Congratulations, you made it to 2010! With any luck, your BlackBerry survived as well. If not, go out and purchase another one. You're going to need it this year, as it's going to help you keep the resolutions you made. It looks like both RIM and I came up with ideas of which apps to look out for (I think we agreed on only one). It's time to start following through on the promises you made to yourself and your BlackBerry is waiting to lend you a hand. After the jump, you will find a list of common resolutions and application solutions. Maybe you have others that we haven't considered. If that's the case, let everyone know what you use to help keep yours a success.
Personal Development
It's inevitable that personal reflection usually takes place at the start of the New Year. Did you live up to your potential last year? What will you do this year to improve yourself? How can you help you, be a better you? Many of us turn to our favourite bookstore to find sources of inspiration. The problem is, these sources of inspiration may become a source of dust, as they find their final resting place on a bookshelf. How can they help you if they are stuck between an outdated Guinness Book of World Records and an incomplete set Encyclopedias? For a more portable solution, you should probably pick up the Personal Development Ebook Package. This kit includes the following books; The Art of War, The Power of Concentration, Acres of Diamonds, Origins and Nature of Emotions, Mastery of Self for Wealth Power Success and Increasing Human Efficiency in Business. You are able to scroll through each of these books and make use of bookmarks (no, you don't stick a bookmark behind your battery). Personal Development Ebook Package will cost $19.99
Learn something new/Go back to school
Perhaps looking back at the year that has passed has made you look at your current work situation. You may decide to upgrade your skills for your current job or begin your search for a new career path. This probably means heading back to the classroom. If it's been a while since you've taken any courses, you may need a study buddy or two. To maintain your schedule and important assignments, StudentDocket is the way to go. Information on your teachers, priority of projects by due date and quick reminders are also features that help you all the way to graduation.
To help improve test scores and study habits use the MemTool Automated Learning application. All you have to do is enter in the information you want to remember, in the form of questions and answers. Like making flash cards to help you study for tests, this application determines what you may need to brush up on and automatically presents you with these topics. StudentDocket is $9.99 and MemTool is $4.99.
Stop Smoking
I've never had a cigarette in my life, but I do see the hold it has on smokers who want to quit. It's almost as strong as a BlackBerry addiction, but with a greater impact on your health (yes, thumbs are a big problem). For those who are ready to "kick the stick" (my wife contributed that one), but need a helping hand, check out No Smoking. RIM already mentioned this in their list and I have to agree it is the most powerful BlackBerry based aid in this difficult fight. The application incorporates various modes that learn your smoking habits and then designs a personalized schedule to promote a healthy journey to wean off smoking. During the most difficult periods of this battle, the application provides tips, motivational information and information of how much money you're saving. How's this for motivation; the money you save from quitting smoking, is money you can use towards a new BlackBerry. Got your attention now, don't I? No Smoking will cost you $9.99, but will help you save money in the long run.
Financial Management/Debt
Aside from the money you have spent during the holiday season, you may feel that you need some assistance with sharpening your money management skills. A new outfit here, new BlackBerry accessory there, you just love to spend. Too much going out and dining out will find you out of cash and out looking for a second job. Get a handle on your finances this year with Ascendo Money. With Ascendo Money, you can set budgets (and hopefully follow them too), track spending, schedule recurring transactions and forecast future account balances. You can also use visual aids, such as; pie charts and bar graphs, to see where your money is going. If your goal is financial freedom at its finest, then now is the time to take control. It takes money to save money, so pick up Ascendo Money for $29.95.
Stay Fit/Lose Weight
One of the most popular resolutions made each and every single New Year is the resolution to lose weight. As it is one of the most popular, it is also one of the most likely resolutions that we fail to see through. In January, fitness centers are filled with eager and determined new members. By March, those same fitness centers are instead filled with crickets and tumbleweeds. One of the problems may be lack of direction. You may walk in blindly with good intention, but not know what to work on, how to check your progress and such. Keep you eyes on your goal and the FitDeck Bodyweight application open. Fifty different exercises are at your disposal. These are bodyweight exercises; free of equipment or weights. Accompanying these exercises are instructions and images to help guide you through the proper steps. Play with intensity levels, various routines and areas of focus. You can then finally check this resolution off of your list, instead of transferring it to next years. Pick up FitDeck Bodyweight for $7.99.
Eat Better/Understand Nutrition
Proper exercise won't amount to much if you aren't eating properly. Granted, it is hard to say no to Christmas goodies. Speaking of which, I'll be right back...
Besides Christmas baking, perhaps the embarrassment of having over a dozen pizza boxes out for recycling every two weeks, is enough for a resolution. Healthy Recipes from SparkRecipes brings you over 200,000 recipes to search through. Each recipe details carbs, calories and other nutritional facts.
For the second course of nutrition apps, try Brio Calorie Tracker, which offers a way to keep you conscious of your caloric intake. Record what you are ingesting, as well as view or modify entries (perhaps you forgot the one day you ate a donut... or twelve).
KeepFit is a great source of information if you are looking for answers about nutritional facts or what to eat, other than apples, to keep the doctor away. In other words, what you can eat to help fight health issues. SparkRecipes is free, Brio Calorie Tracker is also free and KeepFit sits at $2.99.
Take a Vacation
Have you been too busy the past few years to take time to recharge? Have you been adding wallpapers of beaches to your BlackBerry, instead of actually going to the beach? It's time to step away from your desk and onto a plane. Whether it is a resort, a cruise or WES 2010, use your BlackBerry to make the most of it. Travel Mate for BlackBerry will keep you organized during your vacation, so you can eliminate as much stress as possible and truly relax. Keep track of expenses, checklists, currency conversion and travel details. Like any good tourist or fact finder, you can also read up on Country fact sheet; learning about Religion, city capitals, languages and more.
To add to the tales of your trips, GPSed helps you track and view your trip. Your tracks are recorded and can be viewed on Google maps - images can also be added to specific points. You can also share information live, to Twitter, Face book, My Space and such. Travel Mate is $25.99 and GPSed offers a free version as well as a premium version for $9.95.
Time Management/Organization
Slacking off when it comes to stopping yourself from slacking off? This one is a tough nut to crack, especially when you are experiencing issues on both a personal and professional level. One factor could be that you are disorganized and don't know where or how to start. Got-2pro task and schedule management enables you to create tasks, view attached lists, synchronize with your native calendar, mark off completed items and even assign tasks to a GPS location (providing location alerts).
If you still find it difficult to start a project, Just10Minutes will get you in gear. The application, like the previous one, maintains a task list. Just10Minutes then allows you to manage work times, as well as break times. This is based on the (10+2)*5 procrastination hack. The idea is you work for an amount of time without distraction, then break to relax or do something else. With these work bursts, the job will get done. Just10Minutes is $2.99 and Got-2Pro is $8.99.
Staying in touch with family/friends
It's unfortunate, but some people may lose touch with those they care about. There have been a few times that I've been asked "When was the last time you spoke to so-and-so?" It's easy to lose touch, but tough to reconnect. From your BlackBerry, keep in touch by using Facebook, Twitter and other social networks. To make things easier, you can use Nimbuzz to gather your networking site into one (except Twitter). All of your contacts appear on one list, regardless of where they are found.
Alternatively, you can use vPost to send media files to your Picasa, Flickr or Wordpress accounts. If you use Posterous, you can then send media to sites that include Facebook and Twitter. Both Nimbuzz and vPost are free. vPost also has a premium version for $9.99
Now you don't have any excuse to not stick with your newly made resolutions. You started off the New Year with a bang, now you have to maintain the momentum. What resolution have you made? Have you found an application to help you with the transition? Leave a comment on this post and let us know what you came up with. Happy New Year to all of my fellow CrackBerry users and abusers!
