App review: Bloom turns your phone into a source of inspiration

Struggling to get through the working day? Then Bloom, an app that turns your phone into a source of inspiration, could give you boost you need. You might want to ignore the 'one-minute tropical vacation' though.

Above, screengrabs of Bloom.

While optimising productivity at work is important, it’s also crucial to find space in each day to take a breath, call a loved one, tidy up our workspace or find other ways to generally rebalance and check in with ourselves.

That’s the idea behind Bloom, an app that aims to “turn your phone into a source of inspiration” by allowing users to schedule specific reminders to do short activities that create a feeling of well-being and connection.

The free app, which is currently only available for Apple devices, comes preloaded with a couple of "Blooms", such as "refresh with a glass of water" – a very sensible suggestion that can be scheduled to alert users at a certain time each day – and "take a one-minute tropical vacation", which is a little sillier. The latter involves a slide show of cheesy holiday-type photos and some annoying lift music.

Luckily, you’re not held hostage to these suggestions: you can design your own Blooms by uploading photos and choosing your own text and music, or choose from a long list of prefabricated options such as “take a moment to pray” or “express and share gratitude”. You can even set a Bloom to be your morning wake-up call, to ensure you start the day as you mean to go on.

The idea behind the app is an ingenious one, but it's not executed with the same sharp attention to detail as a first-rate wellness platform such as Headspace, which provides guided meditation sessions and mindfulness training.

The aesthetic feels a little old- fashioned, with bland electronic music and handwriting-style fonts. Users have reported some glitches, too: sometimes the app will crash when the photo-editing app is used, or even when it’s been switched on.

It can be fun to personalise alerts by pairing an inspirational series of quotes with a favourite song that will give you a mid-afternoon jolt when you’re starting to feel sleepy.

Personally, though, I’d prefer to take inspiration from Bloom without actually using it, and programme similar life-enhancing reminders into my phone’s simple, frill-free alert system.

q&a surprises in store, if you wish

Jessica Holland details Bloom’s added extras:

How popular is the app?

According to its summary page on iTunes, it’s 300,000 downloads and counting.

Who’s behind it?

The app was launched by the Seattle company Mindbloom, but the company has since been bought out in 2014 by Welltok, a company which specialises in “health managers”.

What else can Bloom do that my phone’s calendar alerts can’t?

Blooms can be programmed to surprise you at random, rather than being scheduled in advance, and they don’t clutter up your work-related calendar or to-do list. The app also provides a constant source of inspiration for new improvements, as well as being open to customisation.

Are Blooms shareable?

Yes, they can be shared with a partner, friend or group, which is a nice idea if you have a shared goal, such as completing a creative project, saving money or getting more exercise, but it does come with the risk of appearing a bit sanctimonious.

Is the app mobile-only?

The app is designed primarily for mobile devices, but it can be linked to The Life Game, a free web-based platform that gamifies positive life choices, with points gained for completing Blooms.

Is everything on the app free?

It’s possible to use the app fully without spending anything, but there is the option to make some in-app purchases, such as stickers, and some Blooms are automatically linked to music tracks, which can be instantly bought via the iTunes store.

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