Weekly Planning
Create a focused weekly plan based on tasks, priorities, and your work patterns.
When to Use
- •After
/weekly_review - •Start of a new week
- •When feeling overwhelmed by options
- •After a meeting that added new tasks
Prerequisites
- •
~/.researchAssistant/researcher_telos.mdfor work preferences - •
.research/project_telos.mdfor current priorities - •
tasks.mdfor pending tasks - •Recent weekly review (recommended)
Execution Steps
1. Gather Context
Read these files:
- •
~/.researchAssistant/researcher_telos.md- Productive hours, preferences - •
.research/project_telos.md- Current phase, goals, blockers - •
.research/phase_checklist.md- What's needed for current phase - •
tasks.md- Pending tasks - •
.research/logs/weekly/- Most recent weekly review - •GitHub Issues (if integrated) - Open issues
2. Assess Available Capacity
Ask or infer:
code
Let's plan your week. First, some logistics: 1. Any days off or unusual schedule this week? 2. Any deadlines I should know about? 3. Any meetings already scheduled that will take significant time? 4. On a scale of 1-5, how much deep work time do you expect to have?
3. Prioritize Tasks
Categorize all pending work:
markdown
## Work Inventory ### Must Do This Week (Critical) <!-- Blockers, deadlines, dependencies --> - [ ] [Task] - Due: [date] | Blocks: [what] - [ ] [Task] - Due: [date] ### Should Do (High Priority) <!-- Important for progress but not urgent --> - [ ] [Task] - Supports: [aim/goal] - [ ] [Task] - Supports: [aim/goal] ### Could Do (Normal Priority) <!-- Good to do if time allows --> - [ ] [Task] - [ ] [Task] ### Backlog (Not This Week) <!-- Explicitly deprioritized --> - [ ] [Task] - Why not: [reason]
4. Create Daily Plan
Based on user's productivity patterns:
markdown
# Weekly Plan: [Week of DATE] ## Focus for the Week **Primary goal**: [One clear goal for the week] **Theme**: [e.g., "Pipeline completion", "Writing push", "Analysis sprint"] --- ## Monday *Energy: [Based on researcher_telos.md]* ### Morning (High focus) - [ ] [Deep work task - most important] ### Afternoon - [ ] [Medium focus task] - [ ] [Smaller task] ### End of Day - [ ] Quick commit and log progress --- ## Tuesday *Energy: [Pattern]* ### Morning - [ ] [Task] ### Afternoon - [ ] [Task] --- ## Wednesday *Energy: [Pattern]* ### Morning - [ ] [Task] ### Afternoon - [ ] [Task] --- ## Thursday *Energy: [Pattern]* ### Morning - [ ] [Task] ### Afternoon - [ ] [Task] --- ## Friday *Energy: [Typically lower - plan accordingly]* ### Morning - [ ] [Wrap-up or lighter task] ### Afternoon - [ ] Weekly review prep - [ ] Documentation catch-up - [ ] Plan ahead for next week --- ## Buffer Time *Unscheduled time for unexpected needs* - 2-4 hours reserved for surprises ## This Week's Boundaries - [ ] Will NOT work on: [Explicitly out of scope] - [ ] Limiting: [What to time-box]
5. Account for User Patterns
From researcher_telos.md:
| If User Is... | Then... |
|---|---|
| Morning person | Schedule deep work before noon |
| Afternoon person | Protect afternoon focus time |
| Procrastinates writing | Schedule writing first, not last |
| Forgets to commit | Add commit reminders |
| Scope creep tendency | Set explicit boundaries |
| Documentation avoider | Pair docs with coding tasks |
6. Present Plan
code
Here's your weekly plan: 📌 **Weekly Focus**: [Primary goal] **Critical (Must complete)**: 1. [Task] - Monday morning 2. [Task] - By Wednesday 3. [Task] - Before Friday **High Priority**: 4. [Task] 5. [Task] **If Time Allows**: 6. [Task] 7. [Task] **Explicitly NOT this week**: - [Deprioritized item] Does this look right? Any adjustments needed? A) Accept this plan B) Move something up in priority C) Remove something (too ambitious) D) Add something I missed
7. Save Plan
Save to .research/logs/weekly/YYYY-MM-DD-plan.md
Planning Principles
- •
Start with the hardest/most important thing
- •Don't bury critical work on Friday
- •
Time-box, don't open-end
- •"Work on analysis" → "2 hours on analysis: complete X"
- •
Build in buffer
- •Things always take longer
- •Unexpected issues arise
- •
Match energy to task
- •Deep work when fresh
- •Admin when tired
- •
End-of-day ritual
- •Commit code
- •Log progress
- •Clear desk for tomorrow
- •
Protect focus time
- •Identify and block best hours
Related Skills
- •
weekly-review- Review last week first - •
next- Get immediate next action - •
monthly-review- Bigger picture priority setting
Notes
- •Plans are guides, not contracts
- •Adjust as the week unfolds
- •Celebrate completing the critical items
- •It's okay to not finish everything