As someone who is trying to better their mental health this year, I have been searching for a free app to help me keep track of stuff I need to do in a day to try and boost my mood. Free apps that actually work are hard to come by, so I was elated when a friend of mine mentioned Finch, the mental health app that requires you to complete daily tasks, with the reward of raising a baby penguin in return.
Now, as with any app, you can pay for the premium version which unlocks more mindfulness suggestions and clothing/house options, but the free version is amazing on its own. In the app, you can set goals for yourself such as making your bed or drinking water, which are little reminders that I didn’t realize had such a big impact on my mood throughout the day. There are also reflection questions, which cause you to reflect on not only yourself but relationships with others and the past year. You can set these reflection goals you want to answer daily or let Finch choose which you do. There are also calming and mindfulness practices, ranging from rain sounds to breathing practices. In exchange for answering these questions, you gain either rainbow stones or energy bolts for your penguin.
And now to my favorite part: your new pet penguin. You can name your penguin and give it any gender you desire, then raise it from egg to adulthood. You age up the penguin by interacting with the through answering questions, talking to your penguin or others, and going on adventures. When you complete a goal or answer a question, you can get energy points, and with those energy points, you go on adventures to find friends and rainbow stones. The rainbow stones are used to build decorations for your nest as well as little outfits for your penguin friend. On a personal note: I love that they have walking tools and hearing aids as clothing options: Yay for inclusion!!! The outfits are simply adorable and buying them can help build your relationship with your penguin. You can also invite friends to live in your tree with you (the tree over igloo part confuses me to) and have your penguins interact with each other, which helps boost your relationship to your penguin as well. Sending the code to others also gives you rainbow stones if they sign up.
For me personally, I love this app. There is an option to make a widget to remind you to care for your penguin friend and yourself, which is a good reminder to stop and take a moment when I am running around throughout the day. It makes it easier to reflect on the good in your life as well during hard times, as it helps you to reflect on the good today and the reasons the people in your life love you. It’s great to sit and reflect and practice mindfulness daily, and I have found myself in a better mood because of it.
This article is not sponsored, I just really love this app and want to share it with you guys.