ctx-planning

Purpose

Generate structured daily and weekly planning reports based on prioritized backlog and carryover tasks. This skill applies work-in-progress (WIP) limits, priority ordering, and tie-breaker rules from BaseContext.yaml to create focused, actionable plans stored as Markdown reports.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• User requests daily plan generation (e.g., /ctx.daily)
• Closing out the day and updating progress (e.g., /ctx.eod)
• Generating weekly review summaries (e.g., /ctx.weekly)
• Monthly retrospective planning (e.g., /ctx.monthly)
• Updating planning configuration (e.g., /ctx.update)

Do not use this skill when:

• User wants to modify individual tasks (use task files directly)
• Backlog hasn't been scanned yet (run /ctx.scan first)
• User is querying task status without planning

How It Works

Daily Planning Workflow (/ctx.daily)

Generate a focused daily plan following these steps:

1. Load configuration from BaseContext.yaml:

   • wip_limits.daily_tasks_max: Maximum tasks per day (default: 5)
   • wip_limits.weekly_projects_max: Maximum projects per week (default: 3)
   • prioritization.order: Priority sequence (default: P1 → P2 → P3)
   • prioritization.tie_breakers: Tie-breaking rules (e.g., unblocker_first, short_first)
   • goals.month: Current monthly objectives for alignment

2. Load state files:

   • state/backlog.yaml: All tasks from projects
   • state/carryover.yaml: Tasks carried over from previous day (if exists)

3. Select tasks respecting constraints:

   • Carryover tasks take precedence
   • Fill remaining slots from backlog by priority
   • Limit to daily_tasks_max total tasks
   • Cover at most weekly_projects_max distinct projects
   • Apply tie-breakers when multiple tasks have same priority:
     • unblocker_first: Prioritize tasks that unblock others
     • short_first: Favor smaller, quick-win tasks

4. Generate report at reports/daily/YYYY-MM-DD.md using templates/daily.md:

   # Daily — 2025-10-22 (Tuesday)
   
   ## Carryover from Yesterday
   - [ ] Task from yesterday (project/repo • T101)
   
   ## Today's Focus (≤5 tasks)
   - [ ] High priority task (project/repo • T250 • P1)
   - [ ] Second task (project/repo • T251 • P1)
   
   ## Blockers/Risks
   - ...
   
   ## EoD — Summary
   **Completed:**
   - ...
   
   **Decisions/Insights:**
   - ...
   
   **Carry to Tomorrow:**
   - ...
   

5. Commit and push changes using scripts/commit_and_push.sh:

   bash scripts/commit_and_push.sh "chore(context): daily plan YYYY-MM-DD"
   

End-of-Day Workflow (/ctx.eod)

Close out the day and prepare for tomorrow:

1. Open current daily report at reports/daily/YYYY-MM-DD.md

2. Update EoD section with:

   • Completed: Check off done tasks
   • Decisions/Insights: Document key learnings or decisions
   • Carry to Tomorrow: List incomplete tasks for carryover

3. Generate carryover file at state/carryover.yaml:

   date: "YYYY-MM-DD"
   items:
     - uid: "org/repo#T101"
       title: "Incomplete task"
       project: "org/repo"
       priority: "P1"
       reason: "blocked_by_external" # or "needs_more_time", "deprioritized"
   

4. Commit and push updated daily report and carryover state

Weekly Review Workflow (/ctx.weekly)

Generate weekly summary and align with monthly goals:

1. Collect daily reports from last 7 days (reports/daily/)

2. Extract achievements per project:

   • Count completed tasks by project
   • Identify completed milestones or features
   • Calculate completion rate vs. planned

3. Align with monthly goals from BaseContext.yaml:

   • For each goal, assess progress based on completed tasks
   • Identify tasks contributing to each goal
   • Flag goals at risk or ahead of schedule

4. Generate weekly report at reports/weekly/YYYY-WW.md using templates/weekly.md:

   # Weekly — 2025-W43 (Oct 22–28)
   
   ## Achievements by Project
   - org/repo-1: 8 tasks completed, feature X shipped
   - org/repo-2: 3 tasks completed, blocked on external dependency
   
   ## Monthly Goals Progress
   - Goal 1: 60% complete (on track)
   - Goal 2: 30% complete (at risk, needs acceleration)
   
   ## Top 5 Priorities Next Week
   1. Unblock dependency for repo-2
   2. Complete feature Y for repo-1
   
   ## Risks and Mitigation
   - Risk: External dependency delayed
     Action: Implement workaround by Tuesday
   

5. Commit and push weekly report

Monthly Review Workflow (/ctx.monthly)

Generate monthly retrospective (draft format):

1. Aggregate weekly reports for the month
2. Assess monthly goals completion status
3. Identify patterns: productivity trends, common blockers, wins
4. Draft next month's goals based on learnings
5. Create reports/monthly/YYYY-MM.md (manual editing expected)

Configuration Update Workflow (/ctx.update)

Modify planning parameters without regenerating plans:

1. Edit BaseContext.yaml for requested changes:

   • Adjust WIP limits
   • Update monthly goals
   • Modify priority rules or tie-breakers

2. Validate changes: Ensure YAML syntax is correct

3. Optionally regenerate current plans if user requests immediate effect

Task Selection Logic

Priority Ordering

Tasks are selected in this order:

1. P1 (High priority): Critical tasks, blockers, urgent items
2. P2 (Medium priority): Normal development tasks
3. P3 (Low priority): Nice-to-have, refactoring, tech debt

Tie-Breaking Rules

When multiple tasks have the same priority, apply tie-breakers in order:

• unblocker_first: Tasks that unblock other work (look for keywords like "unblock", "prerequisite")
• short_first: Smaller tasks that can be completed quickly (estimate based on title/scope)
• least_recent_project: Rotate focus across projects to maintain progress
• oldest_first: Tasks created/opened earliest (when timestamp available)

WIP Limits

Enforce limits to maintain focus:

• daily_tasks_max (default: 5): Prevents overcommitment
• weekly_projects_max (default: 3): Maintains project focus, reduces context switching

Template Variables

Templates support Handlebars-style placeholders:

Daily Template Variables

• {{date}}: Date in YYYY-MM-DD format
• {{weekday}}: Day of week
• {{daily_tasks_max}}: Max tasks from config
• {{carryover}}: Array of carryover task objects
• {{focus_tasks}}: Array of selected task objects

Weekly Template Variables

• {{iso_week}}: ISO week number (YYYY-WW)
• {{date_start}}, {{date_end}}: Week start/end dates
• {{achieved}}: Map of project → achievement summary
• {{month_goals}}: Array of {goal, progress} objects
• {{priorities}}: Array of next week's priority items

Constraints

• Local files only: No network access except git push
• Single repository: Only modifies files within context/ repo
• Idempotent operations: Running multiple times produces consistent results
• Template-driven: Output format controlled by templates/*.md

Related Skills

• ctx-collector: Generates state/backlog.yaml consumed by this skill
• Use BaseContext.yaml to configure behavior without modifying skill

Troubleshooting

If planning produces unexpected results:

• Verify state/backlog.yaml exists and is current (run /ctx.scan)
• Check BaseContext.yaml for correct WIP limits and priority order
• Ensure templates/*.md files are valid and have required placeholders
• Verify git repository is configured for push access
• Check state/carryover.yaml format matches expected structure