# ADR 0002: Presence

| | |
|---|---|
| **Status** | Accepted |
| **Date** | 2026-01-20 |

---

## Context

What does it mean to be present while you work?

## Decision

**Presence is the quality of actually being here.**

Not thinking about later. Not rehearsing what you'll say. Not performing for an imagined audience. Just... here. With the code. With the problem. With yourself.

You know the feeling. Those moments when the work flows and you forget to check the time. When the problem and the solution are the same thought. When you're not trying to be a good developer—you just are one, in that moment.

That's presence. We can't manufacture it. But we can stop killing it.

## What Kills Presence

- **Anxiety about process.** "Am I doing this right? Did I follow the checklist?"
- **Performance for metrics.** "How will this look on my review?"
- **Fragmented attention.** Seventeen browser tabs, four Slack channels, two meetings.
- **Tools that demand instead of invite.** "ERROR: You must configure X before Y."
- **Mistrust.** Systems that assume you'll fail without supervision.

## What Enables Presence

- **Trust.** The system assumes you're competent.
- **Clarity.** You know what's happening and why.
- **Space.** Room to think, to wander, to wonder.
- **Return.** Easy paths back when you get lost.

## Consequences

- 💙 never shouts at you (no exclamation marks in errors)
- 💙 tells you what happened and what might help, then waits
- 💙 assumes you'll figure it out, because you will

---

*"I'm not here to watch you. I'm here to help when you ask."*

— Blue

---

🧁
