This isn’t my usual kind of posting but, I still want to bring to everyone’s attention this neat little app that I found about two weeks ago. It’s called Finch, and it’s supposed to help you take better care of yourself.
The way I described Finch to Angel this past week, when I was telling her about this silly little app, is that it’s kinda like a Tamagotchi that helps you take cate of yourself but, it doesn’t die on you every 7-minutes. (For those of you who know what I’m talking about when it comes to Tamagotchis, you’re probably rejoicing right now.)
So… what is Finch exactly?
Well, Finch is this adorable little virtual pet that, once you download the app you get to name, and you even get to pick their pronouns. This is Skellie, my little Finch, and their pronouns are they/them right now. However, if I wanted to, I could always go back into the app’s settings later, and change Skellie’s name, or choose different pronouns for them if that’s how I’m feeling. Which, honestly, I think is a great little feature, especially since June is Pride Month!
Now, I’m sure you’re asking… “what else can they do?” I’ll tell you.
When you click into the app, a lot of the times there’s going to be a little quote with a place for you to check in. There are five options that you can pick from, as to how you’re feeling at a time, and they’re logged and kept in your little emotional journal that you can get to any time from the main screen of the app just by clicking on the little mailbox. Personally, I love the little motivational quotes that they offer through the app. One of my favorites was sent to me by Angel and it says- “You should not have to rip yourself into pieces to keep others whole.” -Emma Bleker.
Now, one of the first things I do every morning is go onto the Finch app, and do my morning check-in. After that, I’ll jot down a couple of notes in my Dream Journal and my Sleep Reflection section, and after that it’s time to start my day. Your little Finch needs energy, and they get this energy by you completing tasks in the app. So, Dream Diary counts for +3 energy at minimum, however, if you have a lot to type that number will increase. Sleep Reflection counts for +5.
Aside from that to get energy for your little birb’s adventure, you simply complete your daily goals, which is where I have my to-do list set up for the day. It’s a nice, easy to read little to-do list that you can 100% customize to your needs, and that’s something that I love, appreciate, and need in my life. Especially since there’s no set number of goals that you have to do, and you can also add little reminders to them.
Not only that but, if you have certain things that need to be repeated, you can set that up too. Like how every Sunday, I have a reminder from Skellie telling me to write, and or make a blog post here for all of you. I also have it set to where every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I have to put away one item that isn’t in it’s place, and once a month, find something I don’t need, use, or want anymore and either get rid of it, or donate it because, I don’t really like clutter.
For example, one of my goals today is to drink water, and I can jump into the app, go to my goals list where it says drink water, and add a little 3pm reminder to tell me to drink water. I’ve also used this feature for a doctor’s appointment this week. I put my appointment down as one of my goals because, obviously it’s something I must get done, right? I added a little time reminder, so I’d know when I had to be there, and it was just that simple.
A few of my goals for today, June 8th, 2022 are:
- Drink water
- Set goals for tomorrow before bed.
- Make my bed
- Wash my face
- Put away one item that I not in it’s place
- 15-minutes of writing
- Read for 10-minutes
I can add or take away from this list at any time, so if there’s something I can’t get around to, or I’m feeling overwhelmed, I can just “snooze” the task, and they’ll ask me if I want it moved to a different day, or I just don’t want to deal with it right now, which I also appreciate.
You can also associate certain tasks with certain journeys that you’re on, which is another thing you get to pick out when you first start with the app. I’m currently participating in four journeys myself. A Better Self. Tidy Space, Tidy Mind. Spend Quality Time with Family. And finally, a personalized journey for myself that I’ve called Writing Goals.
I’ve been on my Writing Goals journey for about 11-days now, and I’ve completed 23 goals towards it, and done 4 reflections. In four days, they’ll give my next rewards towards it, which is a neat little system that I like. I enjoy the rewards systems a lot because it’ll give you rainbow stones for your bird to customize them, or sometimes an item, accessory, or a piece of clothing.
Maybe if I had more than three goals under this journey, I might be doing better at it but, right now the goal isn’t to overwhelm myself. The goal is to start out small, doing things that I know that I can accomplish in order to build up my self-confidence, which is going to help me out in the long run when it comes to completing larger, more well-thought out long-term goals.
Every now and then when your little birb comes back from their daily adventure, which usually lasts about 6-hours, unless you’re completing tasks and getting even more energy, they’ll come back and want to talk to you about things. Sometimes, it’s a little story about something they found, or ate out along their journey, and it’ll give you three option responses. The way you respond helps your birb get to know you better and helps build their little personality. This will influence them either positively, or negatively, and will help determine the kind of adventures that they go on!
Here are some things that Skellie likes- so far, we haven’t found any dislikes yet but, I’m sure it’ll happen eventually. I do find it amusing that one of their first foods though was cherries, and I love cherries.
Other neat little features include the shop, which lets you buy clothing and other little accessories for your little Finch using the rainbow stones that you earn from writing, doing your activities, taking the small quizzes, reflections, you name it. Which makes your Finch almost 100% customizable to you! After you reach the toddler stage, you can also start experimenting with your little birdie’s physical appearance. Skellie started out 100% gray but, now I can choose their body color- I’ve chosen lilac currently.
Currently, Skellie is gray and lilac, wearing red feathered wings that I bought in the shop, as well as orange royal boots, a red spooky lace top, and pink royal pants. They were holding a black teddy bear but, for pride month, I spent some of my rainbow stones to get them the progress pride flag!
You also have the option of having a Tree Town. What’s neat about this, is that you can add someone via their friend code, send invites so they can join Finch, or just add anyone who matters to you in your thoughts. Then, your Finches can bond and build their own friendships with these people if they too use the app but, if they don’t, that’s okay too. Because your reflections and goals that involve them are still saved under their little neighbor profile.
For example, my Grandma doesn’t have Finch but, I have her in my little tree town, and it keeps track of my reflections with her in them, as well as goals that include her like taking her to the doctor, going out to lunch together, and my mood calendar concerning her as well. Like how there are 5 positive moods and reflections that have included her, and so far one that’s been negative. It’ll then build little insights like how days with Grandma tend to have higher optimism and the impact of that on me. That we’ve completed four goals together, and there’s been more positive reflections over the past 6-days, and how there’ve been negative reflections on one of those days including her.
I even have Bear, my dog as one of my “neighbors” in my Tree Town because, I do have a couple of goals relating to him. Like how on the last day of every month, I need to give him his flea and tick and heartworm medication, and how one of my daily tasks or goals involves putting away his toys every day because, his toys on the stairs or all over the floor bugs me.
If your friends and family are a part of Finch though, you can go to their little bird in your Tree Town, click on them, and hit “Send Good Vibes” and it gives you the option to Send Hugs, Send Strength, Send a Hello, Send Calm, Send Gratitude, Send Thoughts, remind them to drink water, or even remind them to take a stretch break, and I think it’s a sweet way to let the people you love know that you care, and that you’re thinking about them even if you might be busy or don’t have the time or energy to talk all the time.
The Acts of Kindness for your Tree Town, Community, and Values are all so nice and so charming. There’s a Meditation Timer, and a Focus timer to help you. All kinds of Soundscapes to help you relax and calm down. There’s a Movement tab that gives you stretches, yoga, exercises, some of which are also accessible for people with disabilities, like me. Breathing exercises, that Angel has told me are even asthma friendly. Quizzes, and of course the reflections that we talked about a little bit earlier.
The most important section for me though, is the First Aid section. I cannot say enough good things. Not only is there the Helpline in the top right corner, which will help you find a helpline that is free and confidential no matter where you are in the world and what you need. But there are also all kinds of tools to help with anxiety, depression, or whatever it is you need. One of my favorites is the 3-3-3- Rule to quickly help ground you from anxiety. I also love the Panic Breathing for those of us out there who experience panic attacks, and the Rainbow Grounding is another one that is so incredibly helpful.
Finch gets all the stars from me, and I think that it can honestly help anyone and everyone out there. Whether you have ADHD, or suffer from a mental illness, or depression, or if you’re neurotypical and you just need a helping hand to get things done, Finch is quick, adorable, adaptable, and it makes life easier. Not only that but, it’s helping me to become a happier, more focused, and more productive individual.
-Sky
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