Your real-life to-do list is now a game. Score points, and even shop for your digital avatar to bring a little excitement into the monotony of everyday tasks
Pics/iStock
How do you get your roommate to do the dishes? Rather than a confrontation, Max Kolomatsky, an artist based in New York, came up with an innovative solution. He created a game, pinned it to his refrigerator. The next morning, before he could even get around to telling his roommate about it, he found him already cleaning the dishes as part of the game.
ADVERTISEMENT
This could well be a story created by Kolomatsky to make his content on Instagram more engaging; but the comments on his video are all desperate pleas to make chores more game-like. Some even asked Kolomatsky to make the game printable for anyone to download and use.
The truth is that chores and everyday self-care habits can be mind-numbingly boring to get through. So if one can make a game of it, why not?
“Rewarding helps. Your brain releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a role in the brain’s reward system. But you can’t base everything on rewards as it can cause an imbalance,” explains Sohini Rohra, a counselling psychologist.
Habitica is popular for its retro RPG elements and has been effective for those with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
Gamifying your routine makes the day seem engaging and fun rather than monotonous. In the age of technology, Ranjana Aanjjan Srivastava, a theatre artiste, has resorted to Finch Care, a self-care app that helps you get through tasks using game-like elements. “I am not so much into an app telling you what to do, I downloaded it more for the game experience,” she says, after eight days of using the app, adding that she’s increasingly inclined to use it for its character.
Finch Care’s main character is a “birb” (a cute Internet term for bird). When you start on the app, you choose one of six coloured eggs to hatch. This indicates the colour your digital pet is going to be. You get to name your birb, choose its pronouns, and tell it your name too. To help you start your self-care journey, the birb lists out some easy tasks for you to do: Take a bath, brush your teeth, make your bed, and so on. Each task you tick off gives your feathered friend energy to travel a distance. There’s also a shop that allows you to purchase different items for it to wear, using game points.
“I am someone who can never refuse water to anyone, and I always have a bottle on me. So, I have made sure my birb also has a bottle on her. It’s cute to see her fly around with a water bottle in hand,” laughs Srivastava.
Another user, software professional Dielle Coutinho, says she has been using the app for over 80 days because “It’s awoken some maternal instinct in me to care for this birb. A few friends who also use Finch were telling me how they feel guilty for sending the birb outside alone after dark.”
One reason why Finch has been largely successful is because users feel attached to their ‘birb’, their cute virtual pet
The app launched in 2021 and became a popular download, especially as the pandemic gave rise to mental health challenges. One reason why Finch has been largely successful—they have over five lakh five-star ratings on iOS and Google Play—could be because of the psychology of cuteness. A 2022 series of studies by US-based researchers Makenzie O’Neil from Saint Mary’s College of California and Michelle Lani Shiota from Arizona State University revealed that when we see something cute, our brains release feel-good chemicals which can improve our mood and reduce stress. Srivastava supports this, “I think I go back to the app because of its cuteness. If it was a straightforward app asking me how I was feeling, I would say, ‘Who are you?’”
For Coutinho, who has used several organising and productivity systems, the app has become a go-to for listing down non-work-related tasks. “Taking care of the virtual pet has added a layer of tangible satisfaction,” she says.
But the app does more than that; each time your birb gains energy and travels, it returns after having learnt something. At times, it will pose a question, and your answer will help it develop its personality. Other times, it will give you an affirmation or check in on your mood. This makes it a great emotion and habit-tracking app as well.
Finch is not the only self-care app out there that gamifies tasks. A gaming site lists over 100 such apps, each offering different features and a completely different gaming experience. Habitica is a popular app that uses retro RPG (role-playing game) elements and has been effective for those with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Yet another app, Forest, lets you stay focused, encouraging you to keep your devices aside and has proved helpful for those who struggle with procrastination. Habits Garden helps you grow habits, while SuperBetter supports your mental health journey, and Decision Game improves decision-making skills. There are also apps focused on building exercise habits, such as Zwift, which improves cycling stamina.
It’s naturally cool to play a game, but do these apps really help? Dr Sanjay Kumavat, consultant psychiatrist at Fortis Hospital, Mulund, lists three reasons why such apps are increasingly popular: “They are easy to use, keep you engaged, and offer entertainment. Today’s generation is reluctant to take medicines for mental health. What these apps do is offer positive reinforcement and feedback, so it keeps the user going.” Anything that keeps you engaged, improves focus, and games in general improve cognitive skills, he says, though warning that these tools should be used judiciously, only as far as they actually help increase focus. On the other hand, Tara Mehta, clinical psychologist at S L Raheja Hospital, Mahim, worries about increasing dependence on technology. She says, “Gamified apps can be mildly beneficial for someone just needs some motivation. Ultimately, though, tech has an addictive nature. Apps make life easier, but they also deprive you of doing certain things. Let our brains do the job they need to do.”
The common thread tying most of these gamified apps together is that they have been created by game developers who have struggled with mental health in some manner. On Finch Care’s Medium blog, co-founder Stephanie Yuan writes, “Nino [Fellow founder Thomas Aquinas Nugraha Budi] and I started Finch with the mission to help others on their mental health journeys. We struggled with depression and anxiety for years, with disdain toward ourselves, dread for the future, and unexpected breakdowns. Yet our experience wasn’t unique as we saw others share similar challenges.”
Yuan goes on to explain that she and Nino had developed eight versions of Finch that failed, and the final version with the virtual pet was their last attempt.
She further writes, “Can we truly normalise mental health for everyone? Today we still grapple with these questions. But we are fortunate enough to have a small team of volunteer moderators and employees who do so much behind the scenes to continuously evolve the community and product.”
So, is it really troubling to depend on an app that’s working to help you manage life a little better? Rohra puts it well, “Self-care is the crux of our life. So if an app, journalling, or a person is helping you, please utilise them. But just use it as a resource.”
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
