# Post Scheduling Strategy

Reference for calculating optimal posting schedule based on weekly goal and content mix.

## Optimal Posting Slots

Based on `weekly_goal` from state file:

### 2x/week
| Slot | Day | Time (CET) | Rationale |
|------|-----|------------|-----------|
| 1 | Tuesday | 08:30 | Peak B2B engagement window |
| 2 | Thursday | 12:00 | Lunch-break engagement peak |

### 3x/week (default)
| Slot | Day | Time (CET) | Rationale |
|------|-----|------------|-----------|
| 1 | Tuesday | 08:30 | Peak B2B engagement window |
| 2 | Thursday | 12:00 | Lunch-break engagement peak |
| 3 | Saturday | 10:00 | Weekend catch-up readers, less competition |

### 4x/week
| Slot | Day | Time (CET) | Rationale |
|------|-----|------------|-----------|
| 1 | Monday | 09:00 | Week-start motivation content |
| 2 | Tuesday | 08:30 | Peak B2B engagement window |
| 3 | Thursday | 12:00 | Lunch-break engagement peak |
| 4 | Saturday | 10:00 | Weekend catch-up readers |

### 5x/week
| Slot | Day | Time (CET) | Rationale |
|------|-----|------------|-----------|
| 1 | Monday | 09:00 | Week-start motivation content |
| 2 | Tuesday | 08:30 | Peak B2B engagement window |
| 3 | Wednesday | 08:30 | Mid-week thought leadership |
| 4 | Thursday | 12:00 | Lunch-break engagement peak |
| 5 | Saturday | 10:00 | Weekend catch-up readers |

## Scheduling Algorithm

When assigning dates to batch-created posts:

1. **Start from next available optimal slot** after today
2. **Skip slots that already have queued posts** (check queue.json)
3. **If all slots this week are taken**, spill into next week
4. **Assign in slot order** (earliest available first)

### Slot Assignment Logic

```
Given: weekly_goal, today's date, existing queue entries
1. Get the slot template for this weekly_goal (tables above)
2. Find current ISO week
3. For each post to schedule:
   a. Find next available slot (date >= tomorrow, no existing queued post)
   b. Assign that date + time
   c. Mark slot as taken
4. Return list of (date, time) assignments
```

## Format Rotation Rules

Avoid monotony by rotating formats:

- **No consecutive same format** — If post N is "standard", post N+1 should be "carousel", "quick", "video", etc.
- **Suggested rotation**: standard → carousel → quick → standard → video
- **Format weights**: 50% standard, 20% carousel, 15% quick, 15% video

## Pillar Balance Rules

Ensure coverage across expertise areas:

- **No consecutive same pillar** — Enforced by topic-rotation-gate hook
- **No pillar >50% in a 14-day window** — Also enforced by hook
- **Ideal distribution**: Each pillar appears at least once per 2 weeks
- **When batching**: Spread pillars evenly across the week

## Time Zone Notes

- All times are CET (Central European Time)
- Norwegian audience peaks: 7:30-9:00 and 11:30-13:00
- For international audiences, 08:30 CET catches both EU morning and US east coast pre-work
- Saturday posts perform well 09:00-11:00 CET

## Queue Integration

When posts are scheduled via `/linkedin:batch`:
1. Each post gets a `scheduled_date` and `scheduled_time` from this algorithm
2. Entry is added to `assets/drafts/queue.json`
3. Session-start hook shows today's scheduled posts
4. `/linkedin:publish` marks posts as published and updates state
5. `/linkedin:calendar` shows the full schedule view
