| name | claude-eisenhower |
| description | Use when the user asks to "add a task", "log a request", "prioritize my tasks", "schedule my work", "mark something done", "what should I work on", "triage my backlog", "Eisenhower matrix", "Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 tasks", "follow up with someone", "delegate a task", "delegate this to someone", "who should own this", "scan my inbox", "scan my email", "check my email for tasks", "set up the plugin", "configure claude-eisenhower", or "setup" — any request related to the Intake → Prioritize → Schedule → Execute workflow, email triage, stakeholder delegation, or first-run configuration. This skill carries workflow context and routing; the /intake, /prioritize, /schedule, /complete-task, /delegate, /scan-email, and /setup slash commands are the execution entry points.
|
| version | 0.1.0 |
Engineering Task Flow
A 4-phase workflow for Directors of Engineering to manage tasks from any source with clarity and control.
Gotchas
High-signal failure modes. Read before touching calendar, memory, or task files.
- Calendar queries — NEVER use AppleScript's
whose clause. It is O(n) on total
event count and times out on large calendars. Route ALL calendar lookups through
scripts/calendar-query.ts (the provider dispatcher), never cal_query.swift
directly. Output is JSON {status, reason, events[]} — parse it, do not regex
stdout. Applies to /schedule, /scan-email, /today, and any ad-hoc lookup.
- PII files are gitignored — never commit them, never echo their raw contents.
Off-limits include
config/stakeholders.yaml (real names, roles, contact info),
config/*-config.md, config/.setup.partial, memory/, TASKS.md, and
TASKS-archive.md — the PII section of .gitignore is the authoritative list.
Only config/*.example files are tracked.
- TASKS.md is additive by convention. Append tasks under the right heading
(
## Inbox, ## Active, ## Delegated, ## Done) and move whole records between
sections as state changes — don't rewrite the file. Each record is a ----delimited
colon-separated key-value block.
- Memory has a single writer. CREATE/UPDATE delegation memory goes through the
memory-manager skill only. DELETE is owned by /forget. Do not write
memory/glossary.md or memory/people/*.md inline from a command.
- Missing config = skip the data source, not an error. No calendar/email config →
degrade gracefully and continue; never hard-fail a core (markdown-only) flow on a
missing platform integration.
The Four Phases
This skill is the orchestrator — it carries workflow context, Gotchas, and
routing. Each phase has a slash command that owns the detailed execution logic
(field parsing, date rules, confirmation prompts). When a phase is triggered, route
to its command rather than executing the summary below inline — the command is the
authority; the phase text here is the map, not the procedure.
| Phase | Command(s) | Owns |
|---|
| Intake | /intake, /quick | Field extraction, due-date parsing, alias resolution |
| Prioritize | /prioritize | Eisenhower classification + confirmation |
| Schedule | /schedule | Date assignment, calendar availability |
| Close-out | /complete-task | Mark done, progress notes, follow-ups |
| Delegate | /delegate | Candidate scoring, check-in tracking |
| Email triage | /scan-email | Inbox scan → task records |
| Setup | /setup | First-run config |
Phase 1: INTAKE
Capture any task regardless of source (email, Slack, meeting, conversation, thought).
When intaking a task, extract and record:
- Title — short, action-oriented label
- Description — what needs to happen and why
- Source — where this came from (email, Slack, meeting, conversation, etc.)
- Requester — who asked (name + role if known)
- Raw urgency signal — what the requester said about timing
- Initial due date — if stated
Do NOT prioritize during intake. Capture first, judge later.
Store new tasks in the TASKS.md file. Append to the "## Inbox" section.
Phase 2: PRIORITIZE
Classify each task using the Eisenhower Matrix. See references/eisenhower.md for full rules.
| Quadrant | Label | Criteria | Default Action |
|---|
| Q1 | Urgent + Important | Crisis, hard deadlines, high stakes | Do it now |
| Q2 | Not Urgent + Important | Strategic work, growth, relationships | Schedule it |
| Q3 | Urgent + Not Important | Interruptions, others' priorities | Delegate if possible |
| Q4 | Not Urgent + Not Important | Busywork, time-wasters | Eliminate or defer |
For edge cases, reclassification signals, and Director-specific examples, see
references/eisenhower.md — that file is the authority. The table above is a
quick reference only.
After classifying, present the quadrant assignment and reasoning to the user for confirmation before saving.
Phase 3: SCHEDULE
Assign timing based on quadrant:
- Q1 → Assign today or the earliest available slot. Flag as critical.
- Q2 → Assign a specific future date. Block time for deep work.
- Q3 → Assign a date only if delegated; otherwise mark "async/when possible."
- Q4 → Stage for review. Move to
## Q4 — Defer / Eliminate with
Deferred: {today's date} | Review on: {date 2 weeks out}. At the weekly review,
if the task still has no value, move to ## Done with
Note: Eliminated — Q4 cut {date}. Do not eliminate immediately unless the user explicitly confirms. If the user
explicitly confirms "eliminate it now", move the task directly to ## Done with
Note: Eliminated — Q4 cut {date}. Staging keeps the decision visible and
reversible for all other cases.
If Mac Calendar integration is configured, use it to check availability before assigning dates.
Phase 4: CLOSE-OUT
When a task is in progress or completed:
- Mark done → Move task to
## Done section with Done: {YYYY-MM-DD}
- Partial progress → Add a progress note to the task
- Follow-up needed → Create a new intake task linked to the original
- Stakeholder update needed → Record the stakeholder in memory for follow-up tracking
Task File Format
Tasks are stored in TASKS.md (in the outputs folder or workspace). Use this structure:
# Task Board
## Inbox
## Active
## Delegated
## Done
Each task is a fenced record delimited by --- with colon-separated key-value fields.
Key fields: Title, Description, Source, Requester, Urgency, Due date,
Priority (Q1/Q2/Q3/Q4), State (Inbox/Active/Delegated/Done), Owner,
Check-by (required when State: Delegated), Scheduled, Action, Done.
See docs/specs/tasks-schema-spec.md for the complete field reference.
Stakeholder Memory
Use the memory-manager skill (skills/memory-manager/SKILL.md) for all stakeholder
memory operations (log-delegation, resolve-delegation, update-checkin, query-pending).
The memory-manager handles all backend logic — do not implement the try/fallback pattern
inline in commands or this skill.
When a task involves a stakeholder commitment (you owe them an update, they owe you something, or you delegated to them), record:
- Stakeholder name + role
- What was agreed
- When follow-up is due
Retrieve stakeholder context at the start of any scheduling or execution session.
Additional References
references/eisenhower.md — detailed quadrant rules with edge cases and examplesreferences/intake-sources.md — how to handle tasks from different sources (Slack, email, meetings, Jira, etc.)references/delegation-guide.md — framework for deciding what to delegate and to whom
