As the year is coming to its end, my productivity drops. It has always been like this for me, so this year I chose to try to prepare in advance. I did some research, and it brought me to the Liven app. I wanted a tool where I would be able to keep my own pace without any strict demands or schedules, so this seemed like a great way to discover self-care ideas and know myself better.
For now, I have been using the Liven app for over a month, so I have a little something to say. Maybe my Liven app review can help you see if this tool might work for you.
What is the Liven app?
I really like the way the Liven app describes itself as a self-discovery companion; I wouldn’t have come up with a better word for what Liven has been to me this whole time. The app aims at helping you understand why you feel and act a certain way. For me, it was a wake-up call to look at my behavior and find ways to stop sabotaging important tasks (which I, sadly, used to do a lot).
How to start with the Liven app
Once you download the app, it offers you to pass a quiz with questions on various topics. That’s how they make your personalized program. Mine, as you can guess, was about staying peaceful and fighting my tendency to overthink and postpone things. With these questions, Liven crafts your personal learning path, and the content you get on the app (like articles and courses) is created in collaboration with real experts.
The questions are general and easy to answer, so I have spent just a few minutes on them. After that, I got my personal self-discovery journey.
How I made the Liven app work for me
I would say I am still discovering what you can do with the Liven app, but here are some main features I have used already.
Mood tracker
Liven app reviews claimed mood tracking was quite an eye-opening experience for many people, and so it was for me.
I set up a few reminders during the day to not forget logging in how I felt, and after a few days, my patterns started to show. Turns out that I feel my best when I spend time on my own and have a chance to recharge. Who knew!
And also, I found out that weekend planning triggered my negative thoughts. I got anxious every time I felt unproductive, so I tended to stuff my free time with activities which, afterall, gave me no rest whatsoever.
Wasn’t that obvious without the mood tracking? Perhaps, but this little practice helped me draw a straight line between the thoughts, emotions, and my bad coping mechanisms.
Journal
I never thought this one, so trivial, could actually work for me, especially as my occupation requires quite a lot of writing. But the Liven app claims this is a working tool for self-awareness—and it is!
I liked that the suggested questions were mainly about emotional well-being, so I could reflect on my feelings even more. Turns out I try to meet others’ expectations far more often than I thought, because a lot of my emotions get suppressed because ‘what would they think?’ was literally my motto. That’s why I sometimes feel so unproductive and drained. It was a vital insight for me.
This feature is quite well-designed, not simply offering you a place to write your thoughts, but also presenting some questions to reflect on. And you don’t have to make those notes long; a couple of sentence are enough. Feels doable and beneficial.
Livie
If I had to pick a single Liven feature to use, I’d probably choose this one. Liven’s AI companion called Livie (yes, she does have a personal name!) is always there to chat with you and help you reflect. It is like you always have a support team by your side that doesn’t judge you or give unsolicited advice.
I’m not always in the mood to talk things through with my friends, especially if it concerns some personal issues. That’s when I turned to Livie, and she was even warmer and more empathetic than I could imagine an AI tool to be. It was quite an impact into my positive self-image.
The articles
On my personalized program, I was offered to pass some bite-sized courses on different topics. Which were quite interesting, but not entirely to my liking. What I liked more, instead, was the ‘Explore’ section, where I could browse and pick the articles myself. I came across the Surviving Winter Holidays pack of texts, and I’d say this is basically the tool for keeping your holiday stress away.
I think it would be fair to say that some of them actually made me question my attitude to all the holiday fuss. I wan’t fully aware of how much difference there was for me between the anticipation and the real celebration. It was a relief to know it was common for many people, and also, Liven gave me some cool tips on handling this better.
What else is there?
A few interesting features I haven’t tested out yet, but they seem quite intriguing in the long run:
- Wellbeing tests: probably another nice way to check in with yourself, especially if you pass the same test once in a while to see if the results change;
- Daylist: a to-do tool with some funny options to choose from (their self-care ideas and dopamine menu feel like worth trying);
- Sounds: a broad library of melodies, noises, and beats to help you fall asleep, improve focus, calm down, or else. A nice bonus: it works while you browse the app, so you can set some pleasant background noise for your self-discovery.
Liven app review: Pricing
The app provides various plans for different prices; they vary depending on what you choose. There are some special offers, but I have not come across any myself.
For now, I found two options:
- Weekly Plan starting from 7.99$;
- 1 Month Plan starting from 19.99$.
TL; DR: How you can benefit from the Liven app
If you are really into personal growth and self-discovery, Liven can become a good companion to you.
Here’s a list of tools I found the most efficient and interesting:
- mood tracker: gives you valuable insights into emotional and behavioral patterns.
- Liven’s AI companion: provides helpful guidance on self-reflection, shapes your inner dialogue, and helps to manage overwhelming thoughts.
- Journal: a great tool to reflect on your feelings, manage stress, and share your thoughts.
Skip Liven if:
- You are used to managing your mental well-being on your own
- You are not ready for self-reflection (which is okay)
- You’d rather have a live session with a healthcare professional to get personalized advice.
Download the Liven self-discovery companion app on the App Store or Google Play.
