When you see repetition, forced output, or errors — switch…

When This Fires

• You notice yourself producing the same idea in different words (creative depletion)
• Error rate increases visibly during analytical work (analytical depletion)
• You feel impatient or disengaged during a social interaction (social depletion)
• Any work session where output quality is visibly declining despite continued effort

Common Failure Mode

Interpreting degradation markers as laziness and pushing through. "I just need to focus harder." But the markers aren't motivation failures — they're resource depletion signals. Pushing through a depleted pool produces low-quality output while preventing the pool from recovering. The "disciplined" response actually costs more than the "lazy" response of switching pools.

The Protocol

When degradation markers appear: (1) Notice the specific signal — repetition? errors? disengagement? (2) Name it: "My [creative/analytical/social] pool is depleted." (3) Switch to a different pool type immediately. Don't finish the current block — the remaining time would be negative-value. (4) Write a ready-to-resume note for the depleted task (see Write a one-minute ready-to-resume note before every task…). (5) Return to the depleted pool type only after at least one full block of different-pool work.