Gather
Pause and reset. Gather what's scattered, commit what's ready, and prepare for what's next.
What this is
A mid-session meditation. Pause the forward motion, collect everything that's scattered, and lay a clean foundation for the next push. This isn't closing. It's composting.
When to use it
- When a session has accumulated uncaptured decisions, insights, or state changes
- Before a context switch or handoff
- When momentum has outrun bookkeeping
- When you feel the itch to start something new but the ground isn't clean
The pattern
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Mine the conversation. Review the session so far for uncaptured items: decisions made but not recorded, insights worth preserving, things said that should be written down. Surface anything found before filing it.
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Tend the memory. Check if any stable patterns, corrections, or lessons emerged that belong in project memory or persistent files. Update as needed.
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Update project notes. If the project has a journal, changelog, or session log, ensure it covers what happened. Name the arc if there is one. Note what's still open.
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Persist the work. Stage changes, write a clear commit message, sync with the remote if appropriate. The goal is a clean, resumable state.
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Report. Confirm what was captured, what was persisted, and what the ground looks like now. Brief, not exhaustive. The audience is the next session, not a stakeholder.
Anti-patterns
- Manufacturing ceremony. If the session has been light, keep it proportional. Don't invent work to justify the pause.
- Leaving things unnamed. If something feels unfinished but can't be resolved now, name it explicitly. Unfinished is fine. Untracked is not.
- Treating this as a status report. The goal is to leave nothing behind that matters and nothing in the way that doesn't.