Evening protocol · 10 minutes

Your brain doesn't know
work is over.

Attune is a 10-minute end-of-day shutdown ritual for high performers. Four evidence-backed steps to close open loops, decompress, and start tomorrow sharper. Not a meditation app.

NO ACCOUNT
LOCAL ONLY
~10 MIN · HONEST
Attune
Mon · Apr 20

Good evening, Alex.
Ready to close out?

Tonight's protocol
Begin Attune
4 steps · ~10 min · finish in bed
Stress
Breath
Journal
Top 3
Streak
8
days
Avg stress
3.2
past week
Last
Yesterday
The problem

You close the laptop. Your brain doesn't close.

Unfinished tasks keep firing in the background — a cognitive loop called the Zeigarnik effect. That's why you lie in bed at 11:47 drafting Slack replies in your head. Scrolling a feed doesn't close the loops. Neither does a glass of wine.

Four specific things do. We stitched them into a ten-minute ritual.

The protocol

Four steps.
Each one does something specific.

1
Check-in · 30 sec
Name the load.
One tap on a 1–5 scale. Optional one-liner for what's driving it. Naming your state is the first move in detaching from it.
CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE

Employees who mentally disengaged in the evening reported lower fatigue and higher next-morning energy.

2
Breath · 90 sec
Bring the nervous system down.
Box breathing, 4-7-8, or Wim Hof — your choice. Equal-length exhales engage the vagal brake, the body's built-in stress shutoff. Haptic-guided.
POLYVAGAL THEORY · NORTON

Slow, paced exhalation activates the ventral vagal complex — parasympathetic activation, measurable HRV shift.

3
Journal · 2 min
Two prompts. Short answers.
"What went well today?" and "What's still weighing on me?" Two to three sentences each. Even a light-touch version of expressive writing works.
PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE · UT AUSTIN

Measurable drops in cortisol and improved immune markers after four short writing sessions. Effects held at 6-month follow-up.

4
Top 3 · 1 min
Tomorrow's three things.
Three numbered fields. Specific verbs, no categories, no tags. Close the open loops by committing them to paper.
J. EXP. PSYCH. · BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Writing a specific to-do list before bed cut time to fall asleep by 9 minutes vs. journaling about completed tasks.

Read the research →
Step 2 · in motion

Inhale. Hold. Exhale. Hold.

Three patterns to choose from: Box (4-4-4-4), 4-7-8, or Wim Hof. A radial bloom guides your pace. Taptic feedback on each phase transition — no staring at a timer.

What it isn't

Not a meditation app.
Not a wellness app. Not a journal.

We built Attune for the person who won't touch Calm. Skeptical, evidence-driven, allergic to ambient whale sounds. Here's what we left out on purpose.

We don't do
×
Guided visualizations
×
"Forest rain" soundscapes
×
Streak shaming push notifications
×
Mid-session upsells
×
Required account or email
×
Cosmetic "journal themes"
We do
One fixed flow. No customization paralysis.
Inline citations on every step
10 minutes. Actually 10 minutes.
All data lives on your phone, forever
Free core protocol, no account needed
Export your journal as Markdown or PDF
The evidence

Built on research.
Not vibes.

Every step traces to a specific, peer-reviewed finding. The app shows you the citation inline as you go. Read the papers — decide for yourself.

Check-in
Sabine Sonnentag
University of Mannheim · 2012
PSYCHOLOGICAL DETACHMENT FROM WORK
Breathwork
Stephen Porges
Indiana University · 2011
THE POLYVAGAL THEORY · W.W. NORTON
Journal
James W. Pennebaker
UT Austin · 1997
WRITING ABOUT EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCES
Top 3
Michael Scullin et al.
Baylor University · 2018
EFFECTS OF BEDTIME WRITING

Attune won't cure insomnia, fix burnout, or replace therapy. It's a 10-minute protocol grounded in specific findings. If something is breaking — talk to a clinician, not an app.

Privacy

Your worst days
stay on your phone.

The whole point of journaling is radical honesty. That doesn't work if a server is watching.

No account
No email, no password, no "sign in with Apple." Download the app and start.
Local-only storage
Entries live on your device. No cloud sync. No backup server. Nothing leaves.
No analytics
No Mixpanel, no Amplitude, no Facebook pixel. Signal comes from App Store ratings and one feedback button.
Pricing

The ritual stays free.
Forever.

The core protocol — including history, breathwork, and morning re-entry — is free, unlimited, forever. Pro adds export and platform integrations.

Free
$0/ forever
  • Full 4-step evening protocol
  • Unlimited sessions
  • All breathwork patterns — Box, 4-7-8, Wim Hof
  • Session history + stress trends
  • Morning re-entry — Top 3 AM companion
  • Evening reminder · Local storage
Download free
Pro
$3.99/ month · or $29.99/yr
  • Everything in Free
  • Export journal as Markdown or PDF
  • Apple Watch breathwork · Shortcuts
Start Pro
Questions

Fair ones we get a lot.

Is this just a meditation app?

No. There are no visualizations, body scans, or guided meditations. Attune is a structured protocol — four defined steps with defined durations — grounded in research on work recovery, not contemplative practice.

Does it really take ten minutes?

Yes, and it's honest about it. 30 seconds for the check-in, 90 seconds of breathwork, two minutes of journaling, a minute for tomorrow's top 3. We don't pad it with "gentle nudges" or "optional deepening."

What if I already journal?

Keep doing it. Attune's journal step is deliberately minimal — two prompts, three sentences each — because that's what the Pennebaker protocol validates. It complements a longer practice; it doesn't replace it.

Why no streaks as the main mechanic?

Streaks are a retention hack, not an outcome. They also make you feel worse on the day you miss. We show streak count, but the primary signal is your stress trend over time — which is the thing you're actually trying to move.

Is there an Android version?

Not at launch. V1 is iOS only. The sooner the iOS version covers its costs, the sooner Android becomes possible.

Can I export my data?

Yes. Pro users can export the full journal as Markdown or PDF at any time. Your data is yours — local and always accessible.

I don't believe apps change behavior.

Fair. Most don't. Attune is designed to be a small, fixed ritual you attach to an existing trigger — shutting the laptop or getting into bed. The ritual is what does the work; the app is just the guide.

Ten minutes tonight

Start the shutdown.
Sleep on the rest.

Free, forever, no account. Works offline. Your data never leaves the phone.

Download on the App Store See the protocol