The current global situation has forced millions of people to stay at home while governments are encouraging more people to stay indoors and only go outside if absolutely necessary. As quarantine regulations around the world are starting to ease up, modified practices on daily operations called “new normal” is taking over.

This means that the way we live may still be the same, but with some changes for your safety. This includes the rise of online shopping, contactless services, and practicing social distancing in public spaces.

This can be difficult to get used to, especially for much older adults who haven’t fully grasped the potential smartphones and the internet can provide aside from social media access. With this, here are three smartphone apps you’ll definitely need to adjust to the new normal.

Delivery Apps for Local Markets and Supermarkets

Most people may be familiar with fast-food and food delivery apps for restaurants. But what many don’t realize is that plenty of supermarkets, grocery stores, and other stores selling food and other everyday essentials now have apps for customers to order and deliver their groceries to their doorstep.

This is the safe and convenient option especially for households with immunocompromised members or those who do not have healthy adults that can risk going outside. Having a steady flow of essential deliveries is much more practical than other methods such as stockpiling, as plenty of everyday household items including non-edible products such as shampoo have expiration dates. By ordering only what you need, you can prevent product wastage due to expiry.

Work-Life Balance Apps

Because of the current situation, more companies have switched to a work from home model to continue operations without risking their employees by traveling to work. While this has some benefits in terms of safety and productivity, the downside for most employees is that the new normal of a pandemic-affected workday has caused work-life balance to spiral out of control.

In fact, thanks to the vanishing line separating work and home life, regular work days are now three hours longer. Now that people are working from home, both employees and their colleagues no longer see work as a 9-to-5 workday as work-related calls and emails are now taking place outside of work hours.

Certain apps can help productivity and limit a person’s work exclusively to working hours. Apps like Freedom blocks time-wasting websites that distract you from focusing on your work tasks. While Workflow Timer helps you create an efficient schedule, giving you appropriate break times at times when your productivity and focus naturally goes down.

Apps for Contact Tracing

One of the hardest parts of trying to contain the COVID-19 virus is the contact tracing, as it can be difficult for governments to trace all the people a COVID-19 patient has interacted with, including strangers who happened to be near them at the time their infection was not yet confirmed.

However, certain countries may start using apps to make contact tracing easier. In June, the Japanese government released their COVID-19 Contact App developed by Microsoft. It records the phones that have been within one meter for more than 15 minutes. When one person becomes a confirmed COVID-19 case, all the other users they came into contact with will be notified.

Aside from Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Singapore are also using apps to help with contact tracing. This may soon be essential for countries where contact tracing is extremely difficult and leading to plenty of outbreaks.

As the world enters the new normal, these three smartphone apps can help in terms of safety, health, well-being, and convenience. While they aren’t a requirement in every smartphone yet, having these on hand can help you adjust to the new normal.