diff --git a/.cursor/rules/story-kickoff.md b/.cursor/rules/story-kickoff.md
index 7e2f37b..7acce45 100644
--- a/.cursor/rules/story-kickoff.md
+++ b/.cursor/rules/story-kickoff.md
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 ---
-description: When starting Jira story work, create story branch, load issue + repo context; no implementation code until a plan exists under docs/plans/.
+description: When starting Jira story work, move issue To Do → In Progress when applicable, create story branch, load issue + repo context; no implementation code until a plan exists under docs/plans/.
 alwaysApply: true
 ---
 
@@ -12,6 +12,12 @@ When the user starts work on a **Jira story** (e.g. issue key `NS-14`, phrases l
 - Fetch the issue when possible (e.g. Atlassian MCP `getJiraIssue`), or use a URL / pasted description the user provides.
 - Capture summary, description, acceptance criteria, and anything explicitly **out of scope**.
 
+## 1a. Board status (To Do → In Progress)
+
+- After the issue is known, if its status is **To Do** (or your workflow’s equivalent “not started” state), **transition it to In Progress** so the board matches active kickoff.
+- When Atlassian MCP is available: `getTransitionsForJiraIssue` to find the transition id for **In Progress**, then `transitionJiraIssue`; otherwise do the same in the Jira UI.
+- If the issue is already **In Progress** or later, do not move it backward.
+
 ## 1b. Story branch
 
 - **Create and use a new branch** for this issue as soon as story work begins (planning counts). Name it with the **Jira key first** and a short kebab-case slug (e.g. `NS-15-position-state-api`); see [jira-git-naming](jira-git-naming.md) and [git workflow](git-workflow.md).