Weekly Plan

Purpose

Plan your week forward with clear priorities tied to quarterly goals. Sets the foundation for effective daily planning and ensures strategic alignment.

Usage

• /weekly-plan - Plan upcoming week (or current week if Monday)
• /weekly-plan next - Plan next week (when running on Friday)

Context Routing

Check these files first:

1. brain/knowledge/ - Quarter OKRs, North Star, strategic pillars
2. outputs/weekly-reviews/ - Last week's review (if exists)
3. outputs/prds/ - Active PRDs and their stages
4. brain/ingestion/adhoc/ - Upcoming launches
5. outputs/weekly-plans/ - Previous weekly plans (for pattern analysis)

MCP Queries (if available):

• Calendar MCP - Next week's meetings
• Linear/Jira MCP - Backlog and upcoming tasks
• Analytics MCP - Metrics trends (inform priorities)

Fallback: File-based planning using strategy docs and PRD pipeline.

Workflow

Step 1: Determine Target Week

1. Calculate target week:

   • Default: Upcoming week (Monday-Friday)
   • If run on Monday: Current week
   • If user specified "next": Next week

2. Check if week already planned:

   • Look for outputs/weekly-plans/YYYY-WXX-weekly-plan.md
   • If exists: Ask "Week already planned. Update it or create new version?"

Step 2: Review Last Week (If Available)

Check for outputs/weekly-reviews/[last-week]-weekly-review.md:

If exists, extract:

• Carried over items - What didn't get done?
• Learnings - What worked/didn't work?
• Momentum - Which initiatives are advancing?
• Stalled items - What needs unblocking?

If doesn't exist:

• Note: "Last week wasn't reviewed. Proceeding with forward planning only."
• Suggest: "After this week, run /weekly-review to build the habit."

Step 3: Strategic Context Gathering

A. Quarter Goals & North Star:

Read brain/knowledge/:

• Current quarter OKRs
• North Star metric and target
• Strategic pillars (usually 3-4 themes)

Extract:

• Which goals are on track / behind / ahead?
• Which pillar needs more attention this week?
• Any upcoming deadlines (end of quarter, board meeting, etc.)?

B. Active PRD Pipeline:

Scan outputs/prds/ and brain/knowledge/product/features/:

For each active PRD:

• Current stage
• Next milestone
• Blockers (if any)
• Stakeholders involved

Group PRDs by stage:

• Team Kickoff - Need to plan/scope
• Planning Review - Need to prioritize
• XFN Kickoff - Need alignment
• Solution Review - Need detailed design
• Launch Readiness - Need to ship
• Impact Review - Need to analyze results

Identify: Which PRDs need to advance this week?

C. Upcoming Launches:

Check brain/ingestion/adhoc/:

• Features launching this week
• Pre-launch checklists due
• Post-launch monitoring needed

D. Calendar Preview (If MCP Available):

Query Calendar MCP for next week:

Get all events for [week start] to [week end]

Extract:

• Key meetings (stakeholder syncs, reviews, planning sessions)
• All-hands/team meetings (fixed commitments)
• Open time blocks (capacity for deep work)

Calculate:

• Meeting load (hours in meetings)
• Deep work capacity (hours available for focused work)
• Context switch frequency

If heavy meeting week (20+ hours):

• Limit priorities to 2 instead of 3
• Flag: "Light on execution capacity this week"

Step 4: Priority Setting

Framework: Top 3 Priorities

Use this prioritization logic:

1. Priority 1 (Most Important):

   • Directly advances a quarter goal that's behind
   • OR: Critical blocker removal
   • OR: Upcoming launch with deadline

2. Priority 2 (High Impact):

   • Advances quarter goal that's on track
   • OR: Strategic initiative that supports North Star
   • OR: Stakeholder commitment with firm deadline

3. Priority 3 (Meaningful Progress):

   • Supports strategic pillar
   • OR: Advances PRD through pipeline
   • OR: Foundation for future work

Constraints:

• Each priority should take 6-10 hours of work
• Priorities should span different strategic pillars (balance)
• At least one priority should be proactive (not reactive)

Validation Questions:

• If I only do these 3 things this week, will it be a successful week?
• Do these priorities advance our quarter goals?
• Am I over-committed given meeting load?

Step 5: Task Breakdown (Optional)

For each priority, identify 2-4 key tasks:

Priority 1: [Title]

• Task 1 (Est: X hours)
• Task 2 (Est: Y hours)
• Task 3 (Est: Z hours)

Total estimate: Should match priority weight (6-10 hours)

This helps with:

• Reality check on scope
• Daily planning (break priorities into daily chunks)
• Progress tracking

Step 6: Generate Weekly Plan

Create file: outputs/weekly-plans/YYYY-WXX-weekly-plan.md

Template:

---
week: YYYY-WXX
week_start: YYYY-MM-DD
week_end: YYYY-MM-DD
quarter: Q[X] YYYY
---

# Weekly Plan - Week of [Month] [DD], [YYYY]

## TL;DR

- **Top 3:** [One-line summary of each priority]
- **Meeting load:** [X] hours ([Light/Medium/Heavy])
- **Key milestone:** [Most important thing to ship/decide/align this week]

---

## Strategic Context

**Quarter Goal:** [Primary goal for this quarter]
**North Star Progress:** [Current value] / [Target] ([%] to goal)

**This Week's Focus:**
[1-2 sentences explaining why these priorities matter now]

---

## Top 3 Priorities

### Priority 1: [Title] ⭐ Most Important

**Why this matters:**
- Advances: [Quarter Goal / Strategic Pillar]
- Impact: [What changes if we complete this]
- Risk if not done: [Consequence of deferring]

**Success looks like:**
- [Specific, measurable outcome]

**Key tasks:**
- [ ] [Task 1] (Est: X hours) - [Why/who]
- [ ] [Task 2] (Est: Y hours) - [Why/who]
- [ ] [Task 3] (Est: Z hours) - [Why/who]

**Dependencies:**
- Needs from: [Person/team] - [What]
- Blocks: [What this unblocks]

**Linked to:**
- PRD: [Link if applicable]
- Decision doc: [Link if applicable]

---

### Priority 2: [Title]

**Why this matters:**
- Advances: [Quarter Goal / Strategic Pillar]
- Impact: [What changes]

**Success looks like:**
- [Specific outcome]

**Key tasks:**
- [ ] [Task 1]
- [ ] [Task 2]
- [ ] [Task 3]

**Dependencies:**
- [List]

**Linked to:**
- [Relevant docs]

---

### Priority 3: [Title]

**Why this matters:**
- Advances: [Quarter Goal / Strategic Pillar]
- Impact: [What changes]

**Success looks like:**
- [Specific outcome]

**Key tasks:**
- [ ] [Task 1]
- [ ] [Task 2]

**Dependencies:**
- [List]

**Linked to:**
- [Relevant docs]

---

## PRD Pipeline This Week

| PRD | Current Stage | Target Stage by Friday | Action Needed |
|-----|---------------|------------------------|---------------|
| [Name] | Team Kickoff | Planning Review | Complete scoping, get estimates |
| [Name] | Solution Review | Launch Readiness | Final stakeholder sign-off |

---

## Key Meetings

| Day | Meeting | Purpose | Prep Needed |
|-----|---------|---------|-------------|
| Mon | [Title] | [Objective] | [Y/N - Link to prep doc] |
| Tue | [Title] | [Objective] | [Y/N] |
| Wed | [Title] | [Objective] | [Y/N] |
| Thu | [Title] | [Objective] | [Y/N] |
| Fri | [Title] | [Objective] | [Y/N] |

**Meeting load:** [X] hours / ~40 hour week = [Y%]
**Deep work capacity:** [Z] hours available

---

## Strategic Pillar Balance

[If your strategy has defined pillars, show allocation]

| Pillar | This Week's Time | Last Week | Trend |
|--------|------------------|-----------|-------|
| [Pillar 1] | 40% | 30% | ↑ Increasing |
| [Pillar 2] | 30% | 40% | ↓ Decreasing |
| [Pillar 3] | 30% | 30% | → Steady |

**Balance check:**
- [Commentary on whether allocation matches strategy]

---

## Risks & Mitigations

**Potential blockers:**
- **Risk:** [Dependency on X person who's on vacation]
  - **Mitigation:** [Async update or defer to next week]

- **Risk:** [Heavy meeting load limits execution time]
  - **Mitigation:** [Decline non-essential meetings or defer Priority 3]

**Capacity concerns:**
- [If overcommitted, note which priority to defer]

---

## Carry-Over from Last Week

[If last week's review exists]

**Incomplete items:**
- [ ] [Item from last week] - [Why it carried over]

**Learnings applied:**
- [Pattern from last week] → [How we're adjusting this week]

---

## Success Metrics

**How we'll know this week was successful:**
1. [Measurable outcome for Priority 1]
2. [Measurable outcome for Priority 2]
3. [Measurable outcome for Priority 3]

**Leading indicators to track:**
- [Metric to check mid-week]
- [Stakeholder feedback to gather]

---

*Generated: [Timestamp]*
*Next: Run `/daily-plan` each morning to execute against this plan*

Step 7: Output & Next Actions

1. Save weekly plan file

2. Create/update task backlog (if Linear/Jira MCP available):

   • Offer: "Want me to create Linear tasks for each key task?"
   • If yes: Use /create-tickets to convert tasks

3. Display summary:

   • "Week planned! Top 3: [P1], [P2], [P3]"
   • If heavy meetings: "Heads up: [X] hours of meetings. I've kept priorities light."
   • If carries over from last week: "[Y] items carried over - addressed in Priority [Z]"

4. Offer next steps:

   • "Ready to start the week? Run /daily-plan tomorrow morning."
   • "Want to share this plan with your team? I can format it for Slack."
   • If no stakeholder profiles: "For richer context, add stakeholder profiles."

MCP Graceful Degradation

If Calendar MCP not connected:

• Ask: "What key meetings do you have next week?"
• Note: "I can give better planning with calendar access. Connect Google Calendar via Claude Desktop → Settings → MCP Servers."

If Linear/Jira MCP not connected:

• Manual task entry: "What key tasks need to happen for each priority?"
• Offer to create tasks later once MCP connected

If strategy docs don't exist:

• Ask: "What are your top quarterly goals?"
• Suggest: "Fill out brain/knowledge/strategy.md for better alignment"

Tips for Best Results

When to run:

• Best time: Friday afternoon (plan while week is fresh)
• Alternative: Monday morning (start week with clarity)
• Avoid: Mid-week (loses strategic perspective)

What makes a good priority:

• ✅ Specific (not "work on X" but "complete Y for X")
• ✅ Measurable (you'll know when it's done)
• ✅ High-impact (moves a key metric or goal)
• ✅ Achievable (realistic given meeting load)
• ❌ Too vague ("improve product" → What exactly?)
• ❌ Too many (more than 3 = lack of focus)

Common mistakes:

• Setting 5-6 priorities (you'll get overwhelmed)
• All reactive priorities (no proactive strategy work)
• Ignoring meeting load (planning 30 hours of work with 25 hours of meetings)
• No connection to quarter goals (busy but not impactful)

Integration with Other Skills

Before /weekly-plan:

• /weekly-review - Review last week first (if Friday planning)
• /quarter-plan - (If exists) Ensure week aligns with quarter

After /weekly-plan:

• /daily-plan - Break week down into daily execution
• /create-tickets - Convert tasks to Linear/Jira
• /slack-message - Share plan with team

Parallel use:

• /prd-draft - Priorities might include PRD work
• /impact-sizing - Validate priorities are high-impact

Related Skills

Before this:

• /weekly-review - Reflect on last week
• /mcp - Connect to Calendar, Linear for richer planning

After this:

• /daily-plan - Execute the weekly plan day by day
• /create-tickets - Track priorities in Linear/Jira
• /weekly-review - Close the loop at end of week

Complements:

• /prd-draft - Weekly priorities often include PRD milestones
• /stakeholder-update - Share weekly plan with leadership

Output Quality Self-Check

Before presenting output to the PM, verify:

• Context was checked: Reviewed brain/knowledge/ for quarter OKRs, outputs/prds/ for active PRDs, and brain/ingestion/meetings/ for upcoming commitments
• Priorities aligned with strategic goals: Each of the top 3 priorities explicitly references which quarter goal, OKR, or strategic pillar it advances
• LNO classification applied: Key tasks are tagged as Leverage, Neutral, or Overhead to ensure the week is weighted toward high-leverage work
• Dependencies and blockers identified: Each priority lists what it depends on (people, decisions, deliverables) and any known blockers with mitigation plans
• Carry-over items from last week addressed: If outputs/weekly-reviews/ or outputs/weekly-plans/ contain incomplete items from last week, they are explicitly acknowledged as carried over, deferred, or dropped with reasoning