Below you will find helpful apps that have been reviewed by Pittsburg State University’s University Counseling Services. These apps address a variety of concerns and can be used to supplement the work you do in therapy or used to assist with self-improvement because, like we say, “There’s always room for improvement!”
The apps are sorted by topic. Links to the iTunes apps are provided. For questions about the apps or to report non-working links, please email us.
Being successful in college may require extra discipline, new study methods, and additional techniques to help you stay organized. One pitfall students can fall into is becoming overly busy with classes, campus activities, part-time jobs, etc., and then feeling as if there’s not enough time in the week to accomplish all that’s required to be academically successful. We all get 168 hours in a week, check out the ATracker—Daily Task and Time Tracking app to view reports on how you’re actually spending your time each week, and see if there are areas in your day in which you can make better use of your time.
If you’re the type who prefers a digital planner to organize your week, check out the Calendars by Readdle—Event and Task Manager app. 30/30 Task Organizer and Timer is another great app to aid you in organizing your tasks and avoiding the procrastination trap.
Once you’ve mastered time management by using the right app for you, be sure to check out the myHomework Student Planner app to ensure you don’t miss any assignments. If you have a particularly busy schedule and are finding it hard to block out large chunks of time to study, try out the Quizlet app to utilize flashcards and quizzes on the go. Need help improving your note taking skills? Give the AudioNote2 app a try, and see if that makes studying a bit easier.
Having a great resume while in college is very important so that you’re prepared for campus job fairs and student employment opportunities. If you can’t make it over to PSU’s career services office for assistance, take a look at the Resume Maker app to help provide you with a foundation for building your personalized resume.
Managing symptoms of an attention deficit disorder can be challenging during college. The ADHD Health Storylines app is useful to track your medication, symptoms, daily mood, and daily vitals. This app also contains an appointment calendar so another appointment doesn’t slip your mind! Additionally, it has a useful journaling option, and assists in helping you build a routine, learn better time management skills, and reflect on your progress in treatment. When time-management is a struggle, the BeFocused app can help you spend your time wisely and stay on task by creating a to-do list, setting a timer during tasks, and generating work and break intervals.
At times, individuals can get caught up with negative or unhelpful ways of thinking. When this happens, it can lead to poor problem-solving, poor decision-making, and increased emotional distress. Research demonstrates the effectiveness of using a thought record to help monitor times in which one falls into an unhelpful way of thinking, as well as to assist with challenging and changing those unhelpful thoughts. Try out the CBT Thought Record Diary app or the Thought Diary Pro app today to help combat unhelpful thoughts that may be decreasing your ability to cope with and manage distressing emotions, like anxiety or depression.
In addition to monitoring one’s thoughts, research also demonstrates the importance of incorporating positive activities into your daily routine in order to promote a pleasant mood. These activities should provide you with a sense of enjoyment, social connectedness, achievement, and/or body care. Try out the MoodTools—Depression Aid app to not only monitor your thoughts, but also your daily activities.
The Pacifica for Stress & Anxiety is an additional app that allows you to track your thoughts and mood while helping you notice patterns and trends in your mood. This app also comes with audio lessons and activities to equip you with techniques to help cope with and manage stress, anxiety, and/or depression.
Setting goals is an integral part of life, particularly in college. If you’re striving to increase desirable habits and decrease undesirable behaviors, try out the app, Strides: Goal & Habit Tracker + Life Organizer. This app can help you track goals and monitor progress in various domains such as your weight, budget, sleep, exercise, water consumption, meditation practices, and more! The Goal Letting Daily Habit Tracker app and the Success Coach-Goal Tracker app are additional domain-focused goal setting apps that provide the opportunity to construct goals in various domains of life (health, finances, etc.), specify steps needed to reach the goals, determine methods of celebration once goals have been accomplished, and determine specific activities each day to help you take steps toward your goal.
The Remente app provides the opportunity for you to complete an assessment regarding your current satisfaction with various domains of life, and then assists you in setting goals in the domains covered in the assessment. With this app, you can periodically check in on your progress toward your goals while monitoring your mood throughout your journey. Goal accomplishment tips are provided with this app, and so too are in-app courses in the areas of: understanding yourself, your physical health, stress management, goal setting, productivity, relationships, mindfulness, better sleep, time management, and communication.
If you’re looking for an app to help specifically with your fitness and nutrition goals, check out the MyFitnessPal app. It is a great app to track your water intake, daily exercise, and food intake to ensure you’re getting adequate nutrition and a balanced daily diet. To further strengthen your fitness-related motivation, consider trying the FitQuote app as well.
Finally, like the FitQuote app, the Daily Quote app can provide inspiration and encouragement as you work to improve your productivity and reach your short-term and long-term goals.
If you’ve recently started a new medication or are trying to get in the hang of taking your daily vitamins, you may find the MediSafe Pill Reminder & Medication Tracker app to be helpful. It will help remind you to take your medications, give you the opportunity to monitor your health progress, and act as a tool to help you organize your healthcare. Looking for a nearby pharmacy or trying to find the best price for your prescription? GoodRx is an app that can help with that!
Managing your finances while attending college can be stressful, but being purposeful in your spending, and setting a defined budget can help to relieve some of that stress. Try out the EveryDollar app to help you plan a realistic budget and monitor your spending.
Let’s face it, college is stressful. Be sure to equip yourself with healthy coping methods to beat the stress before it beats you. Focusing on your breathing through guided deep breathing exercises and mindful breathing techniques can provide an instant calming effect in one’s body. Here are some apps if you’re wanting to adopt deep breathing practices into your routine: Breathe2Relax , Relax Lite: Stress and Anxiety Relief, and 3 Minute Mindfulness: Meditation and Breathing. The Aura: Calm Anxiety & Sleep—Mindfulness Meditation Daily app is another app that offers guided deep breathing, and also allows you to set a schedule and reminders for practicing mindfulness, provides positive daily quotes, offers the opportunity to make entries into a gratitude journal, and allows you to personalize the background photo and sound to what is most relaxing for you.
Wanting to build your self-esteem? Check out the I am—Affirmation Reminders app to help you reflect on the positive qualities and characteristics about yourself. Taking time each day to reflect on what we are thankful for can really help improve our overall disposition toward life. When you seem to be getting in a rut, and find you are just going through the motions of life each day, take some time to look at either the Grateful: A Gratitude Journal app or 10 Reasons app to gain a fresh perspective. Having an attitude of gratitude can be energizing!
Another app to help you if you’re stuck in a rut, is the Unstuck app. This app is a terrific one to use if you’re having a hard time pinpointing exactly what it is that has you feeling stuck. You can specify the “who, what, when, and why” of your stuck moment with the Unstuck app. An additional great aspect of this app is that it can help you evaluate your behaviors during your stuck moment, and then offer you tips on what to do to get unstuck.
There are various types of sleep difficulties; one may struggle with falling asleep, staying asleep, getting up in the morning, nightmares, or may wake up too early in the morning. A starting point to getting a handle on your sleep is learning more about your sleep patterns and specific difficulties, as well as the frequency and context of those difficulties. The Sleep Better app can be used to monitor various aspects of your day such as exercise, stress level, eating schedule, and caffeine intake, as well as analyze your sleep patterns and track your sleep statistics. Easy Sleep is another great app to utilize when desiring to track your sleep duration and quality. Check out the app, Slumber: Fall Asleep, Insomnia if you are interested in guided meditation or enjoy light background noise while you sleep. Choose from background noise like a peaceful stream, beach waves, rain, and more.