Blocky
Blocky vs ยท Clearspace
The Clearspace alternative that wants the workout, not a deep breath
Clearspace asks you to breathe before an app opens. Blocky is a habit tracker: the apps you pick wait for the run, the water or the sleep, read from Apple Health.
If you're looking for a Clearspace alternative, you probably still like the idea. Clearspace puts a moment between you and the app. Its own words: when you click on a selected app, decide, proceed after a deep breath or opt out?
Around the breath, it has a lot. Time limits so a session doesn't run on, schedules for when an app may open, accountability partners who help you keep to your goals, and reports with streaks and budgets so you can see where the time went. It's on iPhone and Android, with a Chrome extension, and the basics are free, with Clearspace Premium on top.
But a breath can't answer one question: did you do the thing you were putting off?
Breathe. Then go for the run.
A breath doesn't know what you did
After the breath, you proceed or you don't. A time limit stops the session, but nothing about the session depends on how the day went.
That's a good way to use an app less. But if the goal is the habit, the app is only the leverage, and nothing here checks the habit.
Blocky starts with the habit
Exercise first, Instagram second.
Blocky is a habit tracker. You pick the habit you keep skipping, then the apps that wait for it. It stays blocked until the habit is done, not until you've taken a breath.
- Run with Strava or your watch. When your 30 minutes reach Apple Health, Instagram is unblocked.
- Water, fasting, sleep, weigh-ins and meditation work the same way. Ten minutes of meditation in Apple Health counts too.
- A workout can't be ticked off by hand. Apple Health has to show it.
- It bends for real life. Halfway there can unblock some apps early, and Phone, Settings and the apps you choose are never blocked.
Side by side
| Blocky. | Clearspace | |
|---|---|---|
| Blocks apps | Yes | Yesbehind a breath, a time limit or a schedule |
| Unblocks when you do the habit | Yes | No |
| How you get around it | A gem buys 15 minutes, and it's on the record | Take the breath and proceed |
| What it tracks | Exercise, sleep, water, fasting, weight, meditation, meals, medication and your own habits | Your screen time, with streaks and budgets |
Which one is for you
If a pause and a partner are what keep you honest, Clearspace does both well, and it's on Android and in Chrome, where we aren't.
If what you want is the run itself, pick the habit tracker that wants it first.
Seven days free, on iPhone.