Ship or Slip—How We Actually Run on State → Intent → Transaction
“Backlogs don’t drown us; unfinished state transitions do.” — Flight Notes, 2025-05-05
If you scroll our task management system right now, you’ll see cards that move effortlessly from Todo to Done and others that ricochet between columns. The difference isn’t man-hours; it’s whether each card honors the chain of State → Intent → Transaction.
1 State ▸ Pin Reality Before You Touch It
State = the precise, observable snapshot now.
Real-World Snapshots
Label states in ≤ 7 words. Anything longer is storytelling.
Flight Notes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
2 Intent ▸ Declare the Smallest Valuable Delta
Once the frame is frozen, ask: What single change moves this asset to its next useful state?
Our Micro-Intents
- Tenacity server → “Install Tailscale and join Tailnet.”
- Manifesto → “Generate 420×300 header image.”
- Training plan → “Swap Body-by-Beast from Tue → Wed.”
- Baserow → “Add HTTPS termination via Caddy.”
Notice the verbs: install, generate, swap, add. Each intent fits on one line and is owner-clear.
If the intent needs two people or two days, you’re staring at two intents pretending to be one.
3 Transaction ▸ Stamp the New State Into History
A Transaction is the irreversible record that proves the intent happened:
No transaction → no progress—just theater.
Failure Modes We’ve Hit & Fixe
Call to Reflection
Pick one stalled card.
- Write its State in ≤ 7 words.
- Slice a one-line Intent.
- Define the concrete Transaction that will seal the change—commit, upload, or tag.
Do it now. Tomorrow’s board will look lighter, not because work vanished, but because every piece finally has gravity.
Flight Notes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
