My first leader in IT told me something early on: have a checklist. It sounded simple then. It matters more now.
Today an agent can write the code, run the build, and move on before you’ve finished your coffee. That speed is useful. It also makes it easy to lose track of what actually got done.
So I kept the checklist, and I gave it to the agent. Here is the loop.
How it works
- The plan builds the checklist. My first prompt produces the plan, and the plan produces the checklist in Notion. One row per build step, in order.
- The agent does the work. Each build prompt runs and the code gets written.
- The checklist gets updated. The last step in my prompt template says: when you finish, take the summary of what you did and check off the matching rows in Notion. Claude, through an MCP server connected to Notion, does exactly that.
Here is what that looks like partway through a build:
| Task | Done | Output | Phase | Prompt | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Repo and plan scaffold | ✅ | Repo, plan doc, ignore file | Foundation | 00 | Done |
| Environment discovery | ✅ | Environment inventory | Foundation | 01 | Done |
| Publisher and solution setup | ✅ | Publisher, solution, variables | Foundation | 02 | Done |
| Discovery addendum | ✅ | Naming and prefix check | Foundation | 01.1 | Done |
| Reference tables | ✅ | Core lookup tables | Data model | 04 | Done |
What I get back:
- A running record of where the build stands, without rereading prompt history.
- A place to pick up after a break, a meeting, or a long weekend.
- A way to review what was completed, not what I assume was completed.
- Visibility from my phone, because Notion lives in the cloud and the checklist goes where I go.
The agent does the work. The checklist tells me the truth about it.
Tools change. The discipline doesn’t. Thank you, Dave.
If you build with agents, add one line to your prompt template: when finished, update the checklist.