Three occurrences in 30 days = pattern candidate…
When a behavior, reaction, or outcome recurs three or more times across a 30-day period, classify it as a pattern candidate requiring structural analysis rather than treating it as coincidence.
When This Fires
- The same frustration, error, or reaction occurs for the third time in a month
- A colleague makes the same complaint about your work or process for the third time
- The same type of bug appears for the third time in different contexts
- Any recurrence that you've been treating as independent events
Common Failure Mode
Treating each occurrence as independent because the surface details differ: "The Monday frustration was about the meeting, the Wednesday frustration was about the email, the Friday frustration was about the code review." The surface details differ, but the structural pattern (being excluded from decisions) might be identical. Pattern detection requires looking beneath surface differences to structural similarities.
The Protocol
When something recurs for the third time in 30 days: (1) Flag it as a pattern candidate. (2) List all three occurrences with dates and contexts. (3) Ask: "What structural factor is common across these occurrences?" Look beneath surface differences for shared triggers, shared environments, or shared actors. (4) If a structural factor emerges → investigate and address the cause. If no structural factor is apparent after analysis → log and monitor for a fourth occurrence.