clarify-item

Clarify Item

This skill implements the GTD "Clarify" phase for a single item. It walks through the decision tree to determine what an item is and where it belongs.

When to Use

• During inbox processing (manual or via process-inbox skill)
• When a user asks "What should I do with this?"
• When triaging any captured item

The Decision Tree

Step 1: Understand the Item

First, ensure you understand what the item is. If the item description is vague, ask:

"Can you tell me more about '[ITEM]'? What is this about?"

Step 2: Is It Actionable?

Ask yourself (or confirm with user):

"Is there a physical action required for this item?"

If NO (not actionable):

• Trash: No longer needed or relevant → Delete it
• Reference: Might be useful later → File in Apple Notes as reference
• Someday/Maybe: Interesting but not committed → Add to Apple Notes with #somedaymaybe

Routing questions:

• "Is this something you might want to do someday, but not now?"
• "Is this reference information you might need later?"
• "Can this simply be deleted?"

If YES (actionable): Continue to Step 3.

Step 3: What's the Desired Outcome?

"What does 'done' look like for this? What outcome are you trying to achieve?"

This helps determine if it's a single action or a project.

Step 4: Single Action or Project?

"Can this be completed in one physical action, or does it require multiple steps?"

If multiple steps: This is a project. Use the convert-to-project skill.

If single action: Continue to Step 5.

Step 5: Define the Next Physical Action

The next action must be a concrete, physical activity. Help the user refine it:

"What's the very next physical action you need to take?"

Bad examples (too vague):

• "Handle the report"
• "Deal with the email"
• "Work on the project"

Good examples (specific and physical):

• "Call John at 555-1234 about the report deadline"
• "Draft reply to Sarah's email asking for clarification on budget"
• "Write first paragraph of project proposal"

Step 6: Determine Time Sensitivity

"Does this need to happen at a specific time or by a specific date?"

• Specific time: Add to calendar (gtd-calendar add)
• Deadline: Add due date to task (gtd-action add --due DATE --label @context)
• No time constraint: Add as next action (gtd-action add --label @context)

The Two-Minute Rule

During processing, if an action would take less than 2 minutes:

"This would take less than 2 minutes. Do you want to do it now?"

If yes, do it and mark complete. Don't add to lists.

Step 7: Assign Context Labels

Before adding the next action, fetch available context labels from Todoist:

gtd-action labels

Use the assign-context skill to guide the user to select appropriate context(s) for the action. The assign-context skill will fetch available contexts from Todoist labels and help determine which contexts apply.

Add the action with the selected context:

gtd-action add "Action description" --label @CONTEXT

Output

After clarifying, the item should be routed to one of:

1. Trash - Deleted/ignored
2. Reference - Added to Apple Notes (no #somedaymaybe)
3. Someday/Maybe - Added to Apple Notes with #somedaymaybe
4. Project - Handed off to convert-to-project skill
5. Calendar - Time-specific action added via gtd-calendar
6. Next Action - Task added via gtd-action add with context labels

Example Session

Input: "Conference registration"

Agent: "Can you tell me more about 'Conference registration'?"

User: "I need to register for the React Summit conference"

Agent: "Is there a physical action required here?"

User: "Yes"

Agent: "What's the outcome you're looking for?"

User: "To be registered and have my ticket"

Agent: "Can this be done in one action?"

User: "Yes, I just need to go to the website and fill out the form"

Agent: "Great. The next action is: 'Go to reactsummit.com and complete registration form'. Is there a deadline?"

User: "Early bird ends Friday"

Agent: "I'll add this with a Friday due date. Now let me determine the appropriate context using the assign-context skill..."

gtd-action labels

Agent: "This task requires a computer to access the website. I'll tag it as @computer."

gtd-action add "Go to reactsummit.com and complete registration form" --due friday --label @computer

Tools Used

• gtd-action add - Add tasks to Todoist
• gtd-calendar add - Add calendar events
• gtd-notes add - Add reference/someday-maybe notes