Personal Productivity
Scope
Covers
- Designing a weekly timebox plan for a high-meeting-load job (meeting windows, focus blocks, admin buffers)
- Building a write-it-down capture system so tasks don’t live in your head (inbox → lists → reviews)
- Creating daily + weekly review rituals that keep you current without constant re-planning
- Producing a practical 7-day rollout plan (small changes you can implement immediately)
When to use
- “Help me timebox my week so I can handle meetings + deep work.”
- “I keep forgetting tasks. Build me a write-it-down system and a review routine.”
- “I’m juggling a demanding job plus side commitments (advising/board/etc.). Make it sustainable.”
- “Create a personal productivity system I can follow next week.”
When NOT to use
- You need medical/mental-health advice (including ADHD treatment), or you are in crisis. Seek professional help.
- You want a team-wide process (meeting policy, org operating system). Use a team/ops skill instead.
- You need a project plan, milestones, or delivery management. Use
managing-timelines. - You primarily need to reduce burnout/energy drain (not just time). Use
energy-management.
Inputs
Minimum required
- Your role + primary responsibilities (and whether you manage people)
- Your constraints/non-negotiables (time zones, caregiving, travel, on-call, deadlines)
- A representative week (calendar text dump, recurring meetings list, or narrative)
- Your current task system (or “none”) + tools you’re willing to use (any calendar + any to-do list works)
- What “better” means in 2–4 weeks (e.g., fewer dropped tasks, more deep-work blocks, lower weekend spillover)
Missing-info strategy
- Ask 3–5 questions at a time from references/INTAKE.md.
- If the calendar is unavailable, proceed with a default-week draft using explicit assumptions and ask the user to correct it.
- Do not request secrets, credentials, or sensitive personal/medical details.
Outputs (deliverables)
Produce a Personal Productivity System Pack (Markdown in chat; or as files if requested) in this order:
- Context Snapshot (goal, constraints, assumptions, success definition)
- Commitment & Workload Inventory (fixed commitments + “floating” responsibilities)
- Weekly Timebox Plan (meeting windows, focus blocks, admin buffers, protected time, weekend spillover rule)
- Capture + To-Do System Spec (inbox, lists, processing, prioritization, timeboxing method)
- Daily Plan + Shutdown Ritual (how you start the day; how you close loops)
- Weekly Review Ritual (calendar + task review; reset rules)
- 7-Day Rollout Plan (setup steps + first-week experiments)
- Risks / Open questions / Next steps (always included)
Templates: references/TEMPLATES.md Expanded guidance: references/WORKFLOW.md
Workflow (7 steps)
1) Intake + success definition + boundaries
- Inputs: user context; references/INTAKE.md.
- Actions: Confirm scope (personal productivity for career execution). Define “better” in 2–4 weeks and 1–2 measurable signals (e.g., dropped tasks/week, deep-work blocks/week). Confirm boundaries (not medical/therapy; not a team policy rewrite).
- Outputs: Context Snapshot (draft) + assumptions/unknowns list.
- Checks: Success definition is specific enough to evaluate after 2 weeks.
2) Build a commitment & workload inventory
- Inputs: calendar/recur meetings; responsibilities; side commitments.
- Actions: List fixed commitments (meetings, deadlines, recurring obligations) and floating workload (projects, people mgmt, admin). Identify 3–5 “high-leverage” responsibilities and the biggest sources of fragmentation.
- Outputs: Commitment & Workload Inventory (table) + top constraints.
- Checks: Inventory separates fixed vs flexible time and includes side commitments (if any).
3) Design the weekly timebox plan (default week)
- Inputs: inventory; energy preferences; constraints.
- Actions: Draft a default week: meeting windows, focus blocks, admin buffers, and protected personal time. Add explicit rules: meeting batching, buffer time, weekend spillover (if needed), and what gets timeboxed first.
- Outputs: Weekly Timebox Plan (calendar-like block plan) + 5–8 rules.
- Checks: At least 3 focus blocks/week exist; meeting time has limits or windows; buffers are real blocks (not wishes).
4) Specify the capture + to-do system (“write it down”)
- Inputs: current tools; task volume; common failure modes (dropped tasks, unclear next actions).
- Actions: Define: capture inbox, processing ritual, list taxonomy, and a prioritization rule. Ensure every task becomes either: (a) timeboxed on calendar, (b) next action on a list, (c) delegated, or (d) deleted.
- Outputs: Capture + To-Do System Spec + “rules of the system”.
- Checks: The system has a single trusted inbox and a daily processing rule that takes ≤15 minutes.
5) Add daily plan + shutdown ritual
- Inputs: timebox plan; task system.
- Actions: Create a daily routine: morning “top outcomes” + quick timeboxing; end-of-day shutdown (clear inbox, update next actions, plan first block tomorrow).
- Outputs: Daily Plan + Shutdown Ritual (copy/paste checklist).
- Checks: Ritual is small enough to actually do; includes handling of new tasks during the day (capture rule).
6) Add weekly review ritual (reset + recalibration)
- Inputs: default week; backlog lists; upcoming commitments.
- Actions: Create a weekly review to: reconcile calendar ↔ tasks, reset priorities, and re-timebox next week. Include a “kill list” (stop/defer) to prevent backlog bloat.
- Outputs: Weekly Review Ritual + weekly reset checklist.
- Checks: Review includes both (1) looking forward (next 2 weeks) and (2) backlog cleanup.
7) Quality gate + finalize rollout plan
- Inputs: full draft pack.
- Actions: Produce a 7-day rollout plan (setup + first experiments). Run references/CHECKLISTS.md and score with references/RUBRIC.md. Include Risks / Open questions / Next steps.
- Outputs: Final Personal Productivity System Pack.
- Checks: Next 7 days have specific actions scheduled; risks and unknowns are explicit.
Quality gate (required)
- Use references/CHECKLISTS.md and references/RUBRIC.md.
- Always include: Risks, Open questions, Next steps.
Examples
Example 1 (timeboxing + side commitments): “I’m a product leader with wall-to-wall meetings and I advise a startup. Use personal-productivity to create a Personal Productivity System Pack with a default week timebox plan and a task capture system.” Expected: weekly timebox plan with meeting windows + focus blocks, capture/to-do spec, daily/weekly reviews, 7-day rollout.
Example 2 (dropped tasks): “I keep forgetting small but important follow-ups. Build me a write-it-down system and a daily shutdown routine.” Expected: capture system with inbox → processing → lists, a 10–15 minute daily shutdown checklist, and success metrics.
Boundary example (medical): “Diagnose my ADHD and tell me what productivity meds to take.” Response: out of scope for medical advice; recommend professional help. Offer a neutral capture/timeboxing system and ask for work constraints only.