# If I get distracted, an agent yells at me

Published: 2026-08-12T00:00:00.000Z
Canonical: https://wow.pjh.is/journal/if-i-get-distracted-an-agent-yells-as-me

August experiment: when I start a session, a [task initiation gate](https://gist.github.com/peterhartree/097a8fd6cf1fc66e598be52f144a8185) reads the prompt and compares it to my day plan. If the task isn't on the critical path, it challenges me:

![Image](https://wow.pjh.is/static/images/blog/task-init-gate.jpeg)

After the challenge, I can type `#a` to capture and close the pane, or give a justification for why the task is kosher. If the agent agrees with the justification, it waves it through. If not, it blocks again:

![Image](https://wow.pjh.is/static/images/blog/task-init-gate-not-justified.jpeg)

The gate takes 0.1–5 seconds to run.[^1] Decisions are logged, of course, so we can iterate on the criteria. I'm early with this, but I think it's a keeper.

[^1]: Implemented as a `UserPromptSubmit` hook. Deterministic "green light" conditions wave some prompts through \~instantly. Those that need LLM judgement go to a fast model (currently: Luna) so the decision is made in 1–5 seconds.