- Restate the ask in one sentence back to the assigner (deliverable, format, audience, due, charge code, hours budget) — misunderstood tasks die here, cheaply.
- Spawn/open the project note; assumptions table live from minute one.
- Folder per File Naming and Project Folders; drop source files into
_RAW.
- Look before working: similar past project? (search vault + firm archive) governing agency note current? references edition confirmed?
- Plan the hours: budget ÷ tasks; flag at 60% burn if trajectory misses — early flags are professionalism, late ones are apologies.
- Timesheet discipline: log daily against the RIGHT code (daily-note mirror makes Friday honest); utilization is a career metric — know your target and your number.
- Deliver via QAQC System → send-with-context email pattern (Wording Bank and Email Patterns).