Parlez vous francais, Auntie?

In this tech tool round-up, learn a new language, practice meditation or manage your information with these apps and websites. Once you can master managing these tasks, aunthood should be a breeze. Well, at least a little easier.

MANAGING LEARNING

Duolingo. Learn a new language together with this app. Several languages are available, including Spanish, French, German, Italian, Swedish, and Portuguese. My own 15-year-old niece is using the app to keep up the French she had in school, and she was very amused when the sentences were funny, such as “I ate the menu.”

Book Summary Subscriptions. With GetFlashNotes.com read or listen to a self-help or business book in 20 minutes or less. GetAbstract.com provides subscribers summaries of business books. For both services, summaries are available on numerous devices so you can access them anywhere.

MANAGING YOUR DAY

Sleepyti.me Calculator. If you need to wake up at a certain time, this app will guide you on when you should head to bed. For example, if you want to wake up at 6 a.m., you should go to sleep at 9 p.m. or 10:30 p.m. Some of us have to be reminded.

Meditation Apps. Use Insight Timer, Calm, or One-Moment Meditation to work meditation into your day. As mindfulness and meditation come more into the forefront, more apps are appearing on the market, and you may want to play with a couple to find the right one for you. Even the health insurance company Blue Cross Blue Shield has Centered, an app you can use for mindfulness training and physical activity tracking.

iTimeLog. If you’re wondering where your time goes, track your time for a few days to see how long certain tasks and activities actually take. Use the data to detect any patterns or habits that are sucking up your time.

MANAGING INFORMATION

SmartNews. Scan the day’s daily headlines. They break the headlines down into categories, including Entertainment, Sports, Lifestyle, U.S., Business, World, Tech, and Science.  Under the Social section, you can connect your Twitter account to the page, and it will pull the big headlines from Twitter. You can choose if you want “delivery” of your news in the morning, afternoon or evening.

The Skimm. Sign up for a daily newsletter on their website, and they will send you an email each morning of the day’s big headlines. Daily is a bit misleading since they actually send emails out during weekdays. They have a hilarious writing style, and it makes easy to keep up with the news in the world.

Slice. Track your orders from large stores, such as Amazon and Best Buy. The app mines your email for purchase information, and you can see where your package is.

Photo: AntonioGuillem
Published: April 22, 2015