Skip to main content
A Habit is a saved, one-tap start for work you come back to. It holds a title, a default length (25 minutes unless set otherwise), and, if you choose, a rhythm in words. A Habit has no due date, no streak, and no missed-day count; for how Donna handles counts in general, see Adaptation. If streak-based trackers have collapsed on you before, the guide on building habits with ADHD covers why a lapse costs nothing here and how to size a repetition to a low day. Habits were called Routines, and the start list called them Recurring tasks. Both names meant this same thing.

​
Starting one

Open the start list (⌘K, or the start verb top-right) and tap a Habit. An Action starts, linked to the Habit, so its history accrues. The invested time shown next to a Habit is the sum of the Actions you have actually run through it, not a stored tally.

​
What the numbers mean

A Habit row can carry a count, and every count on it goes one direction: up. “2 today · 14 total” means you ran it twice today and fourteen times since you saved it. A Habit with a weekly rhythm counts by the week instead: “3 this week.” There is no target on screen, no fraction, and no remainder, and a Habit you have not started yet shows no zero at all. The day runs to 3am, so a late night still counts as the same day. Once you have done a Habit as often as its rhythm asks for in that day or week, it moves into Done today, a folded group at the bottom of the list. Nothing is lost and you can still start it again: it just stops competing for attention with the things still open.

​
Creating one

Describe a rhythm to Donna in chat, something like “I want to journal most mornings,” and a card offers to save as a habit (or save as habits when there is more than one). Nothing is saved until you tap Save on a row, or Save all. The start list also offers Tell Donna what you do regularly, which opens that same conversation. Either way, Donna proposes and you decide.

​
Setting the rhythm

Open a Habit’s row menu and choose Edit rhythm:
  • How often: daily, weekdays, weekends, weekly, custom days, or no rhythm.
  • Which days: shown only for custom.
  • Time of day: morning, afternoon, evening, or any time.
  • In your words (optional): a free-text note, for example “most mornings.”
A live preview shows how the Habit will read, like “weekdays · mornings” or “2× a week.” Choosing no rhythm keeps it as a saved start: still one tap in the start list, without a cadence. Clear rhythm in the same menu returns it to that state anytime. You can also just say it: describe a Habit you already keep at a new rhythm (“make stretching once a day, mornings”) and Donna offers the change on a card with one tap to confirm. Nothing changes until you tap.

​
What a rhythm does

A rhythm tells Donna when the Habit might fit, and that is all. When the window is right, Donna may mention it. For a journaling Habit set to mornings, that offer reads:
“If you feel like easing into journaling this morning, I’m here. And if now isn’t the moment, that’s completely fine.”
Passing on the offer costs nothing. For a morning Habit that keeps collapsing on hard mornings, the guide on an ADHD morning routine covers designing the worst-morning version first.

​
Archiving

Open the row’s menu and choose Archive. It confirms once (“Archive?” with yes and no), then the Habit leaves your start list. The Actions you already ran through it keep their history.

​
Frequently asked questions

No. A Habit only records the Actions you actually ran, so a gap is just a gap. There is nothing owed and nothing to make up.
A Habit with no rhythm is a plain saved start. Both start a linked Action in one tap; a rhythm only affects when Donna might mention it, and whether the Habit can move into Done today.
Not directly. Creating one is a conversation: describe the rhythm in chat, then tap Save on the card Donna offers. The “Tell Donna what you do regularly” option in the start list opens that same conversation.

Actions

The step a Habit actually starts.

Starting an Action

The start list itself: the fast path and the keys.