In my experience, self-care apps that actually work have been very difficult to come by. While everyone has their own idea of what self-care looks like, most can agree that it involves personal wellness and the improvement of their mental, physical and emotional states. This could involve assisting users of the app in developing and maintaining healthy habits in areas such as sleep, relationships, mood, nutrition, activities, and more. There is no shortage of apps out there that target and encourage improvement in these areas, but I personally struggled to find one that kept me engaged. That is, until I discovered Finch.
Finch is described as a self-care pet app that helps users feel prepared and positive. Their main goal is to encourage users to take care of themselves by taking care of their pet, also known as their Finch. In order to take care of their Finch, users must complete self-care tasks and set personal goals. They choose and set daily goals, which might include drinking water, exercising, journaling, or doing something that makes them happy. You can send encouraging messages to your Finch friends and congratulate them on their progress. Your pet Finch can even earn its very own Micropet; this can be done by completing a certain number of daily tasks, which adds another layer of reward to your self-care routine.
Finch also offers many helpful tips and activities for those who struggle with things like anxiety, depression and ADHD. Along with the daily check-ins and mood tracking, Finch provides short breathing exercises, grounding techniques, and mindfulness activities to help manage anxiety and regulate emotions. It also offers various guided journal prompts to help users better understand and process what they are feeling. You can complete these activities whenever you feel they are needed, as the app encourages self-awareness by helping you determine when it would be most beneficial to engage in them.
I have been using this app for just over a month now and have truly enjoyed each day on it. It has been such an enjoyable experience and makes me genuinely happy to check in on my Finch, as well as my friends who are also on the app. While I am still a fairly new user of the app, I do feel like it has made a positive impact on my mental health and assisted me in working through my emotions. I don’t just feel obligated to open the app and complete tasks, I actually want to do those things. I think Finch is an incredible app that could be so beneficial for so many people, and I would highly recommend it to anyone as it is almost guaranteed to bring you joy.