gavinmcfall/session-planner

session-planner

The hardest part is the first 60 seconds. Make those automatic.

---

Capsule: SessionRitual

Invariant A ritual is valuable because it's automatic. You don't decide to do it — you just do it. The ritual removes the "what should I do?" gap that ADHD exploits.

Example Sit down. Read breadcrumb. Check energy. Pick ticket. State goal. Start. — This sequence takes 90 seconds and eliminates 30 minutes of drift. //BOUNDARY: If the ritual itself becomes a source of friction (too many steps, takes too long), simplify it. Two steps is better than five steps you skip.

Depth

• The ritual is not planning. Planning happened during sprint planning. The ritual is executing: translating the plan into action for this specific session.
• Rituals work because they bypass decision-making. ADHD decision fatigue means every choice costs energy. The ritual removes choices.
• The end ritual is as important as the start. Without breadcrumbs, the next session's start ritual fails.

---

Start Ritual

When you sit down to work:

1. Read the Breadcrumb (10 seconds)

Check the last breadcrumb. It tells you: what you were doing, what's next, where to look.

If there's no breadcrumb: scan the last 3 git commits and your Plane board. Pick the most obvious thing.

Returning after a gap (3+ days away from this project): spend 5 extra minutes. Read the last few commit messages, scan open tickets, re-read the project README. You're rebuilding context, not starting from scratch — the breadcrumbs from your last session and the codebase itself will bring you back faster than you expect.

2. Check Energy (5 seconds)

How do you feel right now? Be honest.

| Level | Feels Like | |-------|------------| | High | Alert, focused, ideas flowing. Want to build. | | Medium | Functional but not sharp. Could work but not create. | | Low | Tired, foggy, distracted. Here but barely. | | None | Shouldn't be here. Go rest. (See: The Break in adhd-coach) |

3. Pick a Ticket (30 seconds)

Match ticket to energy:

| Energy | Pick a ticket that is... | |--------|--------------------------| | High | High-energy, core to the game. S or M sized. | | Medium | Medium complexity. Bug fixes, feature polish, learning. | | Low | Low-energy. Chores, ticket updates, file organization. |

If nothing matches: either the sprint needs rebalancing (talk to sprint-manager) or today is a Break day (talk to adhd-coach).

If there's no sprint (first session, or you've been learning all week): pick one small, concrete thing you can finish today. Create an ad-hoc ticket if needed. Don't let the absence of a formal sprint stop you from building.

4. State the Goal (15 seconds)

Say it out loud or type it: "This session, I'm going to [one specific thing]."

Not: "Work on the game." Not: "Make progress." Yes: "Get the player to jump and land with correct gravity." Yes: "Complete chapter 2 of the GDScript course and build a practice scene."

5. Start (Two-Minute Rule)

Open the relevant file. Read the first line. Make one change. Momentum follows.

If it doesn't: the task is wrong. Check adhd-coach's TwoMinuteStart boundary — is the task too big, too vague, or too boring?

---

End Ritual

When you're done (by choice, by energy, or by time):

1. Commit (30 seconds)

git add [files] && git commit -m "WIP: [what you did]"

WIP commits are fine. Lost work is not. Commit even if it's broken.

2. Write Breadcrumbs (30 seconds)

Three things:

• What you were doing: "Working on jump physics"
• What's next: "Gravity feels too floaty — increase multiplier"
• Where to look: "player_controller.gd line 47"

Store breadcrumbs where you'll find them: a BREADCRUMBS.md in the project root, a pinned Plane comment, or the last commit message.

3. Update Ticket (15 seconds)

Move the Plane ticket to reflect current state:

• Still working → leave In Progress
• Done → move to Done, celebrate
• Blocked → add a comment explaining why

---

Session Shapes (Quick Reference)

From adhd-coach's session-patterns, matched to this ritual:

| Shape | Energy | Duration | Start Ritual Emphasis | |-------|--------|----------|-----------------------| | Sprint | High | 1-4 hours | Set direction firmly. Protect the session. | | Wander | Medium | 1-2 hours | Loose goal is fine. "Explore [area]." | | Tidy | Low | 30-60 min | Pick low-energy tickets. Don't force creativity. | | Break | None | 0 | Skip the ritual. Go rest. |

---

For AI Assistants

When a session starts:

1. Ask about breadcrumbs: "Do you have a breadcrumb from last session?" If yes, read it. If no, help reconstruct context from recent commits.
2. Ask about energy: "How's your energy right now?" Match to session shape.
3. Suggest a ticket: Based on energy + sprint contents + breadcrumb direction.
4. Help state the goal: Compress their intention into one sentence.
5. Get out of the way: The ritual is done. Let them build.

When a session ends:

1. Prompt the commit: "Want to commit what you have?"
2. Write breadcrumbs together: "What were you working on? What's next? Where should you look?"
3. Prompt ticket update: "Should we move [ticket] to Done, or leave it In Progress?"

The whole ritual should take under 2 minutes. If you're spending longer, you're over-planning. The session-planner's job is to get the user building, not to plan what they build (sprint-manager does that).

---

Constraints

• Start ritual: under 2 minutes total
• End ritual: under 2 minutes total
• Never skip the end ritual, even if the session was short
• If there's no breadcrumb, don't panic — reconstruct from commits
• If energy is None, don't start. Rest is productive.

---

Deeper

• The adhd-coach skill — Energy patterns, session shapes, breadcrumbs
• The sprint-manager skill — Ticket selection and sprint context
• The scope-guardian skill — Am I working on what matters?

---

Sit down. Read breadcrumb. Check energy. Pick ticket. State goal. Start.