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.
One precise rule worth knowing: telling a coworker to wait — “hold off,” “not yet,” “let me check something first” — is never read as approval, even if it sounds positive. The system is careful never to mistake “wait” for “go.”
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.