Many people think that teaching is an easy job, but if you’re a teacher, you know this isn’t the case. In fact, a 2018 Gallup poll showed that 46% of teachers said they experience a high level of daily stress. With so many things to do to ensure the school day runs smoothly—from grading papers to preparing lessons and finding engaging content—it can be hard to keep up with all of the other important aspects of your life.

That’s why we’ve compiled this list of seven apps and services to help simplify your life as you work around all of the other important things you have to do as a teacher:

1. Meditation and Relaxation Apps
   You may only have moments of true downtime during the week as you balance busy school days with a personal life and spending time with your loved ones, but it’s still important to find time to focus on yourself and your mental health. A quick and easy way to do this is by utilizing a meditation or relaxation app, such as Calm or Headspace. These apps offer meditation sessions of varying lengths of time, as well as relaxing sounds and stories to help you focus, de-stress, or sleep.
   
   
2. Grocery Delivery and Meal Subscription Boxes
   Between the commute to and from work, morning clubs and study sessions, and sports and extracurriculars after school, a teacher’s workday can quickly extend past the typical 9–5. This can make it hard to find the extra time to get all of your weekly household shopping done. Luckily, grocery delivery apps are increasingly common all around the country, with a variety of options like Instacart and Shipt that offer delivery straight to your door for a small fee. Additionally, many retailers including Target, Walmart, and large grocery chains offer free order pickup at their stores, where they’ll do all the shopping for you and even bring the bags straight out to your car. If you just can’t bear the thought of meal planning and making a full grocery list, there are options for that too! Meal subscription services like Home Chef and HelloFresh ship you a weekly box full of all the ingredients you need to make complete meals for as little as about $7 per serving.
   
   
3. Instant Chores
   Have some household chores to get done, but don’t have the time (or skills) to do them yourself? Order an assistant to complete the job for you with TaskRabbit, an app that offers affordable options for help with tasks from cleaning to general handyman jobs. Similar to other service-on-demand apps like Uber and Postmates, all you have to do is request a task you’d like completed and you’ll be matched with a Tasker who you can schedule to come to you and do the job.
   
   
4. Food Delivery
   After a jam-packed day, you don’t always want to cook or go out to get dinner. This is why food delivery exists, and with modern-day food delivery apps, you can have food from almost any of your favorite restaurants delivered within the hour for a small fee. Apps like Grubhub and DoorDash deliver meals from a more select group of restaurants, but this can make your delivery time faster. Other common apps include Uber Eats and Postmates, which both deliver from a wide variety of restaurants, with Postmates even offering delivery of groceries, home supplies, and more. Make sure you find a referral code when you sign up because many of these apps offer free delivery or a discount for your first delivery or more.
   
   
5. Organization Apps
   One of the easiest ways to simplify your life is to organize your daily tasks and make to-do lists! Some people do this best with a physical agenda or planner, but it can be hard to always remember to pack an extra item as you go about your day. That’s where organization and planning apps come in handy, since you almost always have your phone on you throughout the day. Try Wunderlist if you like making and checking off lists or have tasks on your to-do list that you need to assign to other people. If you like the basic calendar format, a simple app like Apple Calendar or Google Calendar may be the best fit for you. Using a digital planner makes it possible to set notifications, easily email other people details of events, and integrate external apps to do things like get directions to scheduled events.
   
   
6. Schedule Appointments at Home
   When you’re sick, it can be hard to make a same-day doctor’s appointment and venture out of your bed to go to it. Plus, the more time you spend driving around town going to the doctor and picking up medicine, the less time you’re spending getting rest and healing so you can be ready to get right back to teaching the next day. Instead, try an online doctor’s appointment, where you can connect with a real doctor via phone or video chat to discuss your symptoms and make a plan for getting better. This even applies to mental health services, with options like BetterHelp and Talkspace offering therapy and counseling right from your laptop or smartphone on a flexible schedule.
   
   
7. Easy and Instant Budgeting
   Budgeting and monitoring your finances are time-consuming tasks that are easy to overlook when you have a lot of other things going on. One of the best ways to make sure you’re staying within your budget is to track each expense by putting them into categories that each have a set budget. Using an Excel spreadsheet used to be the best way to do this, but now there are countless apps to help you track and categorize your purchases, such as Mint and Albert. With these apps, you can make sure you’re not overspending on school supplies, groceries, or even food delivery apps!

With the addition of these apps and services to your life, a weight will be lifted off your shoulders and your everyday stresses will start to feel less challenging. Plus, you’ll be getting things done more smoothly and efficiently than ever, leaving more time to spend on yourself, your friends, and your family.

What apps or services do you like to use to simplify your daily stresses? Let us know in the comments below. And for more helpful teaching tips like this, be sure to subscribe to the Educator blog today!