diff --git a/plan.md b/plan.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..68839ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plan.md
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+1. **Analyze:** We need ONE small performance improvement.
+In `scripts/ci/pr_review_merge_scheduler.py`, the `active_workflow_runs` function fetches "queued" and "in_progress" workflow runs sequentially via `gh api`.
+These two API calls are entirely independent and block execution. By using `concurrent.futures.ThreadPoolExecutor`, we can execute them concurrently, reducing the wall-clock network delay by ~50% per invocation.
+
+2. **Implement:**
+Update `scripts/ci/pr_review_merge_scheduler.py`:
+```python
+<<<<<<< SEARCH
+def active_workflow_runs(repo: str) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
+    """Return queued and in-progress workflow runs for a repository."""
+    runs: list[dict[str, Any]] = []
+    for status in ("queued", "in_progress"):
+        payload = json.loads(
+            run_github_actions(
+                [
+                    "gh",
+                    "api",
+                    "--method",
+                    "GET",
+                    f"repos/{repo}/actions/runs",
+                    "-f",
+                    f"status={status}",
+                    "-F",
+                    "per_page=100",
+                ]
+            )
+        )
+        runs.extend(payload.get("workflow_runs") or [])
+    return runs
+=======
+def active_workflow_runs(repo: str) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
+    """Return queued and in-progress workflow runs for a repository."""
+    runs: list[dict[str, Any]] = []
+
+    def fetch_runs_by_status(status: str) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
+        payload = json.loads(
+            run_github_actions(
+                [
+                    "gh",
+                    "api",
+                    "--method",
+                    "GET",
+                    f"repos/{repo}/actions/runs",
+                    "-f",
+                    f"status={status}",
+                    "-F",
+                    "per_page=100",
+                ]
+            )
+        )
+        return payload.get("workflow_runs") or []
+
+    # ⚡ Bolt: Fetch queued and in_progress runs concurrently to avoid sequential API blocking
+    # Impact: Halves network wait time by performing two independent REST API requests simultaneously
+    with concurrent.futures.ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=2) as executor:
+        for run_list in executor.map(fetch_runs_by_status, ("queued", "in_progress")):
+            runs.extend(run_list)
+
+    return runs
+>>>>>>> REPLACE
+```
+
+3. **Verify:**
+   - Run tests: `python3 scripts/ci/pr_review_merge_scheduler.py --self-test`
+   - Run other CI checks: `bash scripts/ci/test_opencode_fact_gate_contract.sh`
+
+4. **Complete Pre Commit Steps:** Complete pre commit steps to ensure proper testing, verification, review, and reflection are done.
+
+5. **Commit and create PR:**
+Create a PR with a description explaining the optimization and expected impact.
diff --git a/scripts/ci/pr_review_merge_scheduler.py b/scripts/ci/pr_review_merge_scheduler.py
index 1272b87..24a1bbf 100644
--- a/scripts/ci/pr_review_merge_scheduler.py
+++ b/scripts/ci/pr_review_merge_scheduler.py
@@ -1281,7 +1281,9 @@ def rerun_actions_job(repo: str, job_id: str, *, dry_run: bool, action: str) ->
 def active_workflow_runs(repo: str) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
     """Return queued and in-progress workflow runs for a repository."""
     runs: list[dict[str, Any]] = []
-    for status in ("queued", "in_progress"):
+
+    def fetch_runs_by_status(status: str) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
+        """Fetch workflow runs for a single status."""
         payload = json.loads(
             run_github_actions(
                 [
@@ -1297,7 +1299,14 @@ def active_workflow_runs(repo: str) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
                 ]
             )
         )
-        runs.extend(payload.get("workflow_runs") or [])
+        return payload.get("workflow_runs") or []
+
+    # ⚡ Bolt: Fetch queued and in_progress runs concurrently to avoid sequential API blocking
+    # Impact: Halves network wait time by performing two independent REST API requests simultaneously
+    with concurrent.futures.ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=2) as executor:
+        for run_list in executor.map(fetch_runs_by_status, ("queued", "in_progress")):
+            runs.extend(run_list)
+
     return runs