Tasks

Tasks skill

Extract commitments into actionable tasks, or manage existing tasks with duplicate checking, accountability validation, and intelligent triage.

Mode detection

This skill operates in two modes depending on user intent:

1. Extract Mode: User provides input (transcript, email, notes) and requests task extraction
2. Manage Mode: User requests task review, prioritization, completion, or backlog pruning

EXTRACT MODE

Convert loose commitments into actionable, accountable tasks with duplicate checking and proper placement.

Step 1: Load replacements (MANDATORY)

Read reference/replacements.md. Ensure ALL owners are mapped to canonical names.

Step 2: Extract candidates and filter

Scan input for commitments:

• "I will...", "Can you...", "Let's...", "Action item:", "Need to..."

Apply accountability test. Discard failures:

• NEVER create tasks for "Team" or "We" without a specific lead
• Tasks must have a clear owner
• Tasks must be actionable and specific

Step 3: Resolve metadata

For each passing task:

Date resolution table:

• "today" -> YYYY-MM-DD (current date)
• "tomorrow" -> YYYY-MM-DD (current date + 1)
• "next week" -> YYYY-MM-DD (current date + 7)
• "end of month" -> YYYY-MM-DD (last day of current month)
• "next [day]" (e.g., "next Friday") -> YYYY-MM-DD (first occurrence of that day after today)
• No date specified -> backlog

Step 4: Check duplicates

Read reference/integrations.md Tasks section for provider details. Execute the list operation for all configured lists (default: Active, Delegated, Backlog).

Compare by title and owner (from notes field). If a similar task exists for the same owner:

• Skip if identical (already exists)
• Execute the edit operation to update if new details or deadline

Step 5: Placement logic

Use these rules to determine destination list:

• Has due date + owner is user -> Active list
• Has due date + owner is other -> Delegated list
• No due date -> Backlog list

Step 6: Create tasks

Create tasks directly via the task integration. Do not ask for permission. Read reference/integrations.md Tasks section for the provider-specific command format.

Standard task creation fields:

title: "Task description"
list: Active
due: YYYY-MM-DD
notes: |
  source: journal/YYYY-MM/YYYY-MM-DD-slug.md
  created: YYYY-MM-DD
  initiative: [[Initiative Name]]
  owner: Name

For EACH task:

1. Execute the create_reminder operation
2. Check the tool response. If the response indicates an error or does not confirm creation, add the task to the errors list and continue with the next task.
3. Only count a task as "created" if the tool response confirms success.

Step 7: Verify task creation (MANDATORY)

After all creation attempts, execute list_reminders for each list that received new tasks. Confirm each created task appears in the list by matching title.

If any tasks are missing from the list despite a successful creation response:

• Add them to a "creation_unverified" section in the output
• Report the discrepancy to the user

NEVER report a task as "Created" in the output table unless it was confirmed present in the verification query.

Extract mode output

---
## Task extraction complete

### Created tasks (X total, Y verified)
| Task | Owner | List | Due | Source | Verified |
|------|-------|------|-----|--------|----------|
| Task description | Name | Active/Delegated/Backlog | YYYY-MM-DD | source | yes/no |

### Creation unverified
| Task | Owner | List | Issue |
|------|-------|------|-------|
| Task description | Name | Active | Not found in list after creation |

### Duplicates skipped
| Task | Owner | Reason |
|------|-------|--------|
| Task description | Name | Already exists as matching task |

### Unactionable items
| Item | Reason |
|------|--------|
| Description | Why it was skipped |

MANAGE MODE

Review, prioritize, complete, and prune existing tasks via the task integration.

Step 1: Load task state

Read reference/integrations.md Tasks section for provider details. Execute the list operation for all configured lists (default: Active, Delegated, Backlog).

Step 2: Present current state

Group tasks by list and display to user:

## Current task state

### Active (X tasks)
| Task | Owner | Due |
|------|-------|-----|
| Task description | Name | YYYY-MM-DD |

### Delegated (Y tasks)
| Task | Owner | Due |
|------|-------|-----|
| Task description | Name | YYYY-MM-DD |

### Backlog (Z tasks)
| Task | Owner | Age |
|------|-------|-----|
| Task description | Name | X days old |

Step 3: Handle user actions

For completion:

• Execute the complete operation only AFTER user confirmation
• Record which user marked it complete and timestamp

For reprioritization:

• Execute the edit operation to update due date or move between lists
• Update the modified field in notes

For backlog pruning:

• Flag items with created date older than 90 days in notes field
• Ask user for confirmation before deleting or archiving
• Suggest moving to archive or backlog-archive list if available

Step 4: Duplicate detection (opportunistic)

While reviewing, note any potential duplicates:

• Same task title, different owners
• Similar descriptions across multiple lists
• Tasks that should be consolidated

Suggest consolidation but allow user to decide.

Manage mode output

---
## Task management update

### Completed
| Task | Owner | Status |
|------|-------|--------|
| Task description | Name | Marked done |

### Reprioritized
| Task | Owner | From | To | Change |
|------|-------|------|-----|--------|
| Task description | Name | Backlog | Active | New due date: YYYY-MM-DD |

### Pruning recommendations
| Task | Owner | Age | Recommendation |
|------|-------|-----|-----------------|
| Task description | Name | X days | Archive or delete |

### Current summary
- Active: X tasks
- Delegated: Y tasks
- Backlog: Z tasks (W tasks >90 days old)

Context budget

• Tasks: Execute task integration list operation for all configured lists
• Reference: reference/replacements.md (mandatory)

Absolute constraints

Universal constraints from the core skill apply (date resolution, name normalization, task verification, no deletion without instruction). Additionally:

• NEVER create tasks for "Team" or "We" without a specific lead
• NEVER mark tasks done without user confirmation
• ONLY write to Active, Delegated, Backlog lists (person-named lists are read-only)