Everything you need to know to get started — and get the most out of your habits.
A PACT is a commitment to a specific healthy habit — not a vague goal, but a concrete, repeatable action you can check off every day. The word PACT stands for:
Credit where it's due: The PACT framework was developed by Anne-Laure Le Cunff, founder of Ness Labs and author of Tiny Experiments. We built Recuperatus PACT around her methodology because we believe it's the most practical and psychologically sound approach to building sustainable habits. We highly recommend her work at Ness Labs and the book.
Example: Instead of "I want to eat better" (a goal), a PACT might be "Refined sugar free days — 4 times per week." Clear, repeatable, and easy to check off.
Each PACT is anchored to one of the eleven pillars of the Recuperatus framework — a research-backed set of lifestyle factors that support both recovery and proactive health. You don't need to work through them in order. Start with whatever feels most relevant to you right now.
Click any letter below to learn more about that pillar on the Recuperatus website.
The most common mistake with new habits is starting too big. A PACT you actually do beats an ambitious one you abandon after a week.
Start with one PACT. It's tempting to create five at once. Resist. One PACT done consistently is worth more than five done sporadically.
Be specific. "Exercise more" is a goal. "30 minute walk — 5 times per week" is a PACT. The more specific, the easier it is to check off honestly.
Set a realistic frequency. If you're new to daily habits, start with 3-4 times per week rather than every day. You can always increase it later.
Check in on the day. The daily check-in is itself a habit. You can log retrospectively up to 7 days back, but the real value comes from the daily discipline of logging in real time.
Not sure where to start? When creating a PACT, tap Examples to browse real habit ideas across every RECUPERATUS attribute. Tap any example and it fills in the form for you.
An accountability partner is someone who can see your progress on a specific PACT. Research consistently shows that sharing a commitment with another person significantly increases the likelihood of following through.
You choose which PACTs to share and with whom. Your partner receives an email invitation — they don't need a Recuperatus PACT account to be invited, they'll be guided to create one free. To invite a partner, set the PACT's visibility to Partners or Public — private PACTs can't be shared.
Reactions appear on your PACT detail page. When a partner sends you encouragement, you'll see a notification on your dashboard and their reaction in a feed at the bottom of that PACT's detail page. It's a small thing that makes a real difference.
You can make individual PACTs public so anyone with the link can see your progress — no account required. Public PACTs are great for sharing on social media, with friends, or as a personal commitment device ("I told the internet I'd do this").
When a PACT is public, it gets a shareable URL at /p/{id}.
Your public profile at /u/{username}
lists all your public PACTs in one place.
Visibility is per-PACT. Each PACT has its own visibility setting (Private, Partners-only, or Public). You can have some public and some private at the same time.
You control it. Change visibility at any time from the PACT detail page. Links go to a "no longer available" message if you switch back to private.
It takes about two minutes to set up. No credit card required.
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