What does it mean that progressive trigger refinement?

Start with broad triggers and narrow them as you learn what works.

Example: You want to practice deep breathing when you feel stressed. Your first trigger is 'whenever I feel tense.' That fires dozens of times a day — most of them trivial. After a week, you narrow it: 'when I notice my shoulders rising toward my ears.' After another week, you add a context filter: 'when I notice my shoulders rising during a meeting.' Now the trigger fires 2-3 times a day, exactly when it matters most. You didn't design that precision on day one. You earned it through three rounds of observation and adjustment.

Try this: Pick one trigger you currently use (or want to use) for a behavior you're building. Write it down exactly as it stands. Now run it for three days, logging every time it fires and whether the activation felt useful or wasted. At the end of three days, rewrite the trigger to be more specific based on what you observed. Run the refined version for three more days. Compare the two versions: which one produced more useful activations per total fires? You've just completed one refinement cycle.