Dough rises when you leave it alone. Poking it every five minutes is how you get a brick.

Certain things need absence, not attention. Dough works because nothing is touching it, and every poke is somebody confusing worry with help. Checking is handling, and handling is precisely what the process needed you to quit.

Set a time and do not look before it. The application you sent, the friend who asked for a bit of space, the habit you started Monday. Write the date on your hand if you have to, then let the thing rise while you are busy somewhere else.