Why this matters
Without this, “I asked for a competitor report” could quietly turn into three days of premium research you never meant to pay for, or a coworker running off with the wrong scope entirely. The plan checkpoint exists so you’re never surprised by what a task turned into, or what it cost — you see the shape of the work before it happens, not after.What you actually see
The plan tells you three things, plainly:What it'll produce
The actual deliverable — a report, a dashboard, a set of drafts.
What it'll use
Which specialist capabilities or tools come into play, named individually — not a vague “I’ll look into it.”
What it'll likely cost
A rough range, like “this will likely fall in the 1,000–2,500 credit range” — always framed as an estimate, never a hard cap.
How you respond
You just reply however you naturally would — there’s no special syntax:Approve
Approve
“Go ahead,” “looks good,” or even just asking “is this running yet?” — all of these count as approval. The system is deliberately lenient about recognizing when you’re ready to proceed, including reading impatience as a green light.
Refine
Refine
Ask for a change — “also cover competitor X,” “drop that section” — and the coworker updates the plan and shows you the new version. There’s no limit on how many rounds this takes.
Cancel
Cancel
“Never mind,” “let’s skip this” — nothing runs, nothing is charged.
Can you skip it?
Only if you say so yourself, clearly, at the time you send the request — something like “skip the plan, just do it.” A real, in-the-moment statement is required; it’s not a setting you turn off once and forget, and vague urgency (“this is time-sensitive!”) doesn’t count as declining it. For a normal request, expect the checkpoint every time.How this connects to Deep Work
The same principle — real, explicit confirmation, not just enthusiastic wording — governs switching a task into Deep Work mode. Saying your request is “comprehensive” or that you want it “done thoroughly” doesn’t automatically trigger Deep Work on its own; either the coworker proposes it as part of the plan and you confirm, or you ask for it directly.What this is not
This isn’t a formality you click through — until you approve, no billable work happens, and the coworker genuinely won’t proceed. It’s also not a one-time account setting; every new task gets its own checkpoint, because every task is a different scope and a different cost.How this connects
Draft Review
The optional second checkpoint, later in the same task.
Tasks Overview
The full picture of how a task moves from creation to done.