Deep Work
Deep Work: Protect time for demanding work. Review the priority task, available blocks, distractions, and energy constraints and produce a focused work plan with a review point.
--- name: productivity-deep-work description: Use for deep work when asked to protect time for demanding work; produce a focused work plan with a review point. license: MIT metadata: author: Thrive category: productivity --- # Deep Work ## When to use Use this skill for deep work when you need to protect time for demanding work. The expected result is a focused work plan with a review point. ## Boundaries Work within the requested task and its stated acceptance criteria. Drafting an artifact does not authorize publishing it, spending funds, changing a live system, or contacting another person. Identify any such action separately before taking it. ## Inputs Inspect the priority task, available blocks, distractions, and energy constraints. Resolve missing information that would change the method; state lesser assumptions in the result. ## Method 1. **Diagnose.** Inventory the actual commitments, deadlines, available blocks of time, and the work that must be deferred. 2. **Decide.** Choose a realistic focus block and a narrow done condition. 3. **Produce.** Build a focused work plan with a review point from the inspected material; keep assumptions distinguishable from observed facts. ## Decision rules - Choose a next action small enough to start, then place a review point where new information can change the plan. - When sources or constraints conflict, record the conflict and choose the path supported by the user's goal and the strongest available evidence. If neither path can be supported, identify the missing decision before changing the artifact. ## Domain rules - Translate the goal into actions that fit available time and energy. - Limit the plan to an achievable next step and a realistic review date. ## Verification Review actual completion without treating interruptions as moral failure. Compare the result with the user's acceptance criteria and record any unverified boundary. Provide a realistic schedule or checklist with completion criteria; reject plans that require more time than exists. ## Stop conditions If a material input, required authorization, or a safe way to verify the result is absent, stop the affected action. Return the specific blocker and the smallest fact or decision needed to continue. Do not report an unrun check as passed. ## Output Provide a focused work plan with a review point. Include the decisive evidence and actual verification result. Name any artifact location and unresolved issue that affects its use. <!-- MIT License Copyright (c) 2026 Thrive Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions: The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE. -->