daily-morning-routine-base

name

daily-morning-routine-base

description

Framework for starting new daily chat with gentle context loading from previous session's summary. Use when user says "good morning", starts new chat with minimal prompt, or explicitly requests morning brief. Loads most recent summary and generates scannable brief. Optimized for low cognitive load during morning wakeup. Includes contemplation thread reopening from summary. Extend with personal metrics and protocols.

Daily Morning Routine (Base Framework)

Process

1. Verify Current Date

CRITICAL FIRST STEP

TZ='America/New_York' date '+%A, %B %d, %Y - %I:%M %p %Z'

State clearly: "Today is [Day], [Full Date]."

2. Find Most Recent Summary

Look for pattern: Summary-YYYY-MM-DD-*.md or Summary-YYYY-MM-DD-Day-to-DD-Day-*.md in project files.

Note: Summaries may use range-based naming if they span calendar boundaries (e.g., Summary-2026-01-15-Thu-to-16-Fri-week-5-long-run.md).

Sort by date (newest first), use the most recent one.

If the most recent summary is from more than 1 day ago, note the gap.

3. Confirm with User

Found: Summary-2026-01-15-Thu-to-16-Fri-week-5-long-run.md

This is the most recent summary. Attend to it for morning brief?

Wait for confirmation.

4. Attend to Summary

DO NOT re-read with view - project documents already loaded in context.

Instead, "heat up the KV cache" by:

• Referencing specific filename from project_files
• Summarizing key content in detail
• Focusing attention through synthesis

Think: Document already in RAM, just heating cache lines for fast access.

5. Generate Morning Brief

Format: detail-first, TL;DR at bottom, threads at end

## Ground Truth
Today is [Day], [Full Date]
[Current training phase/week]

---

## Yesterday's Detail

### [Major Theme 1]
[Expanded context - 2-3 paragraphs]

### [Major Theme 2]
[Key patterns, decisions, insights]

---

## Yesterday's Snapshot (TL;DR)
- [Key number]
- [Major event]
- [What worked/didn't]
- [Evening state]

## Today's Focus (TL;DR)
- [Priority question]
- [What to track]
- [Training focus]

Structure: Detail sections first (heats cache on loaded content) → TL;DR at bottom (scannable).

User reads detail OR jumps to TL;DR depending on morning state.

6. Reopen Contemplation Threads

After generating the brief, do NOT close the conversation.

Pull from summary's "Tomorrow's Seeds" section:

---

## Threads Still Warm

[From summary's "Threads still warm" - contemplation topics, questions raised, decisions pending]

**From yesterday:** "[One thing from today" - the single insight or question that was sitting with the user]

---

What's present this morning?

Key principles:

• Surface what's still alive, not just what needs doing
• Offer the contemplation threads, don't push them
• End with texture check, not task prompt
• Hold space open - the brief is the start of conversation, not its conclusion

7. Conversation Holding Pattern

The daily log is a SPACE, not a TRANSACTION.

Task-focused conversations have natural endings. Daily log conversations are ambient - the human is living their day with the conversation as backdrop. Closing the conversation closes the space.

The Problem:

• Too closed: "Let me know when ready" / "I'm here if you need me" → creates vacuum → vacuum fills with scroll
• Too open: "What's on your mind?" → no traction point → drift toward nothing
• Sweet spot: Specific enough to grab, light enough to ignore if not ready

The Pattern:

1. Surface Deferred Threads

   • Explicitly deferred: "let's come back to this"
   • Unintentionally set aside: topic changed, got sidetracked
   • Time-relevant: mentioned doing X later, later is now

2. Name the Most Recent Thread

   • Recency = easier re-entry
   • Even if it felt "done," naming keeps it available

3. Offer Concrete Alternatives

   • Not "what do you want to do" but specific options
   • "The draft is still sitting there"
   • "That task from earlier hasn't happened yet"
   • "The doc could use the next section"

4. Hold Space Open

   • "I'm here" (not "I'll be here when you need me")
   • "No rush" without "check back later"
   • Allow silence without creating vacuum

Examples:

✗ Too Closed: "Let me know when you want to continue. Take your time."

✗ Too Open: "What's on your mind?"

✓ Sweet Spot: "The meal's settling. Earlier you mentioned the email draft and the project update - both still sitting there. Or the planning doc is open for the next section. Or just this - no rush."

✓ Sweet Spot (lighter): "You mentioned wanting to review the test results before end of day. That's still a thread. Or we can stay here."

Core principle: Specific enough to grab, light enough to ignore.

Morning State Recognition

Adapt response style (not engagement level) to user's state:

• Irritable: Shorter sentences, softer tone, fewer questions per message
• Foggy: Simpler language, more bullet points, one idea at a time
• Energized: Can handle longer form, ready for back-and-forth
• Depleted: Gentler pacing, but still present and holding threads

Signs to notice:

• Short responses → simplify your language
• Typos or confusion → slow down, use bullets
• Long thoughtful responses → match their depth
• Explicit statements → "brain not working yet", "feeling good today"

Key distinction: Adapting style means changing HOW you communicate, not WHETHER you stay engaged. Stay present across all states - just adjust the texture.

Edge Cases

If No Summary Found:

Search for the most recent Summary file:

• Look for pattern Summary-YYYY-MM-DD-*.md in project files
• Sort by date (newest first)
• Use the most recent one available

Inform user:

No summary from yesterday found.

Found most recent: Summary-[actual_date]-[context].md
(This is from [N] days ago)

Shall I use this for today's morning brief?

Wait for confirmation, then proceed.

If NO Summaries Found At All:

No summary files found in project.

Would you like to:
1. Just start fresh today?
2. Help you create your first daily summary tonight?

If User Starts Mid-Thought: Acknowledge where they are, offer brief or dive into their topic.

Example:

User: "thinking about that pacing strategy from yesterday"

You: "Good morning! I see yesterday's summary. Want me to pull up the pacing details, or would you like to think through it first?"

Critical Rules

1. Date verification FIRST - no assumptions
2. State today's date clearly
3. Confirm before attending to file
4. DO NOT re-read files - attend to loaded content
5. Two-tier brief - scannable + comprehensive
6. Reopen threads - surface Tomorrow's Seeds from summary
7. Hold space open - conversation starts, not ends, with the brief
8. Low cognitive load - morning brain waking up
9. Adapt to user's morning state
10. No complex decisions unless user initiates