principles-check

name	principles-check
description	Evaluate efforts, ideas, or time allocation against guiding principles. Use when deciding whether to pursue something, reviewing completed work, or ideating on what deserves attention.
allowed-tools	Read

Principles Check

Evaluate any effort, idea, or time allocation against guiding principles.

When to Use

• Before starting: Should I spend time on this?
• After completing: Was this a good use of time?
• Ideating: Which of these ideas best fits the principles?
• Feeling scattered: What should actually get attention?
• Reviewing output: Did this week align with what matters?

The Principles

Source: resources/guiding-principles.md

If no principles file exists, offer to help the user define some. Common principle categories:

Mindset

• Building things that compound vs one-offs
• Skills vs money focus
• Long-term vs reactive thinking

Building

• Protecting time/constraints
• Rhythm vs sprints
• Breadth vs depth at different stages

Foundation

• Health as multiplier
• Presence and relationships
• What enables everything else

Execution

For a Specific Effort/Idea

Read the principles file, then evaluate against each:

## Principles Check: [Effort Name]

| Principle | Score | Reasoning |
|-----------|-------|-----------|
| [Principle 1] | Strong/Moderate/Weak/Neutral | Why |
| [Principle 2] | ... | ... |
| ... | ... | ... |

**Overall Alignment**: Strong / Moderate / Weak / Misaligned

**Verdict**: [Pursue / Defer / Decline / Reconsider approach]

**Key Insight**: [One sentence on what this evaluation reveals]

Scoring:

• Strong: Directly advances this principle
• Moderate: Somewhat aligned, indirect benefit
• Weak: Minimal connection
• Neutral: Not relevant to this principle
• Negative: Works against this principle

For Comparing Options

When deciding between multiple ideas/efforts:

## Principles Check: Comparing Options

| Principle | Option A | Option B | Option C |
|-----------|----------|----------|----------|
| [Principle 1] | Strong | Weak | Moderate |
| [Principle 2] | Moderate | Strong | Weak |
| ... | ... | ... | ... |

**Recommendation**: Option [X] because [reasoning]

**Trade-off acknowledged**: [What you're giving up]

For Time Allocation Review

When reviewing a period (week/month):

## Principles Alignment: [Period]

### Where Time Went
[Summary of major efforts]

### Principle Coverage

| Principle | How It Showed Up | Gap? |
|-----------|-----------------|------|
| [Principle 1] | Built X, published Y | No |
| [Principle 2] | Learned Z | No |
| [Principle 3] | ... | Yes - reactive mode |
| ... | ... | ... |

### Principles Neglected
- [Principle]: [How it was neglected]

### Adjustment for Next Period
- [Specific action to better align]

Interpretation Notes

Not every effort needs to score high on all principles. The framework helps make trade-offs explicit:

• A quick task might score low on "compound" but high on "protect the constraint" (clearing the decks)
• Deep work might score low on "present when present" but high on "skills lead"
• Family time scores high on "present" and "relationships" but may be neutral on "compound"

The goal isn't perfect scores. It's conscious allocation.

Integration

• Weekly review: Include principles alignment check
• Before major commitments: Run principles check
• When feeling scattered: Use to clarify priorities
• Ideation sessions: Filter ideas through principles

Red Flags

Watch for patterns:

• Consistently weak on "protect the constraint" = overcommitment
• Neglecting "health" or "present" = foundation erosion
• All "validate wide", never "master deep" = perpetual exploration
• Chasing outcomes without building skills = short-term trap