If somebody opens a packing app before each trip, the product may be doing its job. A daily-active-user chart could still look unimpressed.
Retention needs a time scale that fits the activity. Daily, weekly and monthly views are useful only when you understand what a successful return should look like.
Name the next occasion
Ask when the user naturally needs the product again. A medication-related workflow, a weekly household task and an annual document renewal operate at very different frequencies. Do not infer medical behavior or compliance from app use; focus on the specific task your product supports.
For a hypothetical event-planning tool, the next meaningful return might be preparing another event, not checking a dashboard the following morning.
Track completion and reuse separately
A product can help someone finish a one-off task successfully without generating recurring use. That may support a one-time business model. It may be a poor fit for an ongoing subscription unless there is continuing value.
Record whether users complete the original job, return when the job recurs and choose the product again when alternatives are available. Those are distinct questions.
Resist manufacturing a habit
A reminder is helpful when it arrives at a relevant moment. Daily notifications for an occasional task can create annoyance rather than retention. Give users control over timing and frequency.
If the natural usage cycle is long, use intermediate signals carefully: saved work, a scheduled next task or a repeat invitation may be informative, but they are not equivalent to a completed future use.
Before celebrating or worrying about a retention chart, write one sentence describing the expected return occasion. Then check whether your event definitions can observe it.
The goal is a product people choose when they need it. Making an app demand attention every day is a different objective, and not always a useful one.