Chat is working memory - a terrible system of record
The restart loop isn’t usually “the model got worse overnight.”
It’s that Monday has no durable context.
Chat is great working memory.
It’s a terrible system of record.
When intent, decisions, and next actions stay trapped in the thread:
• Saturday’s demo feels real
• Sunday one change breaks three things
• Monday rebuilds from vibes
What works instead (boring on purpose):
• one-sentence definition of done for this slice
• a short decisions log outside the chat
• next actions written before you close the laptop
If the only place “the project” lives is scroll history, you don’t have a project you have a conversation that will die.
I wrote a short $19 finish-system PDF for non-coders who vibe-code (not a prompt pack). Free 10-min diagnostic first if useful.
Free Pyramid Reality Check:
https://durablefoundations.gumroad.com/l/pyramid-reality-check
Book ($19 PDF):
https://durablefoundations.gumroad.com/l/ycoqh
—DurableFoundations
the decisions log is the right idea but it decays for a predictable reason: you write it at exactly the moment you least want to, mid-flow or at the end of the day, and it is the first thing to get skipped. the version that survives is one you derive from artifacts you already produce, commit messages, pr descriptions, the diff itself, so the record is a byproduct rather than a second discipline you have to keep up.
Exactly - a second discipline you only do when tired is dead on arrival.
The version that survives is byproduct: done sentence + constraints + “still works” check derived from what you already ship (diff, commit note, one re-run), not a diary you dread writing.
That’s the finish map I wrote for non-coders. Free 10-min check:
https://durablefoundations.gumroad.com/l/pyramid-reality-check