Plan My Day

Plan My Day

Evidence tier: P
Basis: Practitioner time-blocking, calendar review, and daily notes workflow adapted from Hilary Gridley's context directory guidance.
Source IDs: writerbuilder-howiai-plan-my-day, writerbuilder-howiai-context-directory, apple-calendar-skill
Reviewed: 2026-05-12

Interactive daily planning workflow. Syncs all inputs, shows the landscape, collaborates on a schedule, then commits to calendar and daily note.

Prerequisites

• icalBuddy — reads all Apple + Google calendars (https://hasseg.org/icalBuddy/)
• gws calendar — writes to Google calendars (https://github.com/saurabh0719/gws)
• A reminders-sync script at <context-root>/admin/scripts/sync-reminders.sh — syncs Apple Reminders Inbox (user-supplied; simple osascript wrapper)
• The apple-calendar skill installed (for native macOS calendar writes via AppleScript)

This skill uses <context-root> as a backend variable. The default backend is Hilary Gridley's "context directory" layout (defaults to ~/context/). Substitute another root if your notes live elsewhere — see references/paths.md for the full path table and override instructions. If the layout does not exist on first run, the skill bootstraps it.

===setup-start=== Execute these steps once, then use the Edit tool to delete the entire block from ===setup-start=== through ===setup-end=== (inclusive) from this file.

1. If <private_calendar_name_list> is still present, ask the user: "Which calendars should I filter out when planning your day? Common examples: holiday calendars, birthday calendars, family or shared calendars, Siri Suggestions."
2. Wait for a comma-separated list of calendar names.
3. Use the Edit tool to replace <private_calendar_name_list> in this SKILL.md with the user's answer, formatted as CalA, CalB, CalC.
4. Delete this entire setup block (both marker lines included).

If the placeholder is already gone, this block should have been deleted on a previous run — delete it now and continue. ===setup-end===

Workflow

Step 1: Gather inputs (do silently, show results)

1. Run <context-root>/admin/scripts/sync-reminders.sh to pull latest reminders
2. Update <context-root>/admin/reminders-organized.md with any new items categorized
3. Run icalBuddy -f eventsToday to get today's calendar events

Filter calendars: Only show events from relevant calendars. Ignore the calendars listed in <private_calendar_name_list> (if this placeholder is still literal text, see the setup block above).

Step 2: Present the picture

Show the user:

• Today's fixed commitments — existing calendar events with times
• Open reminders — from <context-root>/admin/reminders-organized.md
• Then ask: "What else do you need to get done today?"

Step 3: Build the schedule together

• Wait for user input on additional tasks
• Propose time blocks around fixed commitments
• Respect energy patterns: deep focus work before 10am, learning/research during afternoon energy dips
• Iterate until the user agrees with the schedule

Step 4: Lock it in (only after user approves)

1. Add time blocks to calendar:

   • Use the apple-calendar skill's cal-create.sh helper (preferred — ensures native macOS notifications work). Invoke it by skill name, not by filesystem path.
   • Default calendar for new events: Personal unless user specifies otherwise
   • Only use gws calendar events insert if the user explicitly wants an event on Google Calendar

2. Create daily note at <context-root>/admin/daily-notes/YYYY/MM-Month/YYYY-MM-DD.md

Daily Note Template

# YYYY-MM-DD — Day Name

## Schedule

| Time | Block | Calendar |
|------|-------|----------|
| HH:MM–HH:MM | Event/task name | calendar |
| ... | ... | ... |

## Running Log

_Entries added throughout the day as things happen._

## End-of-Day Reflection

- What went well today?
- What didn't go as planned?
- What will I do differently tomorrow?
- Energy level: /10

Create year/month folders (YYYY/MM-Month/) if they don't exist. Use zero-padded month with name (e.g., 04-April).

Reminders Files

• <context-root>/admin/reminders-inbox.md — raw dump from sync script
• <context-root>/admin/reminders-organized.md — categorized version (preserve existing categories, add new items)
• <context-root>/admin/scripts/sync-reminders.sh — the sync script