Tech gifts to help make 2022 the best year ever
Here's a list of tech tools to either give as late holiday gifts or keep for yourself to help you achieve your goals.
Every year, millions of Americans make vision boards and resolutions to improve their lives. Whether it be for increased health, better productivity or even just living life to the fullest, there’s probably an app or a device that can help you achieve your goals.
Your friends at theGrio have scoured the farthest corners of the internet and reached out to some experts to come up with this definitive list of tech tools to give as late holiday gifts or keep for yourself to make 2022 the BEST YEAR EVER!
Personal Wellness
The No. 1 New Year’s resolution is “doing more exercise or improving my fitness,” according to Statista.
The Fitbit Charge 5 is a new iteration of the popular fitness tracking tool. It has a pedometer to help you get to 10,000 steps a day and even reminds you every few hours to get up and walk. The Charge 5 also helps track heart health with an ECG feature. The Fitbit can keep you in the loop with other things on your smartphone, like text messages. Further, the device has a slim design and looks great on the wrist without being ostentatious.
Despite its recent moments in the negative spotlight on the Sex & The City reboot And Just Like That, Peloton is still one of the most popular fitness tools in the U.S. The price of the original Peloton bike is currently down to $1,495, and the company offers excellent financing. Their treadmills are a little more expensive, but they are digitally well-connected, with virtual classes galore.
Productivity
It’s not always possible to add more hours to the workday, but you can make your current hours more productive by scheduling in time for mindfulness, which is defined as “the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us,” according to Mindful.org. While meditation is the most common mindfulness practice, even just inserting short pauses into your day can help you be more productive.
If mindfulness for you starts the night before, try the Calm app, which recently enlisted actor Regé-Jean Page of Bridgerton fame to take listeners on a journey through Olde England with a bedtime story called The Prince and the Naturalist. Per a statement from Calm provided to theGrio, the story follows a “naturalist and his royal pupil” as they “discover the wisdom of nature.”
Coach Katara McCarty writes for Mindful.org, and she notes that Black and indigenous women of color face unique challenges that can make mindfulness “imperative for our health, our survival and our ability to thrive.”
Tackle Your To-Do List
Make your to-do list even better. PCMag.com says Todoist is the best app for managing productivity, with a prioritized list of things to do. There’s a free version, but the site recommends going with the premium version, which is about $3 a month. The site helps you organize your tasks by yourself, as well as collaborate with others.
Financial Management
Getting finances in order is another very popular New Year’s resolution. Financial consulting company Schwab recommends creating a budget as the first step in attaining and maintaining financial health.
CNBC recommends You Need a Budget as the best paid app to make your money work for you. “Unlike other budgeting apps which usually categorize your spending for you,” they write, “YNAB users themselves choose where every dollar gets allocated to according to their priorities and what is important to them.”
You Need a Budget makes you assign every dollar a “job.” If you have $50 allocated for dining out, and a friend invites you out, but your $50 is already spent, then — guess what? — you can’t go.
The app is designed to allow you to pace your spending by designating wants and needs. It forces users to be thoughtful, linking with bank accounts and credit cards for maximum accountability. YNAB also has educational tools like blog posts and free online workshops led by experts.
Travel More
Another one of the top resolutions is to travel more. For many, this can help check some other boxes, like developing a skill or learning a language. It can also mean spending more time with family and friends.
In 2019, 17% of African Americans responded to a poll saying that they take one or more international trips per year, according to CNN.
Travel Noire is one of the most popular websites to help Black people have safe and fun travel experiences. The site features city guides to domestic and international locations and has more than 645,000 followers on Instagram, proving it’s possible to use social media to create community.
Another popular company that makes travel more accessible for African Americans is Airfordable. It has an app and a website that allow users to search for flights across the world and break those ticket costs into payment plans. Co-founded by a Black woman, Ama Marfo, the company believes that by allowing customers to book flights when it’s convenient and pay for them flexibly, Airfordable is helping users fulfill their travel dreams.
A global pandemic, economic insecurity and overall stress and malaise have made most of us exhausted and ready for a new year, whatever it may bring. While 2022 has no guarantees, it’s still exciting to have the clean slate that comes every year on January 1. Besides, like management expert Peter Drucker once said, “The best way to predict the future, is to create it.”
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