croesnick/todoist-triage

Todoist Triage

Triage incoming tasks by assigning four orthogonal dimensions before placing them in the right project. This skill turns a flat inbox into a structured, actionable system.

CRITICAL RULE

NEVER delete any Todoist object without explicit user confirmation. Before calling any delete tool:

1. STOP and show exactly what will be deleted (type, name/content, ID)
2. Wait for explicit "yes", "ja", "ok" or similar confirmation
3. Only proceed after confirmation

No exceptions — even if the user said "delete" in a general context.

Triage Workflow

When triaging a task, apply these dimensions in order:

1. Priority (MoSCoW)

Assign one priority level:

| Prio | Meaning | Todoist Field | |------|---------|---------------| | P1 | Must — has to be done | priority: "p1" | | P2 | Should — should be done | priority: "p2" | | P3 | Could — nice to have | priority: "p3" | | P4 | Would — someday/maybe | priority: "p4" (default) |

2. Time Estimate (T-Shirt Size)

Add one time label:

| Label | Effort | |-------|--------| | XS | Few minutes ("snack size") | | S | ~30 min (1 Pomodoro) | | M | ~1 hour (substantial block) | | L | Several hours | | XL | ~1 day (it's a project) |

3. Skill × Leverage (2D Value Tags)

Add two labels — one for each axis:

| Label | Axis | Meaning | |-------|------|---------| | skill-low | Skill | Low specialization, anyone could do it | | skill-high | Skill | High specialization, requires your expertise | | leverage-low | Leverage | Affects one case, one person | | leverage-high | Leverage | Affects many people or whole systems |

The combination tells you what kind of work it is:

| Combination | Character | Examples | |-------------|-----------|---------| | skill-low + leverage-low | Manual, direct | Answering emails, data entry | | skill-low + leverage-high | Systemic, automated — "busywork at scale" | Script helping 20 people, docs saving 50 questions | | skill-high + leverage-low | Specialized, individual — expertise without scale | Hard bug, architecture decision, incident mgmt | | skill-high + leverage-high | Strategic + systemic — changes whole systems | Platform architecture, product vision, process design |

Key: Skill and leverage are orthogonal. High leverage doesn't mean high skill, and vice versa.

4. Context Tags

Add relevant context labels:

| Category | Tags | |----------|------| | Work type | reading, deep-focus | | Status | waiting, next | | Energy | energy-low | | Location | home, errands | | Communication | call, email, messenger |

5. Assign to Project

Place the task in the correct project. Read project structure reference for the full project list and important sections.

Gotchas

• Tasks with waiting status MUST include a comment explaining what they're blocked on and a reschedule date
• next tag = the single next physical action (GTD-style) — not "plan the project" but "draft the email"
• skill-high + leverage-high work should be protected — schedule deep-focus blocks, don't let it get squeezed by skill-low + leverage-low tasks
• An XL task is actually a project — consider breaking it into subtasks
• Tasks without a time estimate are invisible to planning — always assign one

Triage Checklist

For each inbox task:

• [ ] Priority assigned (P1–P4)
• [ ] Time estimate label added (XS–XL)
• [ ] Skill label added (skill-low or skill-high)
• [ ] Leverage label added (leverage-low or leverage-high)
• [ ] Context tags added (at least one if applicable)
• [ ] Project assigned
• [ ] next tag added if this is the immediate next action
• [ ] waiting tag + comment + reschedule date if blocked