clarity-toolkit

Clarity Toolkit

When to Use / When Not to Use

Use when:

• Too much information and no clear priority
• A goal or statement can't be acted on because it's too vague
• Analysis is cycling without converging

Not for:

• Choosing between well-defined options (use tradeoff-articulator or decision-maker)
• Identifying cognitive biases (use bias-auditor)

Process

Diagnose the mode first — don't apply all three to every problem.

Mode	Problem	Symptom
Signal/Noise	Too much input	Conflicting data, too many priorities
Vagueness Eliminator	Too little precision	Abstract goals, fuzzy feedback
Overthinking Detector	Too much processing	Cycling analysis, seeking "one more" data point

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Mode 1 — Signal/Noise Separator

Run every piece of information through:

1. Actionability: Does knowing this change a decision in the next 30 days?
2. Source quality: Primary data or someone's interpretation?
3. Recency: Still accurate?
4. Relevance: Directly bears on the goal?

Signal Stack:

MUST KNOW (changes the decision)
GOOD TO KNOW (context only)
INTERESTING BUT NOISE (log and ignore)

Forcing function for competing priorities: "If I could only act on one thing this week, what has the highest leverage?"

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Mode 2 — Vagueness Eliminator

Test: can two people read this and independently know whether they've succeeded? If not, it's vague.

Fix pattern: add metric + current state + target state + timeframe + scope.

• Vague: "Be more strategic."
• Fixed: Ask "What would I see you doing differently? Give me a concrete example from last week."

Operationalization test:

1. What would I observe if this were true?
2. What would I observe if false?
3. What would I measure?
4. Who is responsible, by when?

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Mode 3 — Overthinking Detector

MCP note: If think-tool is available, use it before diagnosing Mode 3. Confirm this is overthinking, not a genuinely complex problem.

Overthinking signatures:

• Same options considered longer than the decision warrants
• Each new information piece generates a new question
• Gut answer exists but case is being built against it
• Cost of being wrong is low but treated as high

Circuit breakers:

• 10/10/10 test: How do you feel in 10 min / 10 months / 10 years? Same answer = stop analyzing.
• Reversibility test: Is this reversible? If yes — decide now, optimize later.
• Minimum viable answer: What's the smallest decision that enables one concrete action right now?

Output Template

State which mode(s) apply and why. Then:

• Mode 1: Signal stack with explicit noise labeling
• Mode 2: Vague statement rewritten as operational statement (show the transformation)
• Mode 3: Name the overthinking pattern + one circuit breaker + concrete action

Always end with one concrete next step the user can take in the next hour.

What Claude Does / What You Do

Claude	You
Diagnoses which clarity mode applies	Provide the information, goal, or decision
Runs the appropriate filtering/precision/circuit-breaker	Confirm whether the diagnosis fits
Rewrites vague goals into operational ones	Commit to the concrete next step
Names the overthinking pattern explicitly	Execute, rather than continue analyzing

Related Skills

• tradeoff-articulator — when options are defined but costs need mapping
• decision-maker — when it's a structured choice between alternatives
• assumption-extractor — when the vagueness is rooted in unexamined premises