diff --git a/.github/workflows/day1-ci.yml b/.github/workflows/day1-ci.yml
index e7efd92..c6caa32 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/day1-ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/day1-ci.yml
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ name: Day 1 - CMake & CI
 
 on:
   push:
-    branches: [ main, template ] # CI will trigger on any push to main or template branch
+    branches: [ main, template, 'fix/*', 'feature/*', 'day*' ] # CI will trigger on main, template, fix, feature, and day-specific branches
     paths:
       - 'day1-cmake-ci/**' # CI will only trigger on changes to day1-cmake-ci directory
   pull_request: # CI will trigger on any pull request changing day1-cmake-ci directory
@@ -37,32 +37,20 @@ jobs:
       if: matrix.os == 'windows-latest'
       run: choco install cmake
 
-    - name: Configure project (Windows) # run the CMake build configuration step  
+    - name: Configure project (Windows) # force Ninja generator for single-config behavior
       if: runner.os == 'Windows'
       working-directory: day1-cmake-ci
-      run: cmake -B build # -B is the build directory flag
+      run: cmake -B build -G "Ninja" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug
 
     - name: Configure project (Unix) # run the CMake build configuration step
       if: runner.os != 'Windows'
       working-directory: day1-cmake-ci
-      run: cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug # -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug is the build type flag, needed in Unix at the configuration step
+      run: cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug
 
-    - name: Build project (Windows) # run the CMake build step
-      if: runner.os == 'Windows'
-      working-directory: day1-cmake-ci
-      run: cmake --build build --config Debug # --config Debug is the build type flag, needed in Windows at the build step
-
-    - name: Build project (Unix) # run the CMake build step
-      if: runner.os != 'Windows'
+    - name: Build project # run the CMake build step
       working-directory: day1-cmake-ci
       run: cmake --build build
 
-    - name: Run tests (Windows) # run tests with CTest (Windows only - the --config Debug flag is required and not supported on Unix)
-      if: runner.os == 'Windows'
-      working-directory: day1-cmake-ci/build
-      run: ctest --verbose --config Debug # --config Debug is needed in Windows at the test step
-
-    - name: Run tests (Unix) # run tests with CTest
-      if: runner.os != 'Windows'
+    - name: Run tests # run tests with CTest
       working-directory: day1-cmake-ci/build
       run: ctest --verbose
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/day1-cmake-ci/README.md b/day1-cmake-ci/README.md
index e6c9562..9b75068 100644
--- a/day1-cmake-ci/README.md
+++ b/day1-cmake-ci/README.md
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ A template-based calculator library demonstrating modern C++ build practices wit
 ```
 day1-cmake-ci/
 ├── src/
-├── src/
 │   ├── calculator.hpp      # Template calculator functions + helpers
 │   └── main.cpp            # Interactive calculator application
 │   └── CMakeLists.txt      # Build config for header-only interface library target and executable target for interactive calculator
@@ -60,7 +59,7 @@ cmake --build .
 
 ## Configuring Github Actions CI
 The GitHub Actions workflow for this project is defined in `../.github/workflows/day1-ci.yml`.  
-It provides automated CI (Continuous Integration) for every push or pull request that affects the `day1-cmake-ci` directory.
+It provides automated CI (Continuous Integration) for every push or pull request that affects the `day1-cmake-ci` directory. Beware how you set up your branches - workflows will run on updates to all of them by default.
 
 **Key features:**
 - **Triggers:**  
@@ -76,7 +75,7 @@ It provides automated CI (Continuous Integration) for every push or pull request
 
 **What this means for you:**  
 Every time you push changes or open a pull request, your code will be automatically built and tested on all three major platforms.  
-If any step fails (e.g., build error, test failure, or missing dependency), the workflow will mark the CI run as failed, so you can catch issues before merging. There are a _lot_ of ways these steps can go wrong, especially if you're trying to do cross-platform development. **Consider setting up CI for the platform you are using, and adding other platforms as a stretch goal.**
+If any step fails (e.g., build error, test failure, or missing dependency), the workflow will mark the CI run as failed, so you can catch issues before merging. There are a _lot_ of ways these steps can go wrong, especially if you're trying to do cross-platform development. **Consider setting up CI for the platform you are using, and adding other platforms as a stretch goal.** If you are on Windows, in particular, this step may be a bit more difficult to get right (that's usually the case with Windows) - generating the Debug build has to use the correct generator.
 
 **File location:**  
 `cpp-perf-foundations/.github/workflows/day1-ci.yml`