# Session Discipline

## Scope

One task per session. Don't mix implementation with communication drafting, transcript search, or strategic planning. These have different context needs and dilute each other.

## Duration

Cap sessions at 2-3 hours. Use `/handoff` at natural breakpoints rather than letting auto-compaction degrade context. If the session has overflowed context once, strongly consider starting a new session.

## Context preservation

- Update `status.md` in the optimization project after completing any milestone
- When compacting, preserve: modified files list, current branch, VM state, test commands used, key decisions made
- Use subagents for exploration to keep main context clean

## Avoid polling

Don't use `/loop` to poll agent status -- it burns context on repetitive status messages. If you need to monitor a long-running agent, check the output file directly.
