Plan Task

When to use

• "Help me plan X"
• "How do I do Y?"
• "What's the best way to approach Z?"
• "Break this down for me"

Steps

1. Clarify the goal — restate it in one sentence. If the goal is fuzzy ("improve my website"), use ask_questions to nail down:

- What does "done" look like? - Hard constraints (deadline, budget, must/must-not) - Resources available (time, skills, tools)

1. Break into steps — produce 5-10 concrete steps. Each step should:

- Start with a verb (Create, Send, Review, Decide, Test) - Be small enough to complete in one session - Have a clear "done" state

1. Identify dependencies — note which steps must happen before others. Don't over-sequence — most steps can run in parallel.

1. Estimate effort for each step (S/M/L or hours, depending on context).

1. Display as progress tracker — use show_progress with all steps marked upcoming. The user can update status as they work.

1. Add a critical path note — one sentence: which 1-2 steps are most likely to delay everything if they slip?

1. Offer to act via offer_choices:

- "Start with step 1" - "Save this plan to my files" - "Add a deadline" - "Adjust the steps"

Style

• Concrete actions, not abstractions ("Draft the brief" not "Think about scope")
• Right level of detail — for a 1-day task, ~5 steps; for a multi-week project, ~10 with sub-steps
• Realistic estimates — pad for uncertainty, especially first steps

What not to do

• Don't generate more than 10 top-level steps — that's a sign you should chunk into phases
• Don't include "research the problem" as a step (that's planning, not the work)
• Don't sequence things that can run in parallel just because they "feel" sequential
• Don't end without a clear first step the user can take right now