You’re reading the Wonder Tools newsletter. I’m Jeremy👨💻. Since April, I’ve shared weekly posts on useful sites, apps & other resources for productivity & creativity. More to come in 2021.🎈 If you were forwarded this issue, you can subscribe here:
Here are a few things I loved in 2020:
Math Tango
If you have a little one, this app is a grand slam. Recommended by her teacher, Math Tango was a surprise favorite for my younger daughter, who started kindergarten this fall. She rarely used a screen until remote school began. She loves the app’s creative puzzles and she's enjoyed learning lots of basic math. It’s $8/month or $50/year, for ages 5-10.
Seek
Point the app at a plant, flower, bug or animal and it magically identifies it. Depending on how close you are, how much light there is, and how good your phone's camera is, results vary, but I was impressed. I wrote about this app over the summer.
Much of the time on a walk when we were puzzled by a bug, plant or flower, Seek would help us learn about it. I'll admit that I was sometimes torn about using it, because nature walks are about getting away from screens. But we found a happy medium, where we used it only once in a while when spotting something particularly intriguing that we wanted to remember or learn more about. It’s completely free for iOS and Android, with no ads and no data tracking.
Streaks
This app lets you keep track of up to 12 habits with a super-simple interface. Choose your habits, then tap the circle each day to mark a particular habit complete. It's a nice way to track progress over time on little things you're working on. $5 one-time purchase for iOS or Mac.
Healthy Minds
This free app developed by neuroscientist Dr. Richard J. Davidson offers science-based short audio sessions that teach mindfulness and healthy mental habits. This year I used multiple meditation apps— Calm, Headspace and Insight Timer— which I wrote about in May as part of my positivity toolkit here. I like Headspace's focus music, Calm's sleep meditations and the variety of distinct perspectives on Insight Timer.
But what's unique about Healthy Minds, which I wrote about in this post is that it provides a super-helpful course in small nuggets to help train your mind. It has a great option to listen to the lessons at various lengths, depending on how much time you have available at a particular moment. And you can opt for active mode, while walking or exercising, or a calmer mindfulness mode. Free for iOS and Android.
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Time Out
On days when I was working, standing, staring at my screen for hours at a time, this little free app reminded me to take breaks for my eyes, back and brain. It gently pulses on screen at intervals I set to remind me to take a breath, stretch, look out the window, take a drink of water and think about what's next in my day. For Mac only. Free, with optional contribution.
Roam
One of the tools I now rely on most. I’ll write more about this in 2021. I use it for note-taking, idea organization, and storing prep materials for teaching and writing. It’s Web-only, for now. It’s not cheap — $15/month, with discounted rates for students/teachers and others by request.
Libby
I love being able to grab a library e-book in a minute and have it instantly on my phone and/or Kindle for free. I like that Libby lets me search by title and sort for kids books, or audio books, etc. And it works seamlessly with the Kindle app on my phone. That enables me to highlight key points and passages in non-fiction books and to save those notes to Roam for use in my teaching, research and writing. Free for iOS and Android or on the Web at libbyapp.com
Slash
Most to-do apps are variations on the same theme. In October, I wrote about how I manage tasks, and in particular about Slash. I like how it nudges me to start the day by selecting specific things to focus on and then keeps one task at a time on my screen.
A brief coda… On the non-digital front, Skyjo and Sushi Go have become our go-to family card games. We’ve played lots of family games since March; those have been our favorites, especially while munching on Tony’s Chocolonely. It’s amazing fair-trade chocolate. One of the edible tools I relied upon for getting through 2020.
Thanks for reading this, and for inviting me into your inbox this year. Hit reply to send a quick hello directly to my email with a comment, question or suggestion. Here’s to a fresh start for 2021! 🎈 - Jeremy