New Year, New Me (With the Help of 24me)

New year resolutions

The year is almost over, and it’s time to once again ponder the past 365 days. At this time of the year, we take the time to look back at the positive and negative, the highs and the lows, and look for ways to improve upon the things that we would like to change.

We took a group of men and women between the ages of 30 and 45, and asked them their New Year’s resolution. We were surprised to find out that, overall, the resolutions were very basic. Below are the top 5 resolutions that were mentioned. They are what each of us probably wants to do, and 24me can help you persevere after the normal routine returns.

#1: Exercise

sport
Many of the people we surveyed define themselves as lazy with regards to exercise. With busy work lives and busier home lives, going to the gym — or even out for a run — is a chore. They would much rather stay in bed on the computer, or on the couch, or be there for their kids. Leaving everything to go to the gym or out for a run — no matter how healthy everyone says it is and how much it’ll help their lifestyle — is not something that people are always capable of.

Research shows that exercise is good for almost every aspect of our lives. It helps with depression by raising endorphins, increases brain activity which helps with memory, and even reduces stress. 24me is a great tool to remind you to go out for a run, or to the gym. Create a daily repeating task to go to the gym, and feel the empowerment every time you are able to swipe off the task. You can even schedule weekly zumba classes alongside running or leg workouts.

#2 Balance a checkbook
Although no one uses a checkbook anymore, with the economy at its current state it is difficult for our users to keep themselves in the black. Spending beyond their means, however unintentional, is only momentarily satisfying. Getting the bank statement in the mail: not so much.

One way to make sure to keep in the black is to know your bill payments and make them on time. 24me’s My Links connects to thousands of providers and hundreds of financial institutions. Once a provider is connected, the 24me lets you know what day the bill has to be paid, and how much, already keeping a part of users’ budgets balanced for them. Not only that, but users can pay their bills right from the app. With a few taps, you gain control over your bills.

#3 Spend time with loved ones
Although family and friends are the highlight of our users’ lives, balancing schedules makes it difficult to find time to even talk to them on the phone, let alone visit them and spend time together.

Take the time at the beginning of the month to plan gatherings. Create an event on 24me and invite those special people. You can specify location, time, and even add a note (maybe a reminder to dress in funny hats). This way, everyone has the date booked in their calendar, and planning in advance makes sure that no double-booking happens.

But no matter how much you try, there are always those loved ones that live too far away to meet with more than once a year, if that. To express your care for them, you can use 24me’s Gift Store to send a beautiful gift for any occasion: birthday, anniversary, or just because.

#4 Eat right

eat healthy2
Who doesn’t have a stash of candy hidden somewhere around the house? Or that urge to buy junk food instead of wholesome ingredients for a balanced meal? Many of our users face those problems every day. Eating right is a skill that is not easily acquired. It takes careful planning, holding back, and strong motivation.

One way to help is to create a shopping list beforehand. Create a “Grocery List” task, and add all the healthy things that you want to buy as notes. Sticking to a healthy list will help keep you from straying. If this isn’t enough to prevent you from succumbing to your junk food cravings, share the list with a friend, and have them do the grocery shopping for you. Your roommate/partner will be able to withstand the call of the candy aisle better than you will.

#5 Never miss a birthday
People are forgetful creatures. They forget everything from where they left their sunglasses (on their heads) to what they wanted the next words out of their mouth to be. These incidents usually lead to jokes about getting old or embarrassing stories, but when that forgetfulness leads to forgetting people’s birthdays, things get personal.

24me easily reminds users about their friends’ birthdays. Not only can you create a yearly repeating task, but by linking to Facebook, users get a daily view of all their friends’ birthdays. For a personal touch without the hassle, users can even post to their friends’ walls from within the app, or celebrate by sending a beautiful gift.

If you have resolution that 24me has helped you with, we would love to know. Write them in the comments below.

Happy New 2014!

Manage Your Life… And Your Christmas List

It is often very difficult to keep track of all the gifts you have to send during the Holiday season. Close friends, distant relatives, they all blur together into an endless cycle of checking and re-checking your Christmas list, making sure nobody ends up neglected.

Well, 24me has got you covered. We have added stunning new gifts* in multiple categories. Send delectable wines to your friend in Florida, gorgeous flowers to your aunt in Oklahoma, delicious chocolates to your colleague from work, or enticing gift baskets to anyone in the U.S. You can wrap up your Christmas shopping without leaving the couch!

How can you do that?

1)  Go to the Task or Calendar view, and tap on the plus button on the top left side. Choose the gift icon. Your contact list will open immediately.

2)  Choose your loved one from the list, or type their name. A new gift task is created.

3)  After tapping on the gift button, you will be directed to the 24me gift market, where you can choose from the wide selection of beautiful gifts.

4)  Pick the perfect gift from a variety of wines, chocolates, flowers, gift cards, and greeting cards.

Send Gift1

5)  Schedule the date on which the gift should be sent.

6)  Craft a personal message

7)  Insert the recipient’s address

8)  Choose your method of payment: Credit/Debit card or PayPal

9)  Enter the account details and send the gift!

The task be struck through as completed Automatically.

10)  Sit back and take the time to relax. You deserve it after all the energy you wasted 🙂

Watch our video of how to send real gifts with 24me: http://bit.ly/1b7M6hu

* Gifts are available in the US only.

♫ These are a few of Our Favorite Apps ♫

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We at 24me have been brought together by our love for useful apps that have changed our world and the need to create one ourselves. As a team whose mission is to help people better manage their lives, we are always thrilled when we find apps that solve a real problem. We thought to share with you some apps that each of us use on a daily basis.

 

Gilad, CEO:

Ringya Helps me stay in touch with my kids’ teachers and their classmates’ parents.

Wibbitz I use it to stay updates about news in a more fun way.

Whatsapp Great for asking quick question anyone/anywhere. I know that even when the other side is not around a computer, I’ll get an answer in a matter of seconds.

Waze My go-to navigation app. I don’t get lost anymore.

 

Liat, CMO:

Liat TNW NY 2013 V1

Twitter I can’t live without it. It’s one of my main sources of information and communication. As a marketing manager, it gives me a great platform for connecting with people in my industry.

Flipboard I use it a lot to keep me updated on the tech industry. I love the UI.

Bizzabo I travel a lot to conferences around the world, and Bizzabo helps me discover interesting people, make the right connections, and explore new opportunities at those events.

Vine I love to watch those short videos. Some are super funny, some are inspiring.

ideeli I used to buy my clothes at Ideali. I think they do a great job in the variety and the price they offer.

 

David, CTO:

iOctocat This is a must for code developers in order to track open source projects on Github.

RunKeeper Essential app in order to track my weekly running activities and compete with my friends to grab the first place in the leaderboard.

1Password A must for everyone who wants to keep his passwords and sensitive data at hand on iPhone/iPad/desktops and synced through Dropbox.

 

Israel, Mobile Developer:

8tracks Helps me discover new music by listening to other people’s playlists.

Appy Geek All tech geeky news, from apps, hardware, gadgets and android news with a slick buttery interface.

Google+ It does great work in backing up my photos; it’s easy to use and lives within the Android ecosystem naturally.

Google Maps Google maps is simple, familiar and quite accurate when it comes to arrival estimations.

 

Adi, QA:

iPhone - Sep 2013 2327

Hangouts Chat + SMS. What else does a person need?

Viber I use it to text and call my friends around the world.

Duolingo Languages have always been my first love, and now I can learn more of them on the go.

TuneIn Radio I’ve been missing my car and radio time. Although I don’t have a car, I can still have my radio.

 

 

 

Molly, Marketing

iPhone - Sep 2013 1643

Instagram  I use to edit my photos and present them in a artistic way.

Group me I use to facilitate communication between large groups. It is particularly helpful for group projects.

Viber  I use it to communicate and text my friends who are abroad.

Jeremey, Marketing:

iPhone - Sep 2013 2002

Quizup Lets me play against your friends in certain categories of questions and compete to reach higher levels than them.

Djay I can become a DJ without any of the expensive equipment or training. It makes playing music a more seamless, entertaining experience.

Snapchat Snapchat is a great way to send quick, funny messages to my friends. The best part is, the messages are only available for a few seconds, which makes the back-and-forth conversations very entertaining.