How your lock works.
The four ways a sentence can begin, how its length actually changes over time, and what happens once it's done.
🔒 Four ways to start
| Mode | How it works |
|---|---|
| Let Alpha decide | Set a maximum on the slider, and Alpha randomly rolls the actual length between 2 days and that maximum. The rolled number is shown to you right away - the length isn't kept secret, only the roll itself is out of your hands. |
| Exact lock | Choose the precise number of days yourself, starting today. |
| Continue an existing lock | Already mid-sentence somewhere else? Enter how many days have already elapsed and how many remain, and Tracker starts your record at the right point instead of day one. |
| Hand control to a Keyholder | Starts immediately once a linked Keyholder exists - see Linking with a Keyholder. You don't choose a duration at all; they set and adjust it. |
Starting a new lock always ends whatever lock you had running before.
📏 How the total length actually changes
Your lock's total is made of two parts: the days you started with and any penalty days added on top from refusing or missing tasks. Your current day counter climbs every real day that passes; once it passes the total, the lock is done. Rewards that shorten your lock (like a points shop redemption) reduce the base days you started with - they never erase penalties you've actually earned.
➕ Adding or removing days
If you're self-managing your own lock, you can add extra days to it yourself from Settings → Lock settings whenever you like. Once a Keyholder controls your lock, that becomes their call instead - they can add or remove days for you at any time from their panel.
🏁 When it ends
The moment your current day passes your total, your lock is automatically marked complete. From there you're free to start a new one whenever you're ready - the same four choices above, right on your Today page. If you're still linked to a Keyholder at that point, your next lock starts under their control again automatically.