What have apps done for you lately? (Ooh ooh ooh yeah)

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When you're a busy working parent and veterinary professional, a good app can save the day and get you back to spending time with your family sooner.

OK, let's get serious. Full-time parent. Full-time career. So much to do, so little time. Sound familiar? I hear you, friends. Whether you have one child or multiple-regardless of age, because let's be real, parenting never ends-there aren't enough hours in the day. I love learning new life hacks from other moms (and dads) to help with time management, health and wellbeing. Especially in the veterinary field, our days can be very unpredictable.

So, here are three apps I use to help me as a busy full-time working mom navigating this amazing and emotionally-charged field.

App 1: Insight Timer

This app offers guided meditations. Starting the day off with meditation (a life hack in and of itself) helps me work with strengthened purpose, and I end up feeling like I'm able to accomplish more throughout the day. I liken it to spring cleaning, but for your mind. This app reminds me to meditate every day and keeps track of my favorite meditation settings.

App 2: Hello Fresh

This is more of a service than an app; however, I use the Hello Fresh app to modify and update my selections. Do you know how to immediately stress out a working parent? Ask the question, “What's for dinner?” Hello Fresh is a prepackaged dinner service that's delivered to your doorstep. What I love is that you get to customize what you want, set up a specific delivery time, skip meals if you happen to be out of town and specify your dietary needs. I cannot tell you how freeing it is to not have to plan every single dinner. Game changer!

App #3: InstaCart

Grocery shopping. I don't know about you, but this can be a huge time suck for me. For the most part, I still do in-person grocery shopping, but when I forget items or need a few more things for the week, this saves me so much time. I love to pop on the app, order what I need from my local grocery store and get it delivered at the date and time I need it. I recently had a baby, and the fact that I don't have to pack up and take my newborn to the store is a huge relief!

Working parent bonus tip: The last thing I will leave you with is snacks … healthy snacks. I get “hangry,” so I make it a point to always have a snack stash: one in my purse, one in my car and one in my locker at work. That way I'm not tempted to run to the nearest coffee shop or drive-thru. While coffee shop pastries and fast food might serve as a quick fix, the energy never lasts for me and it weighs on your pocket book. If I were to give you a sneak peek into my snack stash, you'd find trail mix, popcorn singles, individual peanut butter packets and a variety of granola bars (preferably ones that won't melt). And more times than not, I grab an apple on my way out the door. Why? 1) Natural sugar boost, 2) they actually help clean your teeth and freshen your breath and 3) easy to eat and discard.

And for those of you asking, when it comes to apples, I'm a honey crisp girl.

Torry Chamberlayne, RVT, is a San Diego, California, Field Director for Banfield Pet Hospital. She's been an RVT for over 20 years, all while being a busy mom of six kiddos, two doggos and one guinea pig (guinea piggo). She loves to practice and teach yoga, especially to colleagues in the veterinary field. Fun fact: In high school, she volunteered at a teaching museum and trained red-tailed hawks to teach the public how to interact (or rather NOT interact) with them and how they behave out in the wild.