the-day

name	the-day
description	Generate daily overview (TODAY.md) with calendar, tasks, weather, and motivational content. Use for morning planning, day organization, daily review, or generating today's schedule.

Generate a comprehensive daily overview document (TODAY.md) with calendar, tasks, weather, and motivational content, then interactively plan the day with time-blocked calendar entries.

<essential_principles>

Day CLI

All deterministic operations go through the day CLI.

The day script is at scripts/day relative to this SKILL.md file (not the working directory). Derive the absolute script path from this file's location:

• If this SKILL.md is at /path/to/the-day/SKILL.md
• Then the CLI is at /path/to/the-day/scripts/day

# Check current status
scripts/day

# Archive existing TODAY.md
scripts/day archive --force

# Format GTD tasks as markdown
scripts/day format-gtd

# Generate TODAY.md (deterministic parts only)
scripts/day generate --force

What's Deterministic vs AI-Driven

Component	Handler	Notes
Archive TODAY.md	CLI	day archive --force
GTD task formatting	CLI	day format-gtd
Template rendering	CLI	day generate --force
Calendar events	MCP + AI	Format with emojis
Weather	WebSearch + AI	Interpret conditions
Starred emails	MCP + AI	Categorize by type
Inspiration	AI	Quote + ASCII art
Wikipedia summary	WebSearch + AI	Leadership lesson
Interactive planning	AI	AskUserQuestion

User Context

Defaults (override in CLAUDE.md or project config):

• Location: Kiel, Germany
• Timezone: Europe/Berlin
• Email: configured in Google Workspace MCP

</essential_principles>

Phase 1: Archive & Status

1. Check current status:

   scripts/day
   

   Shows: TODAY.md status, GTD task count, next-step hints.

2. Archive existing TODAY.md (if exists):

   scripts/day archive --force
   

   Moves to logs/today/YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM.md.

Phase 2: Gather Context

1. Fetch weather data (AI):

   • Use WebSearch for current conditions in user's location
   • Metric units only: °C, km/h
   • AI interprets: "Bundle up! Cold morning..." or "Perfect day for outdoor work!"

2. Retrieve calendar events (MCP + AI):

   • Use mcp__google_workspace__get_events for today
   • Format with day format-calendar or manually with emojis
   • Time-ordered (all-day first, then chronological)

3. Get GTD tasks (CLI):

   scripts/day format-gtd
   

   Returns grouped markdown: Focus (High/Low Energy), Async, Meetings.

4. Gather starred emails (MCP + AI):

   • Search: mcp__google_workspace__search_gmail_messages query="is:starred"
   • AI categorizes: ACTION REQUIRED, Conference, Compliance, Personal
   • Fix URLs: replace u/0/ with u/1/

5. Generate inspiration (AI):

   • Use WebSearch for Wikipedia featured article of the day
   • Create ASCII art banner
   • Generate inspiring quote
   • Summarize article with leadership lesson

Phase 3: Generate TODAY.md

1. Generate base document (CLI):

   scripts/day generate --force
   

   Fills: DATE_FULL, TIME, LOCATION, GTD_TASKS. Leaves placeholders: WEATHER_CONTENT, CALENDAR_EVENTS, STARRED_EMAILS, INSPIRATION, WIKIPEDIA_ARTICLE.

2. Fill AI placeholders (AI):

   • Read generated TODAY.md
   • Replace remaining {{PLACEHOLDER}} with gathered content
   • Write updated file

Phase 4: Interactive Planning

1. Identify available time slots:

   • Analyze calendar events
   • Find free blocks between meetings
   • Show: "09:00-10:30 (1.5h)", "14:00-16:00 (2h)"

2. Review tasks for scheduling:

   • Present high-priority GTD tasks
   • Use AskUserQuestion: "Which tasks to schedule?"
   • Suggest slots based on energy levels

3. Create calendar entries (MCP):

   • Use mcp__google_workspace__create_event
   • Settings: transparency="transparent", visibility="private"
   • Format: "🎯 #42 - Task Title" or "📧 Process Starred Emails"

4. Update TODAY.md with final calendar:

   • Re-fetch events (now includes work blocks)
   • Update calendar section
   • Mark work blocks with ⭐

<success_criteria>

• TODAY.md created with all sections populated
• Weather in metric units with interpretation
• Calendar events formatted with emojis and links
• GTD tasks grouped by energy/context (via CLI)
• Starred emails categorized
• Interactive planning completed with user approval
• Calendar events created with privacy settings
• Previous TODAY.md archived (if existed)

</success_criteria>

CLI-First Philosophy

day status        → Overview + hints
day archive       → Archive to logs/
day format-gtd    → GTD → markdown
day generate      → Template → TODAY.md (deterministic parts)
AI workflow       → Fill remaining placeholders

JSON Output

All CLI commands support --json for structured output:

scripts/day --json
scripts/day format-gtd --json

Gmail URL Fix

User has multiple Google accounts. MCP returns u/0/ in links. Always replace u/0/ with u/1/ for correct account access.

TODAY.md as Source of Truth

• Read by /focus command to avoid redundant API calls
• Updated by /focus to track progress: "✅ HH:MM - [Completed work]"