Suffering from FOMO? Got message overload? Here’s all the apps you need to help your iPhone feel more like home
As introverts, the digital realm can be both a blanket and a minefield. Sure, there are endless cat videos on Facebook, but there are also those texts from your friends and your friends’ friends that you’ve been ignoring for a week, discovering in the process that messages (unfortunately) don’t answer themselves.
Then there’s the endless #FOMO of Instagram and Twitter, the way-too-loud Snapchat stories by your friend who seems to live in the local nightclub, and all of those group chats constantly dinging in your Whatsapp.
With all that going on, it’s no wonder we all suffer from a little phone fatigue from time to time. But don’t worry – Wallflower has bravely scoured the app store in search of something to get your iPhone feeling more like home. All you need to do is press ‘download’ and unwind.
Headspace (free trial, £4.99 per month)
This meditation app is filled with cute cartoons, calming videos, and probably the most relaxing voice on the internet. Designed to give you a programme of guided meditations to ease stress and anxiety, the app talks you through moments of mindfulness that will have you feeling refreshed in no time
Happiness planner (free trial, £2.99 per month)
Another great stress reliever, Happiness Planner helps you get to know yourself better. Use it like a regular planner app and it works pretty well – but it’s the extras that really set it apart. With it, you can easily track your goals, your daily mood, things you’re grateful for every day, what you’re excited about, and at the end of the day you can reflect on how it all went.
Boomerang (free, Gmail app)
We all know how hard it can be sometimes to actually respond to all the messages we receive in a day. Sometimes we only work up the courage halfway through a Stranger Things marathon at 3am, but are suddenly struck by the fact that the person on the other end of the mail will see the timestamp and judge us intensely for our weird sleeping pattern. Luckily, Boomerang lets you type your reply and schedule it for a more appropriate time, meaning no more 5am emails to your boss! *fist pump*
Sattva (free, in-app purchases)
This calming meditation app aims to get you having some peace-out time every day, rewarding you for streaks. The good thing about this app is the variety of meditations and chants it offers, each with different moods, sounds, times and goals. There’s even a built-in community for you to chat with if you’re feeling particularly zen.
Contactually (free)
If the words ‘Networking event’ strike fear into your sweet introvert heart, never fear. Contactually is designed to help you stay in touch with important contacts without all of the tiring rigmarole associated with physical networking. Just put your contacts into ‘buckets’ depending on how often you need to interact, and Contactually will remind you to get in touch.
Lifecycle (free)
Lifcycle may be less obviously useful than most of the apps on this list, but it’s definitely one of the most interesting. Do you ever wonder how much time you spend commuting each week, or each month, or even in a year? What about socialising? Eating out? Watching Netflix on your sofa? Lifecycle works with your wifi to log your time spent in different areas, and gives you super cool ‘donut’ graphs which show you everything you’ve been up to. You can even customise the colours to make your donuts pretty as heck – score!
Anomo (free)
For single introverts, apps like Tinder can seem like our worst nightmare. Enter Anomo, the dating app specifically designed for introverts and shy people. Users create an avatar and meet in mixed-gender groups of similar people for casual icebreakers, and can then choose to chat to somebody one on one. The great thing is that if you don’t like someone, they don’t have to know anything about you. But if you do, you can choose to show a picture, your name, age, or just little facts, with no pressure. The best news is, because it’s an app and not a real-life date, you don’t even have to wear pants.
If you do try any of the apps, let us know how you found them below – or tell us what your own favourite apps for introverts are.
