Small tests of character are almost always predictable: the late-night text, the abrupt meeting push, the parenting scramble. The Pocket Protocol is a practical, low‑drama discipline: write three 10–15 word if‑then cards (If X happens → Then I do Y), carry them in your pocket, and pull one when pressure arrives. James explains the behavioral logic—conditional plans reduce decision friction and protect standards—and gives selection rules (high-frequency triggers, low-cost actions, dignity-preserving repairs). Listeners get three plug‑and‑play cards for work pushback, late-night impulse, and family interruption with exact wording and tonal coaching so cards land generous, not robotic. The episode includes a one‑minute installation ritual to write and tuck your cards tonight, a seven‑day micro‑trial to test usage and outcomes, and a simple nightly check to measure calm and fewer compromises. Practical, portable, and immediately usable: keep standards where you go, not where you remember to be them.