Productivity Update

Sync tasks and refresh memory from your current activity. Use when pulling new assignments from your project tracker into TASKS.md, triaging stale or overdue tasks, filling memory gaps for unknown people or projects, or running a comprehensive scan to catch todos buried in chat and email.

by @anthropics · Apache 2.0 New

What this skill does

Keep your workload organized by automatically pulling new assignments from your project tools and flagging overdue tasks for review. It also catches hidden to-dos buried in chat and email while ensuring you have context for every person and project mentioned. Reach for it whenever you need to refresh your focus or ensure nothing has slipped through the cracks.

Anthropic · Productivity
view on github ↗

name: update description: Sync tasks and refresh memory from your current activity. Use when pulling new assignments from your project tracker into TASKS.md, triaging stale or overdue tasks, filling memory gaps for unknown people or projects, or running a comprehensive scan to catch todos buried in chat and email. argument-hint: ”[—comprehensive]“

Update Command

If you see unfamiliar placeholders or need to check which tools are connected, see CONNECTORS.md.

Keep your task list and memory current. Two modes:

  • Default: Sync tasks from external tools, triage stale items, check memory for gaps
  • --comprehensive: Deep scan chat, email, calendar, docs — flag missed todos and suggest new memories

Usage

/productivity:update
/productivity:update --comprehensive

Default Mode

1. Load Current State

Read TASKS.md and memory/ directory. If they don’t exist, suggest /productivity:start first.

2. Sync Tasks from External Sources

Check for available task sources:

  • Project tracker (e.g. Asana, Linear, Jira) (if MCP available)
  • GitHub Issues (if in a repo): gh issue list --assignee=@me

If no sources are available, skip to Step 3.

Fetch tasks assigned to the user (open/in-progress). Compare against TASKS.md:

External taskTASKS.md match?Action
Found, not in TASKS.mdNo matchOffer to add
Found, already in TASKS.mdMatch by title (fuzzy)Skip
In TASKS.md, not in externalNo matchFlag as potentially stale
Completed externallyIn Active sectionOffer to mark done

Present diff and let user decide what to add/complete.

3. Triage Stale Items

Review Active tasks in TASKS.md and flag:

  • Tasks with due dates in the past
  • Tasks in Active for 30+ days
  • Tasks with no context (no person, no project)

Present each for triage: Mark done? Reschedule? Move to Someday?

4. Decode Tasks for Memory Gaps

For each task, attempt to decode all entities (people, projects, acronyms, tools, links):

Task: "Send PSR to Todd re: Phoenix blockers"

Decode:
- PSR → ✓ Pipeline Status Report (in glossary)
- Todd → ✓ Todd Martinez (in people/)
- Phoenix → ? Not in memory

Track what’s fully decoded vs. what has gaps.

5. Fill Gaps

Present unknown terms grouped:

I found terms in your tasks I don't have context for:

1. "Phoenix" (from: "Send PSR to Todd re: Phoenix blockers")
   → What's Phoenix?

2. "Maya" (from: "sync with Maya on API design")
   → Who is Maya?

Add answers to the appropriate memory files (people/, projects/, glossary.md).

6. Capture Enrichment

Tasks often contain richer context than memory. Extract and update:

  • Links from tasks → add to project/people files
  • Status changes (“launch done”) → update project status, demote from CLAUDE.md
  • Relationships (“Todd’s sign-off on Maya’s proposal”) → cross-reference people
  • Deadlines → add to project files

7. Report

Update complete:
- Tasks: +3 from project tracker (e.g. Asana), 1 completed, 2 triaged
- Memory: 2 gaps filled, 1 project enriched
- All tasks decoded ✓

Comprehensive Mode (--comprehensive)

Everything in Default Mode, plus a deep scan of recent activity.

Extra Step: Scan Activity Sources

Gather data from available MCP sources:

  • Chat: Search recent messages, read active channels
  • Email: Search sent messages
  • Documents: List recently touched docs
  • Calendar: List recent + upcoming events

Extra Step: Flag Missed Todos

Compare activity against TASKS.md. Surface action items that aren’t tracked:

## Possible Missing Tasks

From your activity, these look like todos you haven't captured:

1. From chat (Jan 18):
   "I'll send the updated mockups by Friday"
   → Add to TASKS.md?

2. From meeting "Phoenix Standup" (Jan 17):
   You have a recurring meeting but no Phoenix tasks active
   → Anything needed here?

3. From email (Jan 16):
   "I'll review the API spec this week"
   → Add to TASKS.md?

Let user pick which to add.

Extra Step: Suggest New Memories

Surface new entities not in memory:

## New People (not in memory)
| Name | Frequency | Context |
|------|-----------|---------|
| Maya Rodriguez | 12 mentions | design, UI reviews |
| Alex K | 8 mentions | DMs about API |

## New Projects/Topics
| Name | Frequency | Context |
|------|-----------|---------|
| Starlight | 15 mentions | planning docs, product |

## Suggested Cleanup
- **Horizon project** — No mentions in 30 days. Mark completed?

Present grouped by confidence. High-confidence items offered to add directly; low-confidence items asked about.

Notes

  • Never auto-add tasks or memories without user confirmation
  • External source links are preserved when available
  • Fuzzy matching on task titles handles minor wording differences
  • Safe to run frequently — only updates when there’s new info
  • --comprehensive always runs interactively

Install this Skill

Skills give your AI agent a consistent, structured approach to this task — better output than a one-off prompt.

npx skills add anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins --skill productivity
Download ZIP

Official Anthropic skill. Need a walkthrough? See the install guide →

Works with

No terminal needed — Claude.ai works by pasting the skill into custom instructions.

Details

License
Apache 2.0
Source file
show path productivity/skills/update/SKILL.md
productivity update knowledge-work-plugin