microsoft To-Do
In a bid to accelerate its âMobile First, Cloud Firstâ vision, Microsoft purchased the popular task management tool Wunderlist and shut down the further development in favor of its app Microsoft To-Do.
After four years of acquisition, I can safely say that Microsoftâs version of task management is right up there with the rivals. The company recently redesigned the whole app to make it more familiar to the Wunderlist users.
Microsoft To-Do offers the My Day function, which lets you add tasks for the day. You can quickly add terms like âConference call 8 PM,â and the app will suggest the time for the task. You can also add sub-tasks for the prime to-do task.
Being a Microsoft product, it nicely integrates with other services as well. For example, you can flag an email in the Outlook app, and it will get saved in the Flagged mail section in the Microsoft To-Do app. One can also view the tasks in the Outlook desktop app.
The other functions include the ability to create a list, Siri Shortcuts support, dark theme, Wunderlist import tool, and more.
The companyâs macOS app is right up there with its iOS counterpart. It supports keyboard shortcuts too. The app syncs the theme and wallpapers from the mobile app, which looks nice on the big screen.
Microsoft onedrive for mac. Microsoft To-Do is completely free to use, and itâs available on Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac.
Download Microsoft To-Do for iOSDownload Microsoft To-Do for macOS
2. TickTick
This one is my favorite. TickTick is a multi-featured productivity app. Itâs full features, but more importantly, the overall implementation is better than the others.
The theme support is the best I have ever seen. Itâs not limited to light/dark theme. You can implement colorful ones based on seasons and well-known cities around the world.
Besides creating a list and adding a task, the app also has integrated habit tracking and the Pomodoro function. You can add habits and complete them to see a cool chain of habit building in the calendar widget. Pomodoro helps you keep track of the productive hours throughout the app.
The Mac version is more powerful. In a task list, one can switch to a Kanban-style to view and manage tasks. The desktop app also supports notes function.
TickTick is free to use. But the premium subscription at $2 per month lets you unlock functions like theme support, habit tracking, app icon customization, and more. Itâs accessible on iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS.
Download TickTick for iOSDownload TickTick for macOS
Best Free Reminder App3. Apple Reminders
After neglecting the default Reminders app over the years, Apple finally gave it the much-needed makeover with the iOS 13 update. Itâs now head to head with the third-party apps there.
For starters, the new design looks much better than ever. It lets you add tasks as well as location-based reminders. I use it all the time. I have set the relevant tasks to remind myself wherever I reach my workplace.
You can ask Siri to set tasks and even add a reminder when you are messaging a particular person. Check out the best tips and tricks for the Apple Reminders app.
The Mac app also got the redesign to resemble the iOS version. Itâs not as fluid or intuitive as the others. Iâm hoping to see tight integration with other Apple services, including the Notes and Email app in the future.
Apple Reminders is only available on iOS and macOS. Itâs completely free to use.
Download Apple Reminders for iOS
Mac Reminder AppAlso on Guiding TechTop 5 Calendar Apps for iOS and macOSRead More4. Todoist
Used by millions of users around the world, Todoist has nailed the task management in the app. The app uses a fairly standard UI with the hamburger menu.
It terms lists as projects and even lets you add tags to find the tasks later. Todoist recently announced Foundation function, which lets you convert big projects in the small tasks to manage them more efficiently.
One can also use Siri Shortcuts to set tasks. The app supports icon customization to change app icons. Todoist has integrated a cool stats tab to see the data of completed tasks.
The Mac app is right up there with the iOS variant. If you are looking for the best Mac app to manage tasks, then Todoist will easily top the list. Itâs available on Android and Windows as well. The app is free to download, but the premium functions such as icon customization, stats, etc., come with a subscription of $50 per year.
Download Todoist for iOSDownload Todoist for macOS
5. Any.do
Any.do brings fresh UI to the table. It shows the tabbed list from the home screen. The app has rightly integrated the calendar function to use it as a calendar app too.
The biggest highlight of the app is how it plans your day. It will suggest all the tasks one by one and will ask you to take action on it.
A couple of things to mention here. I experienced a few crashes while using the app, and adding a new task screen was quite cumbersome. Itâs not minimal like others and asks way too many details upfront.
The Mac app is much better. One can quickly add tasks from the floating menu, and it supports keyboard shortcuts too.
Any.do is available on iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS.
Download Any.do for iOSDownload Any.do for macOS
Also on Guiding Tech#productivityBest Reminder App For WindowsClick here to see our productivity articles pageReminder Apps FreeGet Tasks Done in Style
Use any of the apps mentioned above, and you will be completely fine with flying through the day without missing any task. Microsoft To-Do is free, TickTick is an all-rounder, millions favor Todoist, Apple Reminders makes the best out of Apple ecosystem. At the same time, Any.do is perfect for task and calendar combo.
Next up:Looking to ditch the Apple Reminders in favor of richer third-party apps? Read the post to find the top five alternatives for the Apple Reminders app.
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Read NextTop 5 Apple Reminders Alternatives for iOS Apple Reminders App For WindowsAlso See#productivity #iOS appsDid You Know
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