Five Apps to Help Overcome Your Soul-Crushing Phone Procrastination

When all else fails, try these apps to help kick your procrastination habits.

Procrastination. It's something we all experience. Some are better than others at recognising our wandering minds and stomping out daydreams instantaneously, but for most of us, it's a debilitating (in)action.

Living in the digital age means distractions are only a few clicks away, and our assignments suffer severely for it. Seven-hour study sessions are cut in half by streaming services and essays are crammed into the space of a few hours because we accidentally spent a few hours scrolling through Instagram.

But living in the digital age also means there are new technologies and programs to help us stop becoming procrastination junkies. So, if you're reading this article right now and you realise that you, too, are a victim of the persuasive powers of procrastination, try out these five apps to curb your aimless thoughts.

StudyBreak

This one's for people who are organised enough to create a rough study plan but are distracted enough not to follow it. StudyBreak lets you choose the ratio between study and leisure you want and makes you stick to it. The app also records and tracks your habits as well, so if you're consistently cutting your study short for longer breaks, you're at least going to feel guilty about it.

Available on: Apple

Forest

If you find that your phone is the main source of your distractions, try growing a Forest. This app lets you plant a digital seed, which is supposed to transform into a tree, on one condition: you put down your phone. The more you touch your phone while growing your forest, the more they wither and die.

If you can't stop your procrastination habits to save a poor, innocent tree, then maybe there's no hope left for you after all. 

Available on: Apple / Google Play

Mute Screen Time Tracker

Part of the reason we're not eager to admit that our phones are a bit of a problem is because we don't realise how much we actually use them. Mute Screen Time Tracker is here to ruin your day because it monitors how often you use your phone, at what times, and for how long. 

Try it for a week and weep at all the hours that could be spent studying (or, at least, doing something else).

Available on: Apple

Flipd

Sometimes our phone is actually beneficial to our studies. Maybe we recorded something vital in class or we need to refer to an image in our gallery (look, I don't know your reasons). Fact is, we need it and this is where an app might come in handy.

Flipd is your new best frenemy because it essentially hides social media apps and games so you can't get distracted by your friend's hot goss... at least, not until you've finished your other very important task.

Available on: Apple / Google Play

ShutApp Digital Detox

Sometimes it's hard doing things alone, especially something as serious as putting a self-imposed ban on your phone during study time. Luckily, ShutApp is here to help you and your friends get through this together.

To try it out, you have to invite a friend (or multiple) or a family member to the app, select the amount of time you don't want to use your phone, and go. The catch is, if you decide to use your phone before the end of that time, ShutApp sends a notification to all the people you invited, so you can't hide from your decisions.

Available on: Apple

Header Image: VH1