> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://meetdonna.xyz/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Habits: saved starts for work you come back to
> Save work you come back to as a one-tap start with an optional rhythm. Counts only ever go up, and today's finished Habits fold away.
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](/docs/concepts/how-donna-adapts). If streak-based trackers have collapsed on you before, the guide on [building habits with ADHD](/docs/guides/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](/docs/daily/starting-an-action) (`⌘K`, or the start verb top-right) and tap a Habit. An [Action](/docs/concepts/actions) 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](/docs/guides/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.
The step a Habit actually starts.
The start list itself: the fast path and the keys.