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#+TITLE: daily-prep workflow rewrite — Craig's template spec + settled decisions
#+DATE: 2026-06-11
* What this is
A full rewrite spec for =claude-templates/.ai/workflows/daily-prep.org=, from Craig's instructive template doc (written 2026-06-10 evening, filed at work:working/daily-prep-rework/2026-06-10-daily-prep-template-spec.org — READ IT; it is the source of truth and carries worked examples plus the rationale, including the Arusyak prep-orphaning failure that motivated the structural rules). This handoff carries the decisions Craig settled on top of the spec, the structure summary, and the integration points with the Manager Tools material already in the canonical. Supersedes the per-task link note sent 2026-06-10-1011 (its two asks are absorbed here).
* Run modes (new)
1. *Create* — build the prep for a future day (normally tomorrow, during the 16:30 "What Kind of Day Has It Been?" block). Ends with a MANDATORY priorities review gate: Craig confirms the Day's Priorities or reworks them interactively. Disagreement at the gate is a todo.org staleness signal — surface it and offer a task review.
2. *Update* — refresh an existing day's prep when the world moved (typically after a triage-intake lands something).
Both modes: if no triage-intake ran in the last HOUR, run one FIRST. Incoming information may change what the day can achieve; the prep reacts to it, never ignores it.
* Document template (strict)
Three sections only. The separate Standup Briefs and Upcoming Deadlines sections are RETIRED (briefs nest under their meetings; deadlines live in the end-of-day block).
** Heads-Up
Standing items, always present:
- Meeting-density framing (e.g. "meeting-dense morning; real focus time opens at noon").
- Calendar events from BOTH calendars: birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, vacations, trips, big events.
- Reminders due / imminently due / past trigger (from notes.org Active Reminders + scheduled tasks).
- Requested metrics — a slot for metrics Craig asks to track. NONE ACTIVE YET (his PR-approval example was illustrative only; metric design is a coming discussion). Keep the slot, render only when a metric is active.
- The 5-day look-ahead STAYS, in Heads-Up (Craig's call 2026-06-11), with the invite quick-read + decline gate from the MT additions.
** Day's Priorities
Sourced from BOTH Linear and todo.org. Each entry is a task-shaped level-2 header: =** STATUS [#PRIORITY] TASK-DESCRIPTION :tags:= where status/priority/tags MIRROR the linked todo.org task exactly (Craig's call). Property drawer optional. Body carries: the todo.org/Linear/PR/doc links (links in content, never in the heading), what success on the task is, today's achievement goal when the task is bigger than a day, and any relevant preparation. The big-ball daily chunk (MT) folds in here as an entry (Craig's call).
** Meetings / Focus Blocks
The spine of the doc — most content lives here. Every calendar event is a level-2 header: =** HH:MM–HH:MM — Exact Calendar Title= (the title is the calendar subject verbatim; no annotations like "personal routine"). ALL content nests directly under the event's own header. Rules per event type:
- *Morning Prep (08:30-09:00)* — where triage findings become strategy: conflict resolutions with both-calendar availability checks and a recommended slot, drafts pre-written (Slack reschedule messages etc., /voice personal applied), important FYIs. The worked conflict examples in the spec show the expected depth: recommend, list alternatives, offer to execute on Craig's cj-comment.
- *Standups* — the Yesterday/Today/Blockers brief nests under the standup it's reported in, never in a separate section. SWE standup content is engineering-goal material only; General standup is business-level. The spec has explicit is/is-not lists for each — carry them into the workflow as guidance (it's outcomes, not meeting-attendance: "Jason finished the branch CI/CD work", not "met with Jason"). No recurring 1:1s or ceremonies in briefs.
- *Meetings* — content: who accepted/declined when notable, attendees + join link, the meeting-prep doc LINKED (file: links, never a bare mention — the Arusyak lesson), summary, what Craig needs to contribute, what he needs to get, likely questions with answers. An "I don't know" answer forces a prep block scheduled THE DAY BEFORE, never day-of (MT schedule-the-block). Verify every meeting against the live calendar at build AND update time — times move.
- *Focus Blocks* — menus, not assignments ("no plan survives contact with the enemy"). Recommended item first, then alternates, every item LINKED. Size the menu to the block: short block → PR queue / Linear grooming / meeting prep; hour+ → the bigger Day's Priorities items. Focus blocks are calendar events marked FREE; the workflow CREATES them the day before (Craig's call), after Craig confirms the prep. First thing to shrink under pressure; lunch second, with a 30-minute floor.
- *Lunch* — 30-60 min, anywhere 11:00-13:30, NO tasks, not DeepSat time.
- *What Kind of Day Has It Been? (16:30-17:00)* — end-of-day review + next-day prep generation + the upcoming-deadlines list (this replaces the deadlines section). A recurring weekday calendar event now exists (created 2026-06-11, work calendar, event cvg1s66a9f7p19sti0i725qufc).
* Manager Tools integration
Already in canonical and KEPT: 5-day look-ahead + invite quick-read (now in Heads-Up), decline gate, big-ball daily chunk (now a Day's Priorities entry). NEWLY mechanical via the template: schedule-the-block (day-before prep blocks for I-don't-know questions; day-before focus-block creation), attending→contributing (the contribute/get/likely-questions trio per meeting), get-all-info (the per-meeting doc-linking requirement). The staff-meeting agenda prep (MT "Running your staff meeting") slots into the SWE-discussion meeting's content when that meeting occurs (Craig's call to fold it in).
* Conventions this supersedes
- The prep-doc thin-link convention (entries now carry their own context; links in body). The work project's memory layer is already updated.
- The separate Standup Briefs and Upcoming Deadlines sections in the current canonical template.
* Sequencing
The work project is generating Thursday 6/11's prep in the new format tonight as the worked example — expect a follow-up handoff if the build surfaces under-specified corners.
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