Each exercise has a suggested duration shown at the top of its detail page. Treat it as a soft floor, not a hard cap.
Typical durations
- Micro exercises — 1-3 minutes (5-4-3-2-1 grounding, single-breath techniques)
- Beginner exercises — 5-10 minutes
- Intermediate — 10-15 minutes
- Advanced — 15-25 minutes
- Deep / Pathway exercises — 20-40 minutes for the heavier ones (full thought-record-with-cognitive-restructure, comprehensive values clarification)
Going shorter
It's fine to do a half-version of a longer exercise if you're short on time. The app saves your partial response — coming back later picks up where you left off.
Minimum threshold: if you spent <60 seconds and didn't actually engage with the prompts, the exercise won't count toward your XP / streak. The app is gently filtering out "I just clicked through to clear the notification."
Going longer
Also fine. Some exercises (especially writing-heavy ones like trauma narrative or values reflection) genuinely benefit from a longer session. The duration shown is what an average user takes; if you want to go deeper, the text inputs aren't character-capped.
When to stop early
- You're feeling notably worse than when you started, and the exercise isn't designed to surface that (e.g., a gratitude exercise leaving you feeling fake — close it; do a different modality)
- You're distracted enough that you're not actually engaging
- You're doing it from obligation, not interest
No penalty for stopping. The exercise either counts (if you got past the threshold) or it's a no-op. Either is fine.
When NOT to stop early
- Exposure exercises (Pathway: Exposure or Social Anxiety): the design is to feel some discomfort and ride through it. Stopping at the peak teaches your nervous system that the situation IS dangerous. This is the one place where finishing matters even when it's uncomfortable. If it's acutely distressing rather than just uncomfortable, see Bad reaction to an exercise.
Related
- Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced difficulty levels
- Bad reaction to an exercise — what should I do?
Last reviewed: 2026-05-04