# What is a nonzero day?

*Updated 29 September 2026*

**In short:** A nonzero day is a day when you did at least one thing toward a goal, however small. In Nonzero, a day counts when at least one habit is marked Done or Minimum. It's a zero only if something was due and nothing got done.

## How Nonzero counts a day

Each habit has a full target and a minimum. Every day you mark a habit one of four ways, and each has its own shape, so you can read your month in any colour.

- **Done** — You hit the full target.
- **Minimum** — You did the small version. The day still counts.
- **Rest** — A planned day off. It neither counts nor breaks anything.
- **Missed** — It was due and didn't happen. Never shown in red.

## Never miss twice, worked through

Your streak counts nonzero days in a row. One zero is forgiven if the next day that counts is nonzero: it shows as a gap, and the streak doesn't grow. Two zeros in a row end it.

| Day | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Was | Done | Done | Done | Zero | Done | Rest | Done | Zero | Zero | Done | Done | Done |
| Streak | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3, gap | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5, gap | ended | 1 | 2 | 3 |

Best streak 5, and 2 comebacks: days 5 and 10.

## Why a minimum helps

Starting is often the hardest part. A minimum small enough for your worst day turns that day into a small win instead of a broken chain. On good days you do the full target; on hard days, one page is enough.

## How long does a habit take?

In a 2010 study, people took a median of 66 days for a new daily habit to feel automatic, with a range from 18 to 254 days. Nonzero shows each habit's way there: “Becoming a habit · 41 of 66 days”, then “Settled in”.

## Words we use

- **Nonzero day** — A day with at least one habit marked Done or Minimum.
- **Zero day** — A past day when something was due and nothing was done.
- **Minimum** — The smallest version of a habit that still counts, such as one page.
- **Never miss twice** — One zero is forgiven if you come back the next day; two in a row end the streak.
- **Gap** — A forgiven zero. The streak neither grows nor breaks.
- **Comeback** — A nonzero day that comes straight after a zero.
- **Rest day** — A planned day off for a habit. It neither counts nor breaks a streak.

## Questions

### Does a rest day break my streak?

No. Rest days are neutral. They don't add to the streak, and they don't break it.

### Can I fix yesterday?

Yes. Today and yesterday stay open. After that the day is settled, so your history doesn't shift under you.

### Isn't doing the minimum cheating?

No, it's the point. The minimum is what keeps a hard week from ending a good habit.

## Sources

- Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C. H. M., Potts, H. W. W. and Wardle, J. (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), 998–1009.

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Nonzero · https://nonzero.mse.today/en/method/nonzero-days