Routines & chains

The habit-stacking formula — “after X, I will Y” — is the most reliable way to make a behaviour automatic, because it borrows the momentum of something you already do. In Recura that formula isn’t advice; it’s the data model.

Chains

Any task can declare that it comes after another. Chained tasks show their state honestly on Today:

• a step whose prerequisite isn’t done yet shows ⏳ waiting on X;
• the moment you complete X, the next step unlocks (you’ll see the unlock note when it happens).

Chains cross routines and people freely. “Order water-filter” can be yours; “install water-filter” can be your partner’s, unlocked by your completion. A chain is a household fact, not a personal list.

The graph editor

On the web app (Tasks → graph), the whole chain structure is one picture: every task a node, every comes-after an arrow. You can

• drag one task onto another to link them,
• insert a step into the middle of a chain — the new task inherits the neighbours’ routine, rhythm, context, and assignee so it lands ready,
• sever any link from the task’s detail panel (Do first / Then unlocks).

On Android, the 🔗 Chain sheet shows the same structure as a vertical list you can reorder by dragging; branching points anchor the list and the full picture stays a web-editor affordance.

Routines

A routine (“block”) is a scheduled run: a name, a time, a duration budget, and a set of tasks. Tasks join a routine two ways:

• Pinned — explicitly added; the routine is part of the task’s identity.
• Auto-fill — the routine sweeps in matching tasks by context or tag, when you turn that on. Good for “any Indoor task that’s due.”

The timer

Starting a routine (phone) creates a session: your slice of the routine’s tasks, one at a time, with a per-task clock. Order follows your sort — except where a chain says otherwise; chains always win, because “unload” before “run” isn’t an ordering preference, it’s impossible.

Finish, skip, or run over — the session records what actually happened, and that measured record is what powers the honest history in Timers & measurement.