Stack time + location + preceding action into compound…

When This Fires

• When designing triggers for high-priority agents where reliability is critical
• When a single-channel trigger has been failing — add redundant channels rather than strengthening the one channel
• When building time-based triggers that need to survive schedule disruptions (The first five consecutive executions of a new trigger…)
• During trigger design for environments where conditions vary day to day

Common Failure Mode

Stacking triggers that aren't independently redundant: "At 9 AM at my desk after coffee" where the desk and coffee always happen together at 9 AM. If these three components always co-occur, they're not redundant — they're the same trigger described three ways. True stacking means each component can independently activate the agent: "Even if I skip coffee, being at my desk at 9 triggers the behavior."

The Protocol

(1) Start with the primary trigger channel (usually temporal for scheduled behaviors). (2) Add a spatial anchor: where will you be when this trigger fires? Make the location itself a cue. (3) Add a state anchor: what action will you have just completed? Use that completion as a behavioral chain link. (4) Verify independence: would each channel fire the agent if the other two failed? If not → the channels aren't truly redundant. Redesign for independence. (5) During the first five executions (The first five consecutive executions of a new trigger…), pay attention to which channel actually activates you. The dominant channel is your primary; the others are backup. (6) If one channel consistently dominates and the others never fire → the redundancy isn't working. Strengthen the backup channels or replace them with more salient alternatives.