Cottrell - Study skills for success: Personal development and employability

For this edition, I offer especial thanks to the following for their contributions to : Femi Bola MBE, Director of Careers and Employability, University of East London; Joanne Beaumont, Head of Careers and Employability, University of Bradford; Dr Bob Gilworth, Director of College Careers Services, University of London Careers Group; and Mohammed Hussain, Academic Guidance Officer, University of Leeds.

The author and publishers would also like to thank the following who have kindly given permission for the use of copyright material:

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All of the apps listed below were accurate as of April 2014 and, at the point of publication, were free to download. Some apps may require payment to access all of the features available.

Sociidot (Apple; Android in development) Sociidot allows you to create both a life vision for yourself and goals and steps within these. It can help you with this by suggesting steps and offering advice on how to reach your goals.

Everest (Apple only) Everest is an app that allows you to set a personal goal or challenge and break this down into manageable steps. It then allows you to track each step you take. You can share your goals with others, who can help to motivate you and reward your achievements.

Lift (Apple and Android) Lift allows you to set goals and monitor progress. It will store information on how long you have spent on specific tasks or behaviours. This is useful if you are trying to develop habits such as reading for 20 minutes a day.

Productivity Wizard (Apple only) this app allows you to set both long- and short-term goals. It also has journal and reflections facilities to allow you to record your thoughts and actions as you progress towards your goals.

Habit Streak (Android only) Habit Streak is a simple app that allows you to monitor progress as you establish new habits. Progress is shown as a chain that lengthens with each day that you perform the new habit.

EasyHabits (Apple only) a basic app which allows you to set and track habits you wish to develop.

MyLifeOrganised 2 (Apple and Android) this app helps you manage tasks across different aspects of your life, such as study, work and home. It helps you prioritise tasks and measure your progress towards completing these.

Wunderlist (Apple and Android) helps you create, organise and manage To do lists. The app synchs across your mobile devices and computer.

Toggl (Apple and Android) the basic version of this app is free and allows you to time how long you spend on different activities. This can be very useful if you suspect you may be spending too long on activities such as social networking.

Rescue Time (Apple, Android and Windows) the basic version of this app is free. It runs in the background of your phone or computer and produces a report on how you have used your time. If you subscribe to the full version it allows you to track time away from the computer, and can send you alerts if it thinks you are spending too long on an activity.

focus@will this app selects background music, which, it suggests, can improve your ability to focus by up to 400%.

Unstuck (Apple and Android) as the name suggests, Unstuck helps you at moments when you feel blocked in addressing a task or issue. The app helps you diagnose why you are stuck, and makes suggestions to help you move forwards.

Tiny Guru (Apple only) if you are inspired by the words of others to find your own motivation, this app provides a good supply of quotes, thoughts and suggestions to give you a nudge.

Forismatic (Apple and Android) this app provides a collection of inspirational quotes from others on a wide range of topics.

Thoughtback (Apple and Android) this app makes use of notes and ideas you input, to email you suggestions of where to go next and inspirational quotes to motivate you.

Mindix (Apple only) a simple app for brainstorming ideas and creating pattern notes and maps from these.

Idea Growr (Android only) this app allows you to capture thoughts and ideas. It then poses questions to you to help you develop these further.

Stop, Breathe and Think (Apple only) this app will teach you meditation and help you develop a more mindful approach to life.

Mindfulness Daily (Apple only) build your mindfulness and meditation practice day by day with this app.

Mindfulness Bell (Apple and Android) this app rings a mindfulness bell at several points during the day. The sound of the bell is a prompt for you to stop, and focus in on what you are doing at that point.

Microsoft OneNote (Apple, Android and Windows) this app allows you to gather together thoughts, notes, documents, photographs and other media in a single place.

Evernote (Apple and Android) create notebooks in which you can store and search all your ideas, photos, documents. Your notebooks can be accessed across all your computers and mobile devices.

Career Builder (Apple and Android) this app allows you to search for jobs and upload your CV on the go. You can tailor it to receive job notifications from specific types of employers or in specific locations.

Indeed (Apple and Android) this app allows you to search for jobs, upload your CV and apply for jobs directly from your mobile device.

LinkedIn (Apple, Android and Windows) LinkedIn acts as an employment-related social network. In addition to getting information about jobs and uploading your own details you can join discussion groups and track the activities of companies or individuals you are interested in working with.

Interview Prep Questions (Apple and Android) this app generates practice questions for a wide range of possible job interviews. You can create sets of flash cards relevant to your specific area.