Blocky
Blocky vs ยท one sec
The one sec alternative that asks for more than a second
one sec makes you take a breath before Instagram opens. Blocky is a habit tracker: Instagram waits until your run shows up in Apple Health.
If you're looking for a one sec alternative, you may want more than a pause. one sec puts a short pause in front of a distracting app: a deep breath, then the choice to go on or not.
It's a clever idea, and it's honest about what it is. one sec's own words: it delays access to distracting apps instead of blocking them completely. The breath is free for one app, and one sec pro covers more. It can also block apps outright in a session or on a schedule, and set a time limit that kicks you out of social media and asks you to go through the pause again.
But a breath can't answer one question: did you do the thing you were putting off?
Deep breath. Now go finish the run.
A pause doesn't know what you did
After the breath, the choice is yours. one sec can show you how much time it saved, but it never asks what you did with it.
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 breathed.
- 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.
- 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. | one sec | |
|---|---|---|
| Blocks apps | Yes | It delays them with a breath, and blocks them in a session or on 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 tap through, or sit through the pause again for more time |
| What it tracks | Exercise, sleep, water, fasting, weight, meditation, meals, medication and your own habits | How much time it saved you |
Which one is for you
If what you want is a moment of hesitation before the feed, one sec does that well, and the first app is free. It's on Android and in your desktop browser too, and we aren't.
If what you want is the run itself, pick the habit tracker that wants it first.
Seven days free, on iPhone.