Writing Plans

Plans prevent wasted work. Write one before implementing anything significant.

Plan Format

1. Goal - one sentence, what success looks like
2. Approach - which option from brainstorming, and why
3. Steps - ordered list, each step verifiable
4. Risks - what could go wrong, and mitigation
5. Definition of Done - how you'll know it's complete

OpenClaw-Specific: Checkpoint Steps

For tasks that may span multiple sessions, add explicit checkpoint steps: [ ] Step 3: Create the API endpoint [CHECKPOINT - save progress here]

At each checkpoint, update memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md with current state.