Task Clarity Scanner Skill

Task Clarity Scanner

What This Does

Scans your daily note, identifies unclear or vague tasks, manages the Personal Kanban flow (Today's 3 ↔ Ready), flags stale items, and updates the file once you approve changes.

When to Use

"Scan my tasks"
"Review my daily note"
"Clarify my todos"
"Check my task list for today"
"What can you help me with today?"
"Swap tasks" / "Update my Today's 3"

Default Daily Note Location

Ed's daily notes live in Obsidian at:

/Users/eddale/Documents/COPYobsidian/MAGI/Zettelkasten/YYYY-MM-DD.md

When invoked without a specific file, check today's date and look for that file automatically.

Daily Note Structure (Personal Kanban)

The daily note has this structure:

## Ship This = Win Day
[Single focus - WIP limit 1]

## Today's 3
[Active work - pulled from Ready, WIP limit 3]

## Ready
[Backlog - all carried-forward tasks live here]

## Waiting For
[Blocked/delegated items with dates]

## Done Today
[Completed items]

## Captures
[Links to docs created today]

## Scratch
[Quick notes]

Waiting For System

Folder: /Users/eddale/Documents/COPYobsidian/MAGI/Zettelkasten/Waiting For/

File naming: WAITING - [Person Name] - [Topic].md

Daily note format:

## Waiting For
- [[WAITING - John Smith - Contract Review]] - Follow up 01-12 (01-09)

Name Consistency (Fuzzy Match)

Critical: Before creating any Waiting For item, check for existing names to prevent fragmentation.

Process:

User provides a name (e.g., "Jon Smith")

Grep existing Waiting For docs + CONTACT files for similar names:

Glob: /Users/eddale/Documents/COPYobsidian/MAGI/Zettelkasten/Waiting For/WAITING - *.md
Glob: /Users/eddale/Documents/COPYobsidian/MAGI/Zettelkasten/CONTACT - *.md

Extract person names from filenames

If similar names found (case-insensitive, partial match), show options:

I found similar names in your system:
1. John Smith (2 existing Waiting For items)
2. Jonathan Smithson (1 contact)
3. New person: "Jon Smith"

Which one?

If user selects existing → use that exact spelling
If new person → use user's spelling as canonical

Why: Prevents "John" vs "Jon" fragmentation. First occurrence sets canonical spelling.

Instructions

This skill uses the Batch Pattern - clarify all tasks first, then execute work.

Note: If you need to triage mobile captures first, use the daily-review agent which runs inbox-triage before this skill.

PASS 0: Kanban Health Check

Before clarifying tasks, assess the board:

Count Today's 3 - Are there exactly 3 tasks? More? Fewer?
Check for stale items - Any tasks marked [STALE]?
Review Ready size - Is the backlog growing out of control?
Check Waiting For items - Read individual docs, check follow-up dates

Waiting For Check:

Glob: /Users/eddale/Documents/COPYobsidian/MAGI/Zettelkasten/Waiting For/WAITING - *.md

For each file, read frontmatter to get follow-up date. Categorize:

Overdue - follow-up date before today
Due today - follow-up date is today
Upcoming - follow-up date in future

Report findings:

## Board Status
- Today's 3: [N] tasks (target: 3)
- Ready: [N] tasks
- Stale items: [N] (rolling 3+ days)
- Waiting For: [N] items ([M] need follow-up: [X] overdue, [Y] due today)

If Today's 3 has more than 3 items, offer to help prioritize. If stale items exist, flag them for decision (do, delegate, drop). If Waiting For items are due, PASS 1.6 will handle them.

PASS 1: Clarify (One by One)

Step 1: Read the Daily Note If no file specified, use today's date to find the daily note in the Zettelkasten folder. Look for tasks in ## Today's 3 and ## Ready sections.

Step 2: Quick Triage (Background OK)

This step can run in background. Scan and categorize all tasks before surfacing to user.

Briefly categorize tasks:

Clear - Ready to act on
Unclear - Needs clarification
Stale - Rolling 3+ days, needs decision
Done - Already completed, can skip

Complete the full triage before presenting results to user.

Step 3: Clarify One at a Time Present each unclear task individually using this format:

**Task:** "[the task]"

- **Issue:** [what's unclear]
- **Suggested rewrite:** "[agentic-ready version]"
- **What's needed:** [missing context]

Then ask ONE question with options:

Clarify - "Here's what I mean: [context]"
Accept rewrite - Use the suggested version
Skip - Leave as-is for now
Someday/Maybe - Park it with #someday tag
Create project file - Start a living doc for this task
Move to Ready - Not for today, but keep visible
Move to Waiting For - This is blocked/delegated (see Step 3c)

Move to the next task after each response. Keep momentum.

Step 3a: Stale Item Handling For tasks marked [STALE]:

**Stale Task:** "[STALE] [task text] (MM-DD)"
This has been rolling for [N] days.

Options:
1. **Do it now** - Move to Today's 3, commit to finishing
2. **Delegate** - Move to Waiting For with context
3. **Drop** - Remove entirely (it's not happening)
4. **Reframe** - Break into smaller pieces
5. **Someday** - Park with #someday tag

Step 3b: Project File Creation When user selects "Create project file":

Create in Obsidian Zettelkasten at: /Users/eddale/Documents/COPYobsidian/MAGI/Zettelkasten/PROJECT - [Task Name].md
Seed the file with this template:

---
type: project
status: planning
created: YYYY-MM-DD
linked-from: [[YYYY-MM-DD]]
---
# PROJECT: [Task Name]

## What We're Building
[One paragraph describing the goal and why it matters]

## Constraints & Scope
- In scope: ...
- Out of scope: ...
- Dependencies: ...

## Context Gathered
[Brainstorming notes, research findings, decisions made so far]

## Steps (when ready)
- [ ] Step 1
- [ ] Step 2

## Done State
[How we know this is complete]

## Open Questions
- [ ] Question 1

Update daily note - Replace original task with: - [ ] [[PROJECT - Task Name]] - [brief description]
Offer to continue brainstorming in the project file right now

Step 3c: Create Waiting For Item When user selects "Move to Waiting For":

Gather info using AskUserQuestion:
- Who are you waiting on?
- What are you waiting for? (brief description)
- When should you follow up? (suggest 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks)
Run name fuzzy-match (see Name Consistency section above)

Create the Waiting For doc at: /Users/eddale/Documents/COPYobsidian/MAGI/Zettelkasten/Waiting For/WAITING - [Person] - [Topic].md

Using this template:

---
type: waiting-for
person: [Name]
topic: [Brief description]
delegated: [Today's date]
follow-up: [Follow-up date]
status: waiting
call-links: []
tags: [waiting-for]
---

# WAITING: [Person] - [Topic]

## What I'm Waiting For
[Description from user input]

## Context
- **Delegated:** [Today]
- **Follow-up:** [Follow-up date]
- **Original task:** [The task being moved]

## Call History
<!-- Future: Auto-populated by bb-meeting-summary -->

## Interaction Log
- [Today]: Created - [context]

## Notes on [Person]
<!-- Add observations as you learn them -->

Update daily note:
- Remove original task from Today's 3 or Ready
- Add to ## Waiting For section: - [[WAITING - Person - Topic]] - Follow up [date] ([today])
Confirm: "Created Waiting For item. Will surface for follow-up on [date]."

Step 4: Rewrite Principles When suggesting rewrites:

State the specific action
Include context needed
Define the done state
Make it agent-handoff ready
Include URLs/links so tasks are self-contained
Preserve date suffix - Keep (MM-DD) for staleness tracking

Example:

Before: "Make Google Drive AI Ready"
After: "Organize Google Drive for AI access: Create 'AI-Ready' folder, move key docs, document what each folder contains (01-04)"

Step 4b: Flag Task Dependencies While clarifying, watch for blocking relationships:

- [ ] Convert project to skill ← Do first
  - [ ] Upload skill ZIP ← Blocked by above

Suggest marking blocked items in Waiting For section.

Step 4c: Surfaced Tasks Clarifying one task often surfaces additional tasks. Track these as you go:

New research needed
Dependencies discovered
Related updates required

These go to the Ready section when updating the file.

Step 4d: Final Check Before moving to PASS 2, ask: "Did we miss anything?"

PASS 1.5: Kanban Swaps (Optional)

If user wants to adjust Today's 3:

Swap Interface:

## Current Today's 3:
1. [Task A]
2. [Task B]
3. [Task C]

## Ready (available to pull):
1. [Task D]
2. [Task E]
3. [Task F]

What would you like to do?
- Swap: "swap 2 with D" - Replace Task B with Task D
- Add: "add E" - Pull Task E into Today's 3 (if under limit)
- Remove: "remove 1" - Move Task A back to Ready
- Done: "done 2" - Mark Task B complete, move to Done Today

Apply changes and confirm.

PASS 1.6: Waiting For Check

Run this if PASS 0 found items due for follow-up.

For each item that's overdue or due today:

### Follow-up Due

**[[WAITING - John Smith - Contract Review]]**
- **Waiting for:** Contract signature
- **Delegated:** 01-05
- **Due:** 01-09 (today)
- **Days waiting:** 4

Options:
1. **Follow up now** - I'll add to Interaction Log, set new follow-up date
2. **Snooze 3 days** - Push follow-up to [new date]
3. **Snooze 1 week** - Push follow-up to [new date]
4. **Resolve** - Item complete, move to Done Today
5. **Skip** - Deal with this later

If user selects "Follow up now":

Ask: "What's the new follow-up date?" (suggest 3 days, 1 week)
Ask: "Brief note on follow-up action?" (optional)
Update the Waiting For doc:
- Add to ## Interaction Log: - [Today]: Followed up - [note]
- Update frontmatter follow-up: to new date
Update daily note link with new follow-up date

If user selects "Resolve":

Ask: "Brief resolution note?" (optional)
Update the Waiting For doc:
- Add to ## Interaction Log: - [Today]: Resolved - [note]
- Update frontmatter status: to resolved
Update daily note:
- Remove from ## Waiting For section
- Add to ## Done Today: - [x] Resolved: [[WAITING - Person - Topic]]

If user selects "Snooze":

Update frontmatter follow-up: to new date
Update daily note link with new date
Confirm: "Snoozed to [date]"

PASS 2: Update the File

Step 5: Batch the Changes After all tasks are clarified, summarize:

Ready to update your daily note:

## Today's 3 Changes:
- [Task moved in from Ready]
- [Task rewritten]

## Ready Changes:
- Task 1: [original] → [rewrite]
- Task 2: Skipped
- Task 3: → Someday/Maybe (#someday added)

## Stale Items:
- [Task] → Dropped
- [Task] → Moved to Waiting For

## Waiting For Changes:
- [[WAITING - Person - Topic]] → Followed up, new date [date]
- [[WAITING - Person - Topic]] → Resolved
- [[WAITING - Person - Topic]] → Snoozed to [date]
- New: [[WAITING - Person - Topic]] created

## New Tasks (surfaced):
- [New task discovered]

Get final approval before making edits.

Step 6: Apply Edits

Use Edit tool to modify the original file
Keep tasks in their proper sections (Today's 3 vs Ready)
Move completed items to Done Today
Move blocked items to Waiting For
Add #someday tag for parked items
Preserve all other content exactly
Confirm: "Updated [N] tasks."

PASS 3: Execute (Future)

Step 7: Spin Up Agents For tasks marked "Ready to Go", offer to spin up agents:

These tasks are ready for agents:
- [task 1] - I can do this now
- [task 2] - Needs a research agent
- [task 3] - I can do this now

Want me to start working on these?

Execute approved tasks, report back when done.

Guidelines

Respect the Kanban structure - Today's 3 = active work, Ready = backlog
Don't over-engineer - A slightly vague task that's obvious to Ed doesn't need rewriting
Preserve voice - Rewrites should sound like Ed, not corporate jargon
Flag unknowns honestly - If you don't know what something means, say so
Suggest, don't assume - Always get approval before modifying
Keep the human in the loop - Help Ed move faster, don't take over
Preserve date suffixes - The (MM-DD) format enables staleness tracking

The Project File Pattern

For tasks that are too big to clarify inline, create a project file instead:

The file is a living document that grows over sessions
Daily note links to the project file (keeps it visible)
When ready to execute, the project file IS the spec
If parked for 1+ week, move to [[Someday-Maybe]] file

When to suggest a project file:

Task involves multiple sub-tasks
Needs research before execution
Will take multiple sessions to complete
Has dependencies on other work
User says "let me think about this"

Research Task Pattern

Research tasks have a distinct completion format:

Format:

- [x] ~~[Research Topic]~~ → **Finding:** [Summary]. See [[Document Name]]

Research Swarm Bundling: When you see 3+ related research tasks, suggest: "These research tasks are related and could run in parallel. Consider bundling as 'Research Swarm - [Topic] - YYYY-MM-DD'"

Examples

Input (from daily note):

## Today's 3
- [ ] Review PR for auth changes (01-02)
- [ ] [STALE] Fix the login bug (12-30)
- [ ] Write newsletter intro

## Ready
- [ ] Convert Offer Diamond to skill (01-03)
- [ ] Set up Gmail App Password (01-01)
- [ ] Research API options

Output (report):

## Board Status
- Today's 3: 3 tasks (target: 3) ✓
- Ready: 3 tasks
- Stale items: 1 (Fix the login bug - 5 days)
- Waiting For: 0

## Needs Attention

### Stale Item
**Task:** "[STALE] Fix the login bug (12-30)"
Rolling for 5 days. Decision needed:
1. Do it now
2. Delegate
3. Drop
4. Reframe
5. Someday

### Unclear Task
**Task:** "Write newsletter intro"
- Issue: Which newsletter? What's the topic?
- Suggested rewrite: "Write intro for LBR article on [topic] - 2-3 sentences, hook + promise (01-04)"
- What's needed: Article topic and angle

### Ready to Go
- "Review PR for auth changes" - Clear, actionable
- "Convert Offer Diamond to skill" - Clear process exists

Agent Skills: Task Clarity Scanner

Skill Files