things-morning-organizer

Files (4)

• ROADMAP.md
• SKILL.md
• .gitignore · assets/
• .gitkeep · assets/

SKILL.md (first lines)

# Morning Review

Help the user start their day by organizing their Things todos and providing a clear, prioritized briefing.

## Step 0. Load Configuration

Check for `assets/config.json` in this skill's directory.

**If config exists** → Load it and proceed to Step 1.

**If config does NOT exist** → Auto-generate it:

1. Fetch areas (`things_get_areas`) and tags (`things_get_tags`)
2. Fetch todos across all lists (`things_get_today`, `things_get_anytime`, `things_get_upcoming`, `things_get_someday`) to infer what each area and tag is used for
3. Generate short descriptions and examples for each area and tag based on the todos they contain
4. Ask the user if they have any daily routine todos (recurring tasks to auto-create on weekdays), or skip if they don't
5. Present the generated config for confirmation, then save to `assets/config.json`
6. Proceed to Step 1

### Config Format

```json
{
  "areas": {
    "work": {
      "description": "Day job tasks, meetings, team communication",
      "examples": ["Prepare slides for team standup", "Coordinate with project lead"]
    },
    "personal": {
      "description": "Family, home, errands, health",
      "examples": ["Book a doctor appointment", "Handle home admin"]
    }
  },
  "tags": {
    "important": {
      "description": "Has a hard deadline, scheduled meeting, or clear strategic urgency",
      "examples": ["Finish something by a deadline", "Prepare for a scheduled meeting"]
    },
    "waiting": {
      "description": "Explicitly blocked on another person — waiting for someone or pending a response",
      "examples": ["Waiting for a review or approval", "Pending a response"]
    },
    "quick": {
      "description": "Single-step task under 15 minutes — not multi-step work",
      "examples": ["Reply to a message", "Check a status", "Approve a request"]
    }
  },
  "daily_routine": [
    { "title": "Check email", "area": null },
    { "title": "Review calendar", "area": null }
  ]
}
```

Areas, tags, and daily routines are fully customizable. The examples above are defaults — the user defines what fits their workflow. A `null` area means uncategorized.

Each area and tag has up to 10 examples. Examples should cover distinct categories without overlap — no need to fill all 10 slots, just enough to represent the range. Area examples should include domain context to distinguish between areas (e.g. "Coordinate with IBM team"). Tag examples should be generic patterns about the nature of the task (e.g. "Reply to a message").

## Step 1. Gather Data

Call in parallel: `things_get_today`, `things_get_inbox`, `things_get_areas`, `things_get_anytime`

Check day of week with `date` (working days Mon-Fri have daily habits).

## Step 2. Categorize, Move & Tag

Process items from Today, Inbox, and Anytime that are missing an area or tags. Skip items that already have them.

### A. Categorize Uncategorized Items

For items without an area, use the config area descriptions and examples to determine the best fit and move with `things_update_todo`. If a todo doesn't clearly fit any area, flag it in the briefing.

### B. Tag Untagged Items

For items without tags, use the config tag descriptions and examples to determine which apply. **Be conservative** — only apply a tag when the todo title clearly and obviously matches the tag description and is similar to the examples. Do not infer or guess.

**Wait for all `things_update_todo` calls to complete before proceeding.**

## Step 3. Create Daily Routine Todos (Weekdays Only)

Check if the todos from `daily_routine` in config exist in Today. If missing, create each with `things_add_todo` set to today, with the area from config.

Match flexibly (case-insensitive, similar wording counts). Skip on weekends.

## Step 4. Prioritize & Brief

Use Peter Drucker's "Effective Executive" lens — prioritize by contribution, not busyness. *"First things first, second things not at all."*

**🔴 Must do** — Deadlines, meetings, items tagged as important. *"What can only I do that, if done really well, will make a real difference?"*
**🟡 Should do** — High-impact strategic work. *"What is the greatest contribution I can make?"*
**🟢 Could do** — Non-urgent items, learning, low-priority personal.

Daily Routine items are not listed — they're already created in Things in Step 3.

Output a compact briefing — 15 seconds to read max:
```
Good morning! [weekend note if applicable]

> "[Relevant Drucker quote for the day]"

🔴 Must do (X)
- **[item]** — [why this matters today]
- **[item]** — [why this matters today]

🟡 Should do (X): [item], [item], [item]
🟢 Could do (X): [X items in backlog] OR [item], [item] if ≤3

✅ [X items categorized · X routine todos created]
[Ambiguous items if any]

[Drucker-inspired closing nudge — e.g. "Two must-dos today. Protect your morning for the budget — it's the one only you can do." or "Heavy list today — what can you delegate or defer?"]
```

**Format rules:**
- **Must Do** — Each item on its own line with a "why it matters" note.
- **Should Do** and **Could Do** — Single-line comma-separated. If a category has more than 5 items, show just the count (e.g. "🟢 Could do (7): 7 items in backlog").
- **Summary line** — Compact one-liner. Omit if nothing was categorized or created.
- Keep the Drucker quote and closing nudge — they're one line each and set the tone.

From apocohq/skills, MIT.

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