Protocols
A protocol is a personal rule you hold yourself to, regardless of mood or circumstance. "I don't skip two days in a row" and "I don't work after 9 PM" are protocols. You can give a protocol an effect, which lets Pacts apply the rule to your pacts.
Protocols are optional. If you don't use them, you can hide the Protocols tab in Customization.
Create a protocol
- Open the Protocols tab and tap +.
- Write the rule under Commitment. For ideas, tap one of the examples under Need inspiration? to fill it in.
- Optionally add Details, like when the rule applies or why it matters.
- Optionally pick an effect under Add Effect (optional) and set its values. See Effects.
- Tap Add Protocol.
Effects
An effect is the part of a protocol that Pacts can act on. Each protocol has one effect at most. Some effects change how Pacts behaves. The rest are saved with the protocol and shown on its card as a reminder, but Pacts doesn't check them for you.
Effects Pacts applies
| Effect | What you set | What Pacts does |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduling | The days the protocol excludes | Grays out those days when you pick specific days for a pact, a weekly check-in day or custom check-in days. Also counts toward your Protocol Alignment score in Insights. |
| Time Rule | The latest hour, from 0 to 23. For example, 21 means no activity after 9 PM. | Shows a warning in Edit Pact when a pact's check-in time is later than this hour. |
| Streak Rule | The most days you'll skip in a row, from 0 to 7 | Shows a warning on a pact's screen when it's been that many days or more since your last daily check-in on it. |
| Motivation | Topic keywords, separated by commas | Shows the protocol as a Protocol reminder when you check in on a pact whose title contains one of the keywords. |
| Frequency | The minimum times per week, from 1 to 7 | Counts toward your Protocol Alignment score. Pacts set to Every day or Weekdays count as aligned. |
If more than one protocol has the same kind of effect, Pacts combines them. For example, it excludes every day any Scheduling effect excludes, and uses the earliest Time Rule hour.
Effects saved as reminders
| Effect | What you set |
|---|---|
| Duration | Minimum minutes per session |
| Time Window | A start and end hour |
| Dependency | Keywords for activities you must do first |
| Cooldown | Minimum hours between sessions |
| Daily Limit | Maximum times per day |
| Location | Keywords for where the activity must happen |
| Social | Whether it requires an accountability partner |
| Reward | Keywords for pacts to complete before this one |
| Progressive | Weeks to reach full difficulty, and a starting difficulty percentage |
Add or change an effect
- On a protocol with no effect, tap Add effect.
- On a protocol with an effect, tap the pencil next to the effect summary.
Both open Tag Protocol. Choose an effect, set its values and tap Save Effect. Tap Skip to close without saving.
If a protocol card shows Detected: with Confirm, Edit and Dismiss buttons, the effect isn't applied until you tap Confirm. Edit opens Tag Protocol, and Dismiss removes the effect.
The Protocols tab
The tab lists your protocols with an accent stripe on the left of each card. Each card shows the rule, its details and its effect, such as "excludes Sat, Sun" or "max 1 skip day". Use the search field to find a protocol by its text or details.
The Identity over motivation banner at the top explains what protocols are for. Tap the x to hide it.
Smart Suggestions
Once you have at least one protocol, Pacts looks at your check-in history and can show up to five Smart Suggestions at the top of the tab. Suggestions are calculated on your iPhone. They include:
| Suggestion | When it appears |
|---|---|
| Consider excluding a day | You skip a weekday more than 40% of the time, at least 3 times. |
| Set an earlier check-in deadline | More than half of your check-ins happen after 10 PM. |
| You're a morning person | More than 70% of your check-ins happen between 6 AM and noon. |
| Prevent consecutive skips | You've skipped two or more days in a row more than once. |
| Formalize your 5-6 day rhythm | You complete a pact about 5 or 6 days a week. |
| Set a minimum session length | Your notes often describe sessions as quick, short or rushed. |
| Limit daily commitments | You have 3 or more active pacts and complete fewer than 60% of their check-ins. |
Tap a suggestion to open New Protocol with the rule and effect filled in. Review it and tap Add Protocol to keep it.
Edit or delete a protocol
Tap ... on a protocol card:
- Edit Protocol lets you change the Commitment and Details. Tap Save Changes.
- Delete Protocol removes the protocol and its effect permanently. Tap Delete to confirm.
Your pacts aren't changed when you edit or delete a protocol.