Habits and routines
Tie small habits to moments you already have
Every habit in Thendoo starts with a cue, such as "After coffee", and a tiny first step. Streaks forgive an off day, skips cost nothing, and routines walk you through one step at a time.
See a day in Thendoo
A short, clickable walk-through with sample data. Nothing here is saved.
- Renew passport next month
- Call the landlord about the boiler
- Draft the quarterly report
- Book the dentist
- After I pour my coffee → Take my vitamins
- When I sit at my desk → Write today’s top 3
- When my last meeting ends → Close the day
- 09:00Focus: quarterly report
- 11:00Team check-in
- 14:00Focus: client proposal
- Electricity · Due Thursday$84.50
- Phone plan · Due Saturday$25.00
Habits are when-then plans. Tick one off right from Today.
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What you can do
When-then habits with a tiny first step
The habit sheet asks for When (your cue), Then I will (the habit) and an optional Tiny first step. Schedule it Every day, on Some days, A few times a week or Whenever it fits.
Reminders tied to your day, not just the clock
Trigger a reminder At a time, After another habit or When a meeting ends, optionally only for meetings whose title contains a word like "standup". Reminders show while Thendoo is open in a browser tab.
Streaks that allow one off day a week
By default a streak keeps going after one missed day a week, and Skip today, no penalty never counts against you. A day you didn't do shows as a neutral grey "Not done" in the 12-week heat map, never red.
Routines you can run full screen
A routine is a list of up to 50 steps, each with a duration from 5 seconds to 4 hours. Press Start and each step counts down. When time is up it says "Move on when you are ready" and waits for you.
How habits feed your Today view
Today has a Habits card with what is scheduled for the day. You can tick a habit there, from its reminder by pressing Done, or on the Habits page. A When a meeting ends trigger fits well with Today, because it lands right after the meeting block on your timeline when there is a natural gap. Habits can also be shown as a layer on the Calendar.
Routines don’t sit on Today as items. They are something you start when the moment comes, such as the morning or the end of the workday, and they take over the screen so there is only one step to look at.
Who it suits, and what is different
The name Thendoo comes from “when X, then do Y”, the habit research the app is built on. So a habit here is never just “Meditate”. It is “When I sit down after lunch, then I will breathe for one minute”, with a first step small enough that it is hard to say no to.
This suits anyone who has dropped a habit app after one bad week broke a long streak. The default rule allows one off day a week (you can choose up to three in the API), skips are neutral, and today never breaks a streak. Weekly and flexible habits count weeks instead of days, so “three runs a week” isn’t judged on a Tuesday.
Questions
Can I track a number, like glasses of water or pages read?
Not yet. A habit is done or not done for the day, with no target count, unit or duration. If the count matters, you can split it into smaller habits, or set a weekly target with A few times a week.
Can I fill in days I forgot to check?
Not in the web app yet. You can tick or skip today's habits, and the history heat map shows the last 12 weeks, but past days can't be changed from it. A day you missed simply stays a neutral grey "Not done", and the default streak rule already allows one off day a week.
Do habits remind me on my phone?
Not today. Reminders appear in the in-app bell and as browser pop-ups while a Thendoo tab is open. A phone app is planned, and the At a place (phone app) trigger is saved but does not fire until then.
Do routines keep a streak?
No. Routines are a guided list you run when you need it, so there is nothing to keep up. Use a habit when you want a streak.
Give your brain one place to look.
Set up your first Today in about five minutes. Connect a calendar, add three things, start a focus session.