Everything above assumes solo recovery. If you have a partner, the calculus changes.
Partnered sex is not the same input as solo sex with porn-shaped fantasy. It is embodied, present, responsive to another person, tied to emotional context. The reboot framework as community practice typically focuses on solo habit and porn use rather than partnered intimacy — though it is worth saying clearly that the clinical research on partnered sex during a reboot is limited. There is no strong evidence either way.
For many partnered men, the right framing is: abstain from porn, abstain from solo masturbation during the reboot window, continue being sexual with your partner normally. Some couples find this strengthens intimacy — the energy that was going into solo habit redirects toward partnered connection. Others find it awkward at first and then better. A smaller number find it frustrating; if your partner is unavailable, unwilling, or the relationship is strained, abstinence pressure from a reboot can make things worse, not better.
There is no right answer for every couple. What matters is: (1) be honest with your partner about what you are doing, (2) do not treat them as a reboot tool, and (3) if partnered sex is also porn-scripted — if your body responds to specific mental content from porn more than to them — that is a separate problem that partner-abstinence alone will not fix.
If you are partnered, use this course's framework but adapt it. If you are single, the solo-reboot framing applies more directly.
Partnered sex is not the same brain input as solo masturbation with fantasy. Adapt the reboot framework to your situation — don’t apply it rigidly.
If you have a partner: tell them one sentence of what you are working on this week. If you are single: write one sentence on what you want your next sexual relationship to feel like, different from the last one.