‘Finch’ Can Help You Build Good Habits

I’m terrible at building habits.

I’ve tried everything; planners, lists, sticky notes, alarms, you name it. I can never get a habit to stick. So when my friends started using the app “Finch” and recommended it to me, I didn’t think it would go anywhere. After all, nothing else had worked. But I had nothing to lose, so why not try?

“Finch” is a self care app that encourages you to build healthy habits by taking care of a baby bird. You hatch and name the bird, and everything you do contributes to your bird’s growth. Your goals give your bird energy to explore, and once you’ve sent them out for the day, extra goals will reward you with gems that will let you further customize your bird.

You can customize your goals by setting reminders, changing how frequently you want to do something throughout the day. You can make custom goals and group them together based on what you want to work on. There are also a variety of things you can choose to do throughout the day. Some of my favorites are the breathing exercises and the reflections, which are basically guided journaling.

“Finch” is also a good way to remind you you’re not alone. Your friends can, through the app, send you small messages of encouragement, appreciation, or even reminders to drink water. They can also send you gifts of things to customize your bird with.

I love seeing these messages throughout the day. I love sending them. I personally find it difficult to start a conversation when I don’t really have anything to say. This way, I can show my friends that I still think about them, and it’s helping me reach out to them outside of “Finch”.

I was shocked at how well “Finch” is working for me. Even when I miss a goal for a few days, I don’t feel bad, or like I’m failing. It feels more forgiving and like I don’t have to completely give up and start over. There have even been times I do things without thinking, something that just didn’t happen with the other methods I’ve tried.

Kai Spahr is a Buhler journalism alumna now studying Media Production. Follow them on X: KaiSpahr.

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