What a year 2020 has been so far. Coffee with friends has been replaced with videoconferencing and a romantic date now means changing into a clean pair of sweatpants and scrolling through Netflix and hoping that there is something worth watching that you have not already seen. Learning to live well in these socially distant times has been tough for most of us, and heaven forbid if you have kids to keep occupied. Yes, the struggle is real. But you don’t need to wait until we are given the green light to re-enter society and enjoy a nice meal or go shopping.
Thanks to a growing number of smartphone apps, we already have all the tools we need to entertain our children, shop for just about anything we want (well, groceries may be a bit difficult, but you get the point), learn a new skill, or stay fit. Whether it’s fun and games or shopping on online auction sites and bidding apps, keep reading to find out what apps can help you avoid boredom and live your best possible life while remaining responsibly distant.
Games on the Go
Our entertainment options have been slashed by the precautionary measures put into place to keep COVID-19 under control. No more trips to the mall, browsing books at the library, or catching the latest blockbuster at the cinema. It sometimes feels like the biggest decision to make is whether to open NetFlix or YouTube! Thankfully, these options are just a sliver of what’s out there. A great resource is to take out your phone and visit the App store or Google Play store, depending on if you are Team Apple or Team Android.
There are all sorts of games available. Want to challenge yourself to sing pitch-perfect karaoke? Try Singa Karaoke. Would you prefer a scavenger hunt that takes you all around your city à la Pokemon Go? Perfect, let’s play Zombies, Run! These phone apps and many others just like them provide a whole world to play and explore for your kids, something that is a godsend for exhausted parents everywhere. Depending on what App you choose, your kids could be learning a new language, playing an instrument, taking care of a pet dragon, or visiting a virtual zoo.
Stay Home and Stay Fit (Or Fed)
They say that there are two types of people; those who emerge from quarantine shredded with new muscles and abs, and those who emerge in a dirty chocolate-stained shirt and weighing about 15 pounds heavier than before. According to me, either way is OK, and people turn to different comforts in uncertain times (author eats cheesecake). And no matter what camp you fall in to, there is an app for you to give you your daily dose of exercise or tiramisu, depending on what you are looking for.
If fitness is your thing, try out Aaptiv. Members have access to literally thousands of classes that bring professional training into your studio apartment. If you are looking for a free alternative, you may not even need to download an app on to your smartphone. Most phones include a fitness app preinstalled on the phone. These are normally pretty simple, but they include a pedometer to tell you just how many steps you managed to take walking from couch to fridge and back again, and also how many calories you burned in the process.
If you are like me and prefer to skip exercise all together and concern yourself with more important matters — like learning how to cook banana pancakes — then you should download the Tasty App which can teach you how to cook just about any dish you could imagine. The Food Network App also offers recipes and lets you browse them by ingredients, allergens, or your favorite celebrity chef that created the dish.
Class is in Session
Your whole family might be stuck inside and perhaps your kids think school is out forever, but these are not excuses to let your brain atrophy. You probably are already spending loads of time on the couch and staring at your phone, so you might as well pick up a new skill while you are at it. Udemy offers online courses in topics ranging from party planning to ethical computer hacking, so you can browse their course catalog and find something for the whole family. There are dozens of language apps that have made studying a new language legitimately fun, with, Babbel and Duolingo leading the pack. Staying safe indoors while learning how to say “just one more beer” in 17 different languages sounds like a wonderful (and useful!) way to pass the time.
The Best Time to Shop on a Bidding App
Your favorite stores may be closed indefinitely, but might have the best shopping experience in minutes simply by downloading the DealDash Bidding App. DealDash offers online auctions for all sorts of brand new items, and during their 11 years in business they have even created their own bidding app. With the bidding app you can join auctions on the go, where ever you are.
DealDash has a 90-day 100% refund guarantee on first bid pack purchase that allows new customers to try out the auctions risk-free. There’s hundreds of auctions daily and many of the auctions end up at over 90% off the Buy It Now price. With cars, computers, and even Omaha Steaks up for auction daily, you might not ever want to go to the mall again! When you do try DealDash for the first time, be sure to enter their promo code for 100 free bids on your first bid pack offer to help you get up and running in the auctions. You can read about other bidders’ experiences on SiteJabber.
Hopefully things will return to normal sooner rather than later, but at least we have a wonderful variety of apps that can help us have a lot of fun in the meantime.
The article is published by DealDash.
