Part II · Compounding harness · 09
Habits that keep quality
Write your always/never list. Automation is not maturity.
18 min
Why habits beat more tools
01
Brief
Spine on disk
02
Generate
Agent writes files
03
Open file
Offline check
04
Edit
3 concrete fixes
05
Export
Handoff zip
You can install every design skill and still ship sludge. Habits are the human loop that agents cannot fake: open the file, cut the lie, date the export, refuse auto-post.
Always (starter set: rewrite in your voice)
- Open the exported file yourself before anyone else sees it
- Date-stamp filenames (YYYY-MM-DD)
- Put absolute project path in every long brief
- Load DESIGN.md for anything client-facing
- Log image prompts next to files
- Human-approve anything public
Never (starter set)
- Auto-post from the agent
- Accept numbers the model invented
- Skip offline open “because the preview looked fine”
- Install video engines into this profile “for later”
- Store API keys in DESIGN.md or briefs
- Ship without a handoff folder when the work matters
Write habits.md
Steps · tap to check0/3
Quality is a loop: brief → generate → open file → edit → export → handoff. Skipping “open file” is how garbage ships.
habits.md skeleton
# habits.md
## Always
1. ...
## Never
1. ...
## Mistakes I made this course
1. ...
## When tired
1. ...
Proof of completion
design-lab/habits.md contains at least 5 Always and 5 Never rules in your own words (not a paste of this page).
Proof · this device0/1
Stored on this device only, not sent anywhere.