Keep New Year Resolutions using Technology

Happy New Year!

For some, a new year is time to start anew. Perhaps last year was particularly rough with relationships or monetarily or perhaps there were physical or mental issues that put a damper on 2011 but with the start of a new year we can start all over and work towards a better you in 2012!

Here are 10 ways you can improve yourself and keep your New Year’s Resolutions by using Technology:

1 Habits 2012 – Reach your Goals with this highly customizable Habits app. In Habits 2012, the app offers a habits-focused set of items such as “Live a Healthy Life” that allows you to daily track the various tasks required to reach you goal. For example, have you flossed and did you sleep at least 7 hours? If you’d like to use a broader set of items like customizable, visual scales then you can move up to the developer’s Track & Share app, which comes in a Pro and Lite version. (Pricing options from Free to $0.99)

2 Toodledo – Be more productive by using this online to-do list. You can organize your tasks using folders, tags, contexts, subtasks and more as well as search and sort easily. With Toodledo’s hotlist, customizable alarms and sortable online to-do list you can become more productive and using your mobile phone, email, web browser, iPad or through several integrations (Ceptara Organizer for Outlook [$49.95] for example), your to-do list will always be handy. (Pricing options exist from Free to $14.95/yr to $29.95/yr)

3 Philips Sonicare Diamondclean Rechargeable Toothbrush – While this toothbrush won’t force you to brush, it will compel you! I received one of these as a Christmas gift and since then I really look forward to brushing my teeth! The rechargeable toothbrush has a dual charging system which includes a charger glass (induction) and a USB charging travel case… yes, USB charging travel case! The patented sonice technology drives fluid to stimulate the gums and in fact the first 25 brushes provide a ramp up time to get your teeth and gums ready for the full force. The toothbrush includes five modes to offer a custom cleaning experience including: two-minute standard mode (clean), teeth whitening mode to lift surface stains (white), teeth brightener and polisher (polish), three-minute mode to improve gingival health (gum care) and a gentle motion for sensitive teeth and gingival health (sensitive). Of course the DiamondClean includes standard features such as a smarttimer and quadpacer so you don’t have to watch the clock to know when to stop brushing.

4 Kindle – Exercise your brain in addition to your body by picking up a Kindle to read one of 800k titles available for $9.99 or less or pick up an Amazon Prime Membership to read from over 50k titles and former New York Times Bestsellers for free! ($79 – $199)

5 Health through Breath for iPad – Breathing is life and proper breathing is critical to reduce stress and for health. Unfortunately we forget how to breath properly as we get older but this app offers a structured course of customizable sessions allowing you to de-stress and increase your overall wellness through timed, conscious slow breathing aided by animated graphics and musical cues. In addition to iOS, it’s available for Android, Windows Phone 7, Mac and PC. (Free)

6 Mint.com – Mint pulls all your financial accounts into one place allowing you to set budget, track financial goals and do more with your money – for free! Imagine total visibility into your finances to see what’s happening with your checking, savings, investments and retirement while being able to pull reports of your net value as Mint also tracks assets such as cars and houses and even automatically updates your housing pricing using Zillow. Mint also has an app for visibility on the go! (Free)

7 eBay – 2012 is the year of decluttering or, at the very least, “one in – one out”. What does that mean? If you bring a possession into the house, you need to remove a possession and what better way that to easily sell through eBay? (Varies)

8 LIVESTRONG.COM App – The LIVESTRONG.COM Calorie Tracker can help you reach your diet, weight loss and fitness goals by tracking your daily calories and exercise. Lose weight easily by setting your weight goals and track your calories and progress with our comprehensive online food journal containing over 1 Million food and fitness items. Tracking works. You will lose weight like millions of other members. ($2.99)

9 Free Online Courses – Get free online courses from the world’s leading universities. This collection includes over 250 free courses in the liberal arts and sciences. Download these audio & video courses straight to your computer or mp3 player. (Free)

10 Rosetta Stone – Learn a new language in the New Year. Rosetta Stone has the best track record for helping business, government employees and individuals learn a new language through their method: learn naturally, speak confidently, immerse yourself and stay motivated through achievement.

What are some of your resolutions?