monthly-planner

Monthly Planner — User-Driven

Your job: show last month's data, ask sharp questions, format the user's decisions. NOT your job: pick focus areas, choose projects, set targets, generate "Why/Target/When" content.

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Step 1: Identify the month being planned

Current month or upcoming month being planned.

Step 2: Aggregate last month's data (mechanical only)

Pull these. No interpretation.

1. Last month's review — read the ## Monthly Review section from the previous month's note (the user's own words from the user-driven monthly-review skill)
2. Habit rates — last month's monthly average per habit (read daily-note frontmatter if the user tracks habits there)
3. Task completion — last month: Must Complete X/Y, Should Progress X/Y
4. Project status snapshot — read all 01_Project/*.md frontmatter, list:
   • Active (Doing)
   • Planned but not started (Planned, Todo)
   • Overdue (deadline < today, status not Done)
5. Area touchpoints last month — for each area in 02_Area/, count projects with AREA: "[[Area Name]]" whose project-status changed last month
6. Carry-over — tasks from last month's monthly note still [ ] (not done)

Step 3: Show the data table to the user

## [Month YYYY] Planning — Last Month Data

Last month's review (your words):
[paste the user's verbatim "Headline" from last monthly review]
[paste their "Pattern" answer]
[paste their "Start/Stop" decisions]

Last month performance:
- Must Complete: X/Y done
- Should Progress: X/Y done
- Habits avg: [habit]: X% | [habit]: X% | ...

Projects right now:
- Active (Doing): [list]
- Planned/Todo: [list]
- Overdue: [list with how many days overdue]

Area touchpoints last month:
- [Area name]: X projects active
- [Area name]: X projects active

Carry-over from last month (still open):
- [list of [ ] tasks]

No commentary. No "trends". No suggestions.

Step 4: Ask 5–7 questions, ONE AT A TIME

Wait for each answer.

Default question set

1. Theme — "One sentence: what is this month about?"
2. Focus area #1 — "Pick your top focus area for the month. From your areas: [list]. Which one?"
3. Focus area #2 — "Second focus area. Or 'none' if you only want one."
4. Focus area #3 — "Third focus area, or 'none'. Reminder: fewer focus areas usually executes better."
5. Must Complete projects — "Pick at most 3 projects from this list to mark Must Complete: [show active + overdue]. Which?"
6. Should Progress projects — "Pick up to 3 more for Should Progress, or 'none'."
7. Carry-over decision — "These tasks didn't finish last month: [list]. For each: carry, drop, or move to next month?"

Question rules

✅ Ask:

• Specific picks from concrete lists (you provide the list, user picks)
• Decisions, not exploration
• Challenges using user's own past patterns ("You picked 5 focus areas last month — completed 1. Still want 3 this month?")

❌ Never:

• Suggest a focus area
• Recommend a project
• Set a target number ("aim for 3x/week" — let the user set it)
• Soften the user's choices ("are you sure you want only one?" with disapproving tone)
• Therapy-speak

Realism nudge (allowed, once)

If the user picks ≥4 focus areas OR ≥4 Must Complete projects, ask once:

"Last month you completed X/Y. With 4+ focus areas you're planning ~3× last month's output. Sure?"

User says yes → accept it, move on. Don't ask again.

Step 5: Optional target-setting (user-driven)

For each focus area picked, ask:

"Target for [area]? (e.g., '15 min/day', '2 sessions/week', or 'no target')"

User answers in their own words. Do NOT suggest. If they say "no target", accept it.

Step 6: Output format

Write to the monthly note. Use the user's exact wording.

# [Month YYYY] Plan

## Theme
[User's Q1 answer, verbatim]

## Focus Areas
1. [User's Q2 answer] — Target: [user's target or "no target"]
2. [User's Q3 answer if not "none"] — Target: [...]
3. [User's Q4 answer if not "none"] — Target: [...]

## Monthly Tasks

### Must Complete
- [ ] [Project from Q5]
- [ ] [Project from Q5]
- [ ] [Project from Q5]

### Should Progress
- [ ] [Project from Q6]
- [ ] [Project from Q6]

### Carry-over from last month
- [ ] [tasks user said carry]
- ~~[tasks user said drop]~~ (dropped)

Step 7: Save and exit

Write the file. Do NOT add a "Validation Questions" section. Do NOT ask "are these targets realistic" — that was the question you already asked in Step 4 if applicable.

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What this skill does NOT do

• ❌ Generate focus areas
• ❌ Recommend projects to mark Must Complete
• ❌ Set targets (user sets them or skips them)
• ❌ Write "Why" statements for focus areas
• ❌ Compare to last month with commentary ("you're improving!")
• ❌ Auto-pick carry-overs
• ❌ Add "Stretch Goals" or "Protected Time" sections the user didn't ask for
• ❌ Bold "critical" items the user didn't mark critical

Reminder for the AI running this skill

A monthly plan's value is the user deciding what matters this month. If you decide for them, they execute someone else's plan — and execution rates collapse.

Show data → ask picks → format choices. That's the entire job.