Working remotely can be taxing on mental health and blur the lines between personal and professional lives. This risks increasing stress and overall dissatisfaction. While happiness is subjective and your experience with remote work depends strongly on your personal preferences, you may find yourself looking for positive motivation. Several apps and online resources can help you improve your mood and focus on your mental health.

1. Create a Routine

Schedules and routines have several benefits. Time allocation keeps you focused and organized and can help you feel less anxious. Apps such as Fabulous can help you become happier and more productive with daily routines. Fabulous is one of the best daily planners, helping you not only create life-changing routines but also practice self-care.

You begin by answering a series of questions. The app then personalizes routine recommendations, goals, and social circles based on the responses. Fabulous uses behavioral science to help you create a morning routine, work planner, bedtime routine, and more. You can customize a routine by adding your favorite habits. As you follow through with your routines, you'll unlock more habits and see your progress. You can try a free trial of the full version of this routine planner before subscribing.

Download: Fabulous for Android | iOS (Subscription required, free trial available)

2. Spend Time on Positivity

Taking care of your mental health while working from home is crucial. While in-person therapy sessions are expensive and may not always be a feasible option, telehealth can be a great way to get professional help from the comfort of your home. Apps such as Doctor on Demand, Talkspace, and MDLIVE offer remote therapy options.

Additionally, developing a self-care regime and using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) may also help. Mental health apps such as Intellect, 29K, CBT Companion, and MindDoc are great resources. Such apps will help you track your mood throughout the day, register negative feelings, and perform calming exercises. These apps aren't replacements for professional therapy, but they can be valuable supplements for your mental healthcare.

Download: Intellect for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)

3. Connect With People

Even if you work from home, socialization is integral to happiness. Several apps can help you connect with like-minded people and boost your social life. Meetup is a great app to explore groups that share your interests. The best part about this app is that it facilitates online and offline interactions. Whether you like art, music, or travel, you can participate in any group activity imaginable.

Other apps, such as Wink, help you connect with people from all over the world. You can also add personalized voice intros and connect your Snapchat profile to Wink. Then, the app sends you virtual rewards for maintaining a chat streak. Therefore, meaningful socialization will have a positive impact on your happiness.

4. Delegate Home Chores

While working from home, managing daily chores can become tedious. Additionally, mundane tasks take up your time, increase stress levels, and can leave you feeling tired. Automating home chores might not be your first thought when you're considering the work-from-home features of Alexa and other smart assistants. But who doesn't feel better and more motivated when there are fewer items on the to-do list?

One of the best ways to do this is by using virtual assistants. Google Home and Amazon Echo devices can manage other internet-connected devices. For example, if you own a Roomba vacuum cleaner, the Echo can schedule it to clean your house automatically at a specific time daily.

In select cities, you can ask Alexa to order groceries from Amazon Fresh. Alexa will add items to your cart on command. If you have an address and payment options saved, you only need to review and checkout. Virtual assistants can also book movie tickets, make reservations, and set important reminders so that you can focus on your well-being.

5. Practice Meditation

Mindfulness is a calming and relaxing practice that has several health benefits. A 2017 study published in the Journal of Happiness Studies shows that mindful practices can boost happiness and productivity. If you’re a beginner you can use guided meditation apps for a quick meditation session.

Calm is an award-winning meditation app that helps you prioritize your mental health through meditation. Its guided meditations improve focus, sleep, and reduce stress. Every day you receive a different meditation to help you build a consistent practice of meditation. You can choose just about any length of meditation, from 2–60 minutes.

One Deep Breath is another great mindfulness app, which focuses on teaching breathwork. Unlike meditation, breathwork focuses specifically on different breathing patterns. You can take a breath health test, explore guided exercises, or design your sleep experience with the Sleep Studio feature.

6. Set Aside Time for Exercise

Regular exercise is great for improving your mood and energy levels. In addition, exercise is an important part of physical and mental well-being, especially if you're spending most of the day at your desk. You can easily plan daily workouts using workout timers, AI coaches, and fitness trackers.

If you’re looking for a no-equipment workout session, the Freeletics Bodyweight app is a great option. It recommends workouts based on your BMI (Body Mass Index) and fitness goals. The exercises have detailed video demonstrations. With a subscription, you also get access to coach-recommended workouts.

However, you can try HIIT workout apps for a quick workout session anywhere. HIIT sessions can be as short as four minutes. The Apple Watch is a useful device that can accurately track calories burnt and workout sessions. Collectively, these technologies can help you become fitter and achieve your health goals.

7. Optimize Your Sleep

Sleep can have a huge impact on your day. Being well-rested typically has a positive effect on your mental and physical health. Irregular sleeping patterns can hamper your productivity and mental health. Eye massagers and trackers are great for improving your sleep.

Sleep trackers and smartwatches can track different sleep cycles based on our heart rate and body movement. This data can help you analyze your sleeping patterns and prompt you to make adjustments. Investing in an eye massager, such as Therabody’s SmartGoggles, is also a good option. The SmartGoggles use your heart rate to customize heat and vibration around your eyes and temples. This is meant to relax your facial muscles and help you fall asleep faster.

Improve Your Happiness With Technology

The technologies and tips mentioned above can help reduce stress and improve your fitness, social life, and mindfulness. All these aspects contribute to improving overall happiness and motivation. Creating a healthy balance between work, personal activities, and technology use is the best way to feel happier and more motivated overall.