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A Cycle is a short, multi-day commitment to one Outcome: a small slice of work you can see the edges of, like “three Actions on the deck by Friday.” Unlike a deadline, a Cycle sets no quota and marks nothing late: it gives the work a window and a count you can picture closing. When the window ends, Donna walks you through a look back, and you renew the Cycle, land the Outcome, or park it.

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A Cycle is one commitment

When you have an Outcome you are pursuing over a few days, Donna proposes a Cycle: “four Actions on the report this week,” rather than “finish the report.” A proposal is not saved until you accept it: adjust the window or the count first, and nothing starts until you say so. You set the window, and shorter is safer on a first Cycle. Keep the first one small: a handful of Actions over a few days. A small slice you close moves the Outcome forward, and you can renew for another slice once you land it. Working in near-term slices is informed by goal-setting research, which links close subgoals to better follow-through than distant goals (Locke and Latham, 2002; Bandura and Schunk, 1981). The guide on finishing big projects with ADHD covers using a run of these slices to land something that takes weeks.
A Cycle has a window (a few days) and a number of Actions; do them whenever the time is right for you.

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Working through a Cycle

A Cycle of “four Actions” is four times you sit down and work on that Outcome, on your own schedule. Each one is a normal Action: a concrete next step Donna puts in front of you, sized to your energy and the time you have.

One Action at a time

Every Action in a Cycle is one you start, work, and finish, the same step you already do day to day, now counting toward something bigger.

The Cycle keeps the thread

Donna holds which Actions are done and which remain, so you do not have to. Show up for the next one when you are ready.
When you start one, you land in the work view: a count-up timer and a real editor where the work happens, with Donna there if you get stuck. It is walked through start to finish in Working an Action.
In a few places the app labels one sitting a “session.” A session is one Action worked in the work view; these docs say Action throughout.

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When the window closes

Finishing the committed Actions brings the look-back forward: you do not wait for the end date. At the end of a Cycle, Donna names what actually moved and then asks what is next:
1

Renew the Cycle

Another short slice of Actions toward the same Outcome. Often the natural move when there is more to do.
2

Land the Outcome

If the Cycle carried you to done, mark the Outcome as landed.
3

Park it

If this is not the week for it, park the Outcome. Parking sets no countdown and marks nothing late. Donna surfaces it again later.
If the window closes with fewer Actions done than you committed to, Donna still closes it, by name, and proposes a smaller number for the next stretch: “you got two done on the deck. two this week?” The number suggested is sized to what has actually been landing. Ask for the bigger number and you can have it, and you can say you want to set the work down instead. Nothing counts what did not happen. When the Outcome is a routine you want to keep rather than a project to finish, the guide on building habits with ADHD covers renewing a Cycle after an off day instead of restarting.
Skipping an Action inside a Cycle marks nothing late and changes nothing else in the Cycle. Come back to it whenever you are ready. For how Donna handles counts and gaps in general, see Adaptation.

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Frequently asked questions

No. A Cycle has no daily quota and no schedule, and skipping an Action marks nothing late. Do them when the time is right for you. The commitment is there to give the work a window and a count you can see the edges of.
Fewer than feels ambitious, especially for your first one. A Cycle is sized so you can finish it, so a small slice you close is better than over-committing up front. Think “three Actions on the deck by Friday” rather than “finish the deck.” You can renew for another slice once you land it.
No. A session is one sitting on one Action in the work view. A Cycle’s count is a count of Actions, and these docs say Action throughout.
Nothing breaks. The Cycle waits, and when the window closes Donna names what actually moved. If you finished the count, that is renew, land, or park. If fewer landed, Donna names the work and suggests a smaller number for the next stretch instead. For how Donna handles gaps in general, see Adaptation.
Yes. Donna holds which Actions are done and which remain, so you do not have to keep the thread in your head. Progress so far appears on the outcomes view; there is no quota bar and no late flag.

Next: Actions

The single next step a Cycle is counted in, and how Donna builds one.

Go deeper: Building habits with ADHD

How short Cycles build a routine that survives an off day, with no streak to break.