Plan Tracking Skill

Activation Announcement

IMPORTANT: When this skill activates, ALWAYS start your response with:

📋 **Plan Tracking Active**
Managing working memory with Miller's mutable plan system...

This provides a visual indicator to the user that the skill is running.

Purpose

Use Miller's mutable plan system for working memory - track current tasks, update progress, manage active work.

When to Activate

• Starting multi-step work (needs planning)
• Tracking task progress
• Switching between different efforts
• Organizing complex features
• Managing "what am I working on?"

The Plan System

Working Memory vs Knowledge Base:

• Checkpoints = Immutable knowledge (what was done)
• Plans = Mutable working memory (what needs doing)

One Active Plan Rule:

• Only ONE plan can be "active" at a time
• Others are "pending" or "completed"
• Enforces focus, prevents context switching

Plan Operations (6 Actions)

1. Save - Create New Plan

Starting work -> create plan

plan({
  action: "save",
  title: "Add Search Feature",
  content: "## Tasks\n- [ ] Design API\n- [ ] Implement backend\n- [ ] Add tests",
  activate: true  // defaults to true
})

-> Creates plan with ID
-> Auto-activates (deactivates other plans)

When: Starting new multi-step work that needs tracking

2. Get - Retrieve Specific Plan

Check plan status -> get by ID

plan({
  action: "get",
  id: "plan_add-search-feature"
})

-> Returns plan with current status, content, timestamp

3. List - See All Plans

See all plans -> list with optional filter

plan({
  action: "list",
  status: "active"  // optional: "active", "pending", "completed"
})

-> Returns plans sorted by timestamp (most recent first)

4. Activate - Switch Active Plan

Switch focus -> activate different plan

plan({
  action: "activate",
  id: "plan_refactor-database"
})

-> Sets this plan to "active"
-> Other plans become "pending"
-> Only ONE plan active at a time

5. Update - Modify Existing Plan

Update progress -> modify plan content/status

plan({
  action: "update",
  id: "plan_add-search-feature",
  content: "## Tasks\n- [x] Design API\n- [ ] Implement backend\n- [ ] Add tests"
})

-> Atomic update
-> Timestamp updated automatically

When: Progress made, tasks completed, content needs updating

6. Complete - Mark Plan Done

Work finished -> mark complete

plan({
  action: "complete",
  id: "plan_add-search-feature"
})

-> Sets status to "completed"
-> Plan archived from active work

The Complete Plan Workflow

1. Save - Create Plan
   plan({ action: "save", title: "...", content: "## Tasks\n- [ ] ..." })
   -> Auto-activates (ONE active plan)
             |
             v
2. Work & Update Progress
   -> Complete tasks
   plan({ action: "update", id: "...", content: "- [x] Done\n- [ ] Next"})
   -> Update as you go
             |
             v
3. Complete When Done
   plan({ action: "complete", id: "..." })
   -> Status: "completed"
   -> Archived from active work
             |
             v
   Plan finished, checkpoint created!

Plan Content Format (Markdown)

Recommended structure:

## Tasks
- [ ] Task 1
- [ ] Task 2
- [x] Task 3 (completed)

## Notes
- Important decision: chose X over Y
- Blocked by: dependency Z

## Progress
Started: 2025-01-10
Updated: 2025-01-11

Key points:

• Use markdown checkboxes - [ ] and - [x]
• Task counts are automatically calculated from checkboxes
• Organize with headers
• Track blockers and notes

Workflow Patterns

Pattern 1: Feature Development

Start feature:
  plan({ action: "save", title: "User Profile Page",
         content: "## Tasks\n- [ ] Design\n- [ ] Backend\n- [ ] Frontend\n- [ ] Tests" })

During work:
  plan({ action: "update", id: "plan_user-profile-page",
         content: "## Tasks\n- [x] Design\n- [x] Backend\n- [ ] Frontend\n- [ ] Tests" })

When done:
  plan({ action: "complete", id: "plan_user-profile-page" })
  checkpoint({ description: "Completed user profile page", tags: ["feature"] })

Pattern 2: Multi-Track Work

Have 3 efforts in flight:

  plan({ action: "list" })
  -> Shows all plans with status

Switch focus:
  plan({ action: "activate", id: "plan_urgent-bugfix" })
  -> Urgent work becomes active
  -> Other plans pending (still accessible)

Return to original work:
  plan({ action: "activate", id: "plan_refactor-database" })
  -> Resume where you left off

Key Behaviors

DO

• Create plan when starting multi-step work
• Update plan as progress is made
• Use ONE active plan at a time (focus!)
• Complete plans when done (closure)
• Use markdown checkboxes for tasks
• Checkpoint major milestones (complement plans)

DON'T

• Create plans for single-step tasks (use checkpoint when done)
• Forget to update progress (stale plans are useless)
• Have multiple active plans (enforced by system anyway)
• Skip completing plans (mark closure!)
• Use plans as knowledge base (that's checkpoints)

Success Criteria

This skill succeeds when:

• Plans track all active work
• Only ONE plan active at a time
• Plans updated as progress is made
• Completed plans archived properly
• Clear visibility into work streams
• Easy to switch focus between efforts
• Plans complement checkpoints (not duplicate)