Time Vault
Unlock schedules
Configure when vaulted content is accessible — time windows, day rules, always-locked, and how schedule conflicts resolve.
Quick answer
A schedule defines when your vault is locked. The default for new vaults is "always locked"; the more useful patterns are the time-based and day-based ones below.
Time windows
Set hours when content is unlocked. Outside the windows, locked.
Examples:
- Lunch + evening windows. Unlock social media 12–1 PM and 6–8 PM. Locked outside those windows. Useful for compulsive checking patterns.
- Single morning window. Unlock news 7:30–8:30 AM. Locked the rest of the day. Useful for staying informed without doom- scrolling.
- Specific tasks. Unlock writing/research sites 9 AM – 12 PM for focused-work blocks. Locked otherwise.
Add multiple windows in a single day by clicking Add window in the schedule editor.
Day schedules
Set rules per day of the week.
Examples:
- Weekdays vs weekends. Locked Monday–Friday, unlocked Saturday–Sunday. Useful for hobbies you enjoy on weekends but shouldn't pull you away during the week.
- Specific days. Unlocked Wednesdays and Saturdays only. Useful for content you want available on planned days only.
Combine with time windows for granular control — e.g. unlocked weekend evenings only, locked everywhere else.
Always locked
The vault stays locked indefinitely until you manually request an unlock. Useful for:
- Content you're trying to step away from entirely, with a safety valve for genuine need.
- Periods of intentional deep work (semester crunch, project push) where you want the vault on by default and unlock only with deliberate effort.
The bypass difficulty (Easy / Medium / Hard / Maximum) determines how the manual unlock works. See Creating a vault.
Edit a schedule
Open the vault
Dashboard → Time Vault → click the vault.
Click 'Edit schedule'
Schedule editor opens.
Modify windows or day rules
Drag handles on the time bar, toggle days, add/remove windows.
Save
Changes take effect immediately. The current lock state re-evaluates against the new schedule.
Schedule conflicts
If you have multiple vaults affecting the same content (one
locks instagram.com Mon–Fri, another locks it after 9 PM),
the most restrictive rule wins. So Instagram is locked on
Monday at 10 PM (both rules fire) and unlocked Saturday at 10
AM (neither fires).
To debug: open the vault page; the "Active locks" section shows which rules are currently firing on which content.
Timezones
Schedules run in your device's local timezone. If you travel:
- Same account, same timezone: schedule unaffected.
- Travel across timezones: schedule adjusts to the new local time automatically. A "9 PM lock" in New York becomes a "9 PM lock" in London after you arrive.
- Multiple devices in different timezones: each device runs on its own local time. The vault lock state is computed per device.
This is intentional: you usually want your evening lock to fire in the actual evening, not at the home-timezone 9 PM regardless of where you are.
Common pitfalls
Schedules so tight they prevent legitimate use
If your schedule blocks content you need for work or communication, you'll start carving exceptions or bypassing. Loosen the schedule rather than fighting it.
Treating midnight crossings as the same day
A schedule that locks "11 PM – 5 AM" spans two calendar days. The editor handles this automatically — just type the start and end times. Don't try to split into "11 PM – 11:59 PM" + "12 AM – 5 AM" unless you actually want a gap.
Next steps
- Managing vault content — adding and removing what's vaulted.
- Creating a vault — start over from the beginning if your first try isn't quite right.
Still need help?
Pick whichever way of getting help works best for you.
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