They say the key to forming a new habit is repetition. Once you’ve completed a task several times, it becomes part of your daily or weekly routine. For senior caregivers, habits might include working out for 30 minutes a day, checking in with the family of a senior client or something as small as checking in on finances once a week. The Habitify app allows senior caregivers to keep track of new and existing habits.
When users first download the app, they need to create a profile to keep track of their progress. The app offers the option to sign up using e-mail or an existing Facebook account. Then, users see the home screen of the app, which will be blank. To create new habits, caregivers simply need to click the button with a plus sign at the bottom of the screen.
To create a new goal, caregivers need to give it a name, select how often it should repeat, a starting date and designate if they’d like a reminder to complete the task. Tasks can be repeated on a daily basis, specific days or non-specific days. For specific days, caregivers need to pick which days of the week the habit should be completed on. For non-specific days, caregivers need to pick how frequently the habit should happen each week, i.e. 3 times a week.
The home screen of the app then displays all of the habits created and a bar across the top allows caregivers to click between days and see which habits need to be completed on each day. When users complete a task, they can click on it, select Done and then a blue check mark will appear next to it in the app.
Having a list of habits to complete on a regular basis can help caregivers manage the stressors in their daily life. By seeing a list of habits and regularly check them off, caregivers can more easily establish a pattern and the to-do list may seem less overwhelming. The free version of the app limits the number of habits that can be entered to only three, but if caregivers would like more then they can upgrade to the paid version of the app.
The Habitify app is available for Apple platforms.
Senior caregivers, let us know your feedback on this app and keep us posted if you discover additional apps that assist with caregiving duties and help relieve caregiver stress. You may also refer-a-friend to a senior caregiving job and win prizes weekly and monthly on Caregiverlist.
