We do not work hours. We work until the goal.
Each day has one goal, stated up front, with the exact tasks that prove it. The day is won when the goal is true, whether that takes three hours or ten. Once it is won, everything else is bonus. Progress is shared: what one of us checks, the other sees.
Plain-English glossary
GCP Google Cloud Platform, Google's paid service where our code runs.
API the doorway one program uses to talk to another (Gmail API = the doorway into Gmail).
Service account a robot identity our code signs in as, instead of a human login.
DWD domain-wide delegation, the Google setting that lets our service account act as the client's inbox.
Webhook a URL where another service pushes news to us the moment something happens.
Pub/Sub Google's message courier; Gmail drops notifications there and it delivers them to us.
Firestore our database; every email, lead, call, and approval is a record in it.
Secret Manager the locked vault for API keys and passwords; nothing secret ever sits in code.
CI continuous integration: tests that run automatically on every code change and block bad code.
A2P 10DLC the phone-carrier registration program that legally allows a business to send automated texts.
HMAC-signed link a link with a tamper-proof seal; change one character and it stops working.
E.164 the one standard phone format (+19035551234) so numbers always match.
The bonus pile
Won the day early? Pull from here. None of this counts toward the build, none of it is owed, and none of it may start before the day's goal is true.