{"id":6617,"date":"2025-04-10T03:06:16","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T03:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/6617\/"},"modified":"2025-04-10T03:06:16","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T03:06:16","slug":"how-an-app-about-a-cartoon-bird-is-helping-me-be-a-better-person","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/6617\/","title":{"rendered":"How an app about a cartoon bird is helping me be a better person"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n

Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

Three weeks ago, I hatched a baby bird named Blueberry. And what a journey it\u2019s been since. Blueberry has grown up into a toddler and discovered that they really like Baby Shark. They also love bread and corn (but aren\u2019t a fan of cherries). Blueberry goes on daily adventures to learn more about the world and is accompanied by their friend Oakley \u2014 a baby kernel who wants to grow into a strong tree one day. At night, Blueberry returns home so they can rest up for their next big adventure.<\/p>\n

No, I\u2019m not trying to pitch the next great Pixar movie. This is what I\u2019ve been doing in an Android app<\/a> called Finch.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, my partner stumbled across Finch<\/a>, downloaded it for themselves, and asked me to join it \u2014 primarily so they could unlock an in-app reward for referring someone. So, like any good spouse would do, I downloaded the app, created an account, and my partner got their reward. Initially, I thought that\u2019s where my time with Finch would start and end.<\/p>\n

But fast forward a few weeks later, and Finch has become an app I interact with multiple times per day. I\u2019m using it to build healthy habits, reflect on my thoughts, and \u2014 ultimately \u2014 make myself a better person.<\/p>\n

Do you use a habit tracker app?<\/p>\n

48 votes<\/p>\n

Yes (let us know which one in the comments)<\/p>\n

19%<\/p>\n

No<\/p>\n

81%<\/p>\n

What exactly is Finch?<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

At its core, Finch is a fairly simple habit tracker\/routine builder. When you first download the app, the onboarding process contains a lot of the stuff you\u2019d probably expect. You\u2019re asked to indicate things like how long you usually sleep and whether you have difficulty waking up in the morning. There are also questions about areas you want support with and what areas of life you struggle with \u2014 with follow-up questions\/prompts based on your answers.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re done, you get a starter plan with suggested habits to focus on each day. After I set up the app, some of my recommended goals included flossing my teeth each day, drinking water, having a daily stretch break, and doing one thing that makes me happy.<\/p>\n

You can also add your own goals, either based on suggestions in the app or ones you create from scratch. You can set up goals to repeat, what time you want to be notified about them, how many times per day you want to do that goal, and so on. If you\u2019ve ever used any other habit or routine app<\/a>, this should all be pretty familiar.<\/p>\n

If that\u2019s the case, what makes Finch so special? While the ultimate goal is the same as other apps \u2014 creating and sticking with healthy habits \u2014 how Finch presents all of this makes it different from everything else.<\/p>\n

The little bird changes everything<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

A significant part of the Finch onboarding process involves hatching your Finch egg to get your baby bird. You give it a color, a name, and a personality trait \u2014 such as curiosity, compassion, logic, etc.<\/p>\n

As you complete your habits\/goals, each one boosts your bird\u2019s daily energy. Once you reach your maximum energy for the day, your bird goes on an adventure through Finchie Forest \u2014 and about six hours later \u2014 comes back with a discovery to share with you. These adventures help your baby bird grow and discover things they like\/dislike.<\/p>\n

The more you stick with your goals each day, the more adventures your bird goes on. The more adventures your bird goes on, the more it grows up and learns about the world around it. It\u2019s a pretty simple loop, but it\u2019s one that hooked me instantly. There\u2019s certainly a gamification element to the whole thing (which does help), but a large part of what makes Finch so endearing and rewarding is simply how charming it is.<\/p>\n

\"Finch<\/p>\n

Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

The bird design itself is perfect, and being able to dress it up in a variety of clothes is icing on the cake. You can customize your bird\u2019s house with an assortment of furniture and wallpaper designs. You also get to choose a small \u201cmicropet\u201d for your bird to adventure with \u2014 and you regularly hatch new ones as you go on more adventures. Right now, I have Oakley the Kernel and Aurora the Arctic Fox.<\/p>\n

If you ever want to further customize your Finch bird, a handful of shop vendors let you do just that \u2014 and you earn credits to buy new things as you complete your goals. You can buy additional clothes from Mr. Prickles, new furniture from Robin, and extra bird colors from Da Finci. You can tap on your bird while they\u2019re adventuring to hear them whistle, and if you want to give them a pet, just scratch their head or tummy at any time. There are endless layers of adorableness everywhere you look, and it never fails to put a smile on my face.<\/p>\n

A large part of what makes Finch so endearing and rewarding is simply how charming it is.<\/p>\n

The best part about all of this is that it works. Although I\u2019m a little under a month into my time with Finch, I\u2019m sticking with my goals better than with other apps I\u2019ve tried. I want to see my little Blueberry learn new things. I want to be there to help them grow up (and dress them in cute clothes, too). It may sound silly and juvenile, but it\u2019s so rewarding to progress through the app like this. And the whole time you do, you establish good habits to make you a better and healthier person.<\/p>\n

Digging deeper into self-care<\/p>\n

\"Mood<\/p>\n

Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

There\u2019s one other key component to Finch, which may be the most important one. As much as Finch is a habit-tracking app, it\u2019s also a self-care app. The more you use Finch to work on your habits, the more it asks you to reflect on your feelings.<\/p>\n

When you open the Finch app throughout the day, you\u2019re asked to indicate your outlook for the day ahead, how you feel in the afternoon, and your overall satisfaction at the end of the day. If you select a low mood for any of these prompts, Finch shows a First Aid button with recommended tasks to lift you up \u2014 such as writing down the emotions you\u2019re feeling, repeating affirmations, or practicing anxiety breathing.<\/p>\n

\"MoodMood check-in\"FirstFirst Aid tools\"StoryAdventure reflections <\/p>\n

Finch also regularly provides opportunities to write reflections on your day and, if you\u2019d like, to dig deeper into those reflections. If you mention certain topics or people, Finch saves those so you can see how they positively (or negatively) impacted you. It also offers goal suggestions based on them. For example, after writing a reflection about a nice day with my partner, Finch recommended bringing up a fond memory with them or sharing a song I think they\u2019d like.<\/p>\n

As someone who often forgets about putting my mental health and self-care first, little check-ins and reminders like this are greatly appreciated. It\u2019s often enough just to have Finch ask me how I\u2019m doing and let myself be honest about how I\u2019m feeling \u2014 whether good or bad. It may not be the most exhaustive approach to self-care, but the regularity and ease-of-use has worked for me. Combined with some of my self-care-focused goals \u2014 such as washing my face daily or stopping to take a few deep breaths \u2014 I\u2019m thinking about my health and well-being more than ever.<\/p>\n

One of my new favorite Android apps<\/p>\n

\"Finch<\/p>\n

Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

Finch won\u2019t be for everyone. Some people may find the app too cutesy, the habit-building tools not extensive enough, or the self-care components not quite what they\u2019re looking for. It\u2019s often said that mental health isn\u2019t a one-size-fits-all approach, and that\u2019s also true of the apps and tools we use to help with that.<\/p>\n

For me, Finch has quickly become a perfect tool for building positive habits, focusing more on my mental health, and making small changes throughout the day to ensure I\u2019m living a good life and taking care of myself. It\u2019s obviously up to me to stick with it, but after about a month of using the app, I\u2019m no less motivated than I was on day one to keep things going. I\u2019m journaling almost every day, taking time away from my computer to stretch while I work, and \u2014 even though I still hate it \u2014 I\u2019m flossing my teeth more regularly than I have in years.<\/p>\n

Simultaneously, I\u2019ve been thinking about my mental health more than ever. Thanks to the combination of the healthy habits I\u2019m working on, plus Finch\u2019s regular mood check-ins, I\u2019m in tune with how I\u2019m doing and whether I\u2019m having a good, meh, or bad day \u2014 and taking steps to better myself if I\u2019m feeling down.<\/p>\n

Finch has quickly become a perfect tool for building positive habits.<\/p>\n

As goofy as it might be to admit, that darn little Blueberry has played no small part in why I\u2019ve stuck with Finch the way I have. I look forward to the end of each day when Blueberry tells me about what exciting new thing they\u2019ve discovered. I love getting them a fun new shirt or wallpaper for their house. Helping Blueberry grow up just makes me feel good, and it plays hand-in-hand with the app\u2019s habit-building and self-care goals, too.<\/p>\n

Finch is available as a free download<\/a> for your Android phone now, and whether you want to seriously work on building new habits \u2014 or you just want to care for an adorable cartoon bird \u2014 I can\u2019t recommend it enough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joe Maring \/ Android Authority Three weeks ago, I hatched a baby bird named Blueberry. And what a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6618,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3159],"tags":[3830,547,53,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-6617","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-android-apps","9":"tag-mobile","10":"tag-technology","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114311461808619401","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}