# Task Initiation

> You know what to do but can't start. Skill asks three questions and produces the literal first action (open file X, type heading Y) — not a plan, not a breakdown. Defeats executive-function stalls. Use when user says "I can't start", "help me begin", "task initiation", "stuck on starting", "just-start", or invokes /task-initiation.

- Skill: `risadams/task-initiation` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add risadams/task-initiation`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/risadams/task-initiation/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Productivity
- License: MIT
- Author: risadams (https://skillmd.com/u/risadams)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/risadams/task-initiation

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# Task Initiation

The user knows the task. They cannot make their body begin it. This is not a planning problem — it's an activation problem. Do **not** produce a plan, a breakdown, or a list of considerations. Those things make initiation *harder*, not easier.

Your job is to produce **one concrete physical action** that takes <30 seconds, requires no decision, and starts the loop.

## When to activate

When the user says any of:
- "I can't start"
- "I'm stuck"
- "I keep avoiding this"
- "I don't know where to begin"
- "I've been staring at this for an hour"

Do **not** activate when they want a plan or breakdown — route to `request-refactor-plan`, `grill-me`, or `clarity-council` instead.

## Why no council

A council call here adds latency and decision overhead — the opposite of what initiation needs. The user is already drowning in options. Adding personas makes it worse. **Always run inline. Always fast.**

## The three questions

Ask these in a single `AskUserQuestion` call. Keep them tight.

1. **What's the task?** (One sentence. Not "explain everything" — just name it.)
2. **What's the first physical place you would interact with this?** (A file, an editor, an email draft, a notebook, a terminal.)
3. **What's the smallest visible piece of output that would mean you started?** (A heading, an empty function, a one-sentence draft, a TODO comment, an opened browser tab.)

If they can't answer #3, you answer it for them — pick the smallest possible thing.

## Output format

One block. No headers. No preamble.

> **Do this now (≤30 seconds):**
> [One literal physical action. "Open `src/foo.ts`. Type the heading `// step 1: parse input`. Save."]
>
> **When you've done that, come back and say "done".**

That's it. Do not list step 2. Do not explain why. Do not encourage. Do not say "you've got this".

## Follow-up loop

When the user comes back and says "done":

- Acknowledge in one sentence.
- Produce the **next** ≤30-second action.
- Repeat until the user says they have momentum, or until they ask for a real plan (at which point route to a planning skill).

## What NOT to do

- Do not produce more than one action at a time
- Do not explain the reasoning
- Do not validate or encourage ("great first step!") — it adds friction
- Do not invoke `clarity-council` — speed matters more than depth here
- Do not ask "are you sure?" — they came here to be unstuck, not interrogated
- Do not write a breakdown — that's a different skill