Unlike my previous gratitude posts, my goal today is to keep this one short. Right now I’m meant to be doing a workout, but my butt hurts from yesterday’s session and I’m being a little sooky. I’ll be walking my son to school today, so I’ll still be getting movement, but I’ve postponed my workout until lunch.
All that to say that I’ve broken my morning routine today, which is semi-relevant to today’s gratitude prompt:
I’m thankful for this comfort in my daily routine…
I’m thankful for my mental health app on my phone, Finch.
About Finch
At its core, Finch is a self-care app. You have a bird that you take care of by taking care of yourself. Your job is to tick off tasks during the day, and if you complete enough, your Finch gets sent on an adventure. Along the way, you collect clothing items, furniture, room decorations, and other mini-pets. You can even add friends and encourage each other, share tasks, and send each other gifts.
It’s ridiculously cute.
And as someone who gets dopamine hits from ticking items off a list, it’s effective.
I signed up on October 20, 2024. I’m on a 648-day streak, and have sent my Finch on 617 adventures.
The app was recommended to me by a friend, who had just signed up for it herself. At the time, I was feeling pretty flat, and it definitely helped on the harder days. It was the simple things – ticking off that I’d had a shower, brushed my teeth, got outside, etc.
They were the most basic fundamentals of self-care, and it was shocking to me how often I wasn’t following any good habits.
Nearly two years on, I still use this app daily. How I use it has changed, though. Rather than loading it in the morning and seeing what’s planned, it’s morphed into a nightly check-in before bed. Kind of just reflecting on the day, what I did well, what I hadn’t done yet (and could try to do the next day), etc.
The app has a lot of features. There’s a “first aid” kit with breathing exercises, positive affirmations, and so, so much more. You can journal your thoughts, see insights and stats, set goals, and answer quizzes. You can even use it to set timers for when you want to work uninterrupted for a period of time, or just focus on an activity.
I really love the quotes when opening the app.
I feel like this app has really helped when I needed to just focus on putting one foot in front of the other and getting through the day. And it’s helped me establish some solid routines in my day-to-day life. So yeah, to answer today’s prompt, I’m pretty grateful to have this in my daily routine.
Links: Apple App Store and Google Play
So much for keeping this post short!
Are there any apps you use for self-care? Or a special part of your routine each day that makes you feel good?
