As the new year approaches, many of us are reminded of all the things we accomplished this year — getting a promotion, being more productive or even showing up to places on time — as well as things we failed to do. (There may or may not be a barely used foldable WalkingPad collecting dust in my closet.) The month of January is as great of an excuse as any to start off the year right and overall improve your well-being.
According to a new poll of 1,000 U.S. adult respondents, conducted by YouGov, the most common resolutions for 2024 are to save more money, improve their physical health and simply be a happier person. No matter what your resolutions are, there are hundreds of apps that can be great tools for accomplishing your goals.
We’ve compiled a list of our top picks for you to try, from workout trackers and budgeting tools to book management apps and more.
Gola
Image Credits: Gola
It’s only fitting to start this list with an app that can actually help you create and keep track of your resolutions for 2024.
Aptly named, Gola is a custom goal tracker app where you can enter goals in a customizable template, see your progress in a chart, get reminders via notifications and more. There’s also an AI feature that provides advice on completing your goals faster, as well as more than 20 templates if you can’t think of any goals, such as “read 12 books” and “try out three new sports.” The app recently launched interactive widgets that let you update from the home screen and lock in a fixed goal, so you always see it.
Gola is free to download on iOS devices. It also offers an annual subscription for $2.99 to get unlimited goals and motivational tips, among other advanced settings.
PocketGuard
Image Credits: PocketGuard
It can be challenging to keep an eye on your spending habits across multiple credit cards and bank accounts. For over-spenders who struggle to save money, PocketGuard is a budgeting app that features an automated savings tool so you can regularly transfer money into linked bank accounts, and offers a bill payment tracker, spreadsheets for you to view your transaction history and the ability to create a budget strategy. An “In My Pocket” feature tells you how much spendable money you have.
PocketGuard is free to use. However, there’s also a $4.99 monthly premium version, which allows you to make as many saving goals and budget categories as you want, set up auto-repeat bills and more.
SmartGym
Image Credits: SmartGym
SmartGym is an AI-powered personal trainer that generates custom workout routines based on whether you have a gym membership or exercise at home, what equipment is readily available, the areas you want to target and how much time you want to spend each week in order to achieve your fitness goals. The app also allows you to view your weekly workout history, average heart rate and how many calories you’ve burned.
The free version of SmartGym provides two routines, whereas the subscription ($59.99/yr) gives you unlimited routines. The app has more than 130 premade workouts and more than 690 exercises.
AppBlock
Image Credits: AppBlock
It may seem ironic that you have to download an app to cut back on screen time, but app blockers really are a great way to limit time spent on social media or other apps that take over your life. Users aged 16 to 64 spent more than six hours per day on their phones in 2023, per Data Reportal.
AppBlock helps you reduce your screen time by blocking the apps you deem distracting. You can set custom schedules for when the apps are blocked to ensure you’re productive throughout the day. During these times, the apps can’t be opened or interrupt you with notifications. You also can block specific websites or phrases in Safari. Plus, AppBlock offers parental control settings, a “Strict Mode” and usage statistics.
Sunnyside
Image Credits: Sunnyside
If you’re looking to cut back on alcohol consumption this year, Sunnyside is a helpful tool to learn new healthy drinking habits. The mindful drinking app offers a non-judgemental zone for you to track the number of alcoholic beverages consumed per week, as well as send SMS reminders, get one-on-one coaching, chat with the Sunnyside community and more.
Sunnyside charges a pretty penny if you want to use the app — $99 per year — which means you have to be super dedicated for it to be worth the money. There’s also a 15-day trial.
Bookly
Image Credits: Bookly
Let’s take a wild guess here and say you probably read fewer books in 2023 than you anticipated. With Bookly, you can now set a yearly goal and stick to it thanks to its countdown feature, streaks, in-app timer for daily reading sessions, as well as reading stats for you to see your total read time, number of pages read, reading speed and more. Bookly can also play ambient sounds while you read. In addition, there’s a notes section to record your thoughts about the book or write down your favorite quotes.
Bookly offers a free version that lets you keep up to 10 titles in your collection. If you want to extend your collection (without deleting books), Bookly offers a $4.99 subscription.