infurno/skills/todo-management

TODO Management Skill

Purpose

Quickly add TODO items to the appropriate category (work, personal, or side-projects) via chat, voice, or web interface. TODOs are saved as markdown checkboxes in categorized files and automatically consolidated.

How to Execute This Skill

When the user wants to add a TODO, analyze the content to determine the category, then use the Bash tool to run:

~/ARDEN/skills/todo-management/tools/add-todo.sh "TODO_TEXT" "category"

Where:

• TODO_TEXT = The TODO item text (extract from user's message)
• category = work, personal, or side-projects (determine from context)

The script will:

1. Add the TODO to the appropriate category file in ~/Notes/todos/
2. Format it as a markdown checkbox: - [ ] TODO_TEXT
3. Run consolidation to update the master todo.md
4. Return confirmation with category and file location

Examples:

# Work TODO
~/ARDEN/skills/todo-management/tools/add-todo.sh "Review pull request #42" "work"

# Personal TODO
~/ARDEN/skills/todo-management/tools/add-todo.sh "Buy groceries" "personal"

# Side project TODO
~/ARDEN/skills/todo-management/tools/add-todo.sh "Add feature to ARDEN" "side-projects"

Sample Output:

✅ TODO added successfully!

📋 TODO: Review pull request #42
🏷️  Category: Work
📄 File: todos/work.md
📍 Location: /home/hal/Notes/todos/work.md

RESULT: TODO added to Work category

Then confirm to user: "Added to your work TODOs: [TODO_TEXT]"

TODO Categories

TODOs are organized into three categories:

Work

• Professional tasks, meetings, projects
• Code reviews, deployments, documentation
• Client communications, reports, presentations
• File: ~/Notes/todos/work.md

Personal

• Household tasks, errands, appointments
• Family, friends, health, fitness
• Personal finances, shopping, home maintenance
• File: ~/Notes/todos/personal.md

Side Projects

• ARDEN improvements and features
• Learning new technologies, tutorials
• Personal coding projects, experiments
• File: ~/Notes/todos/side-projects.md

Category Detection

Analyze the TODO content to determine the appropriate category:

Work indicators: deploy, review PR, meeting, client, presentation, report, team Personal indicators: buy, groceries, family names, doctor, gym, clean, bills Side Projects indicators: ARDEN, learn, experiment, tutorial, side project

Default: When unclear, use personal category.

When to Invoke

This skill should be automatically invoked when the user:

• Asks to add a TODO
• Says "add to my TODO list"
• Says "remind me to..."
• Says "I need to..."
• Says "don't forget to..."
• Says "make a TODO..."
• Says "add a task..."
• Uses action verbs like "remember to", "need to", "have to", "must"

Capabilities

• Smart Categorization: Automatically determines category from TODO content
• Quick Capture: Add TODOs in seconds via any interface
• Three Categories: Organized into work, personal, and side-projects
• Markdown Format: Uses standard markdown checkbox syntax
• Auto-Consolidation: Automatically runs consolidation script
• Voice-Friendly: Works seamlessly with voice input
• Web Integration: Integrates with web TODO interface with category badges
• Category Filtering: Filter TODOs by category in web interface

Workflows

See workflows/add-todo.md for detailed workflow including category detection guidelines

Tools

• add-todo.sh - Main script to add TODO items with category support

Context Files

• todo-location.md - Where TODOs are saved (~/Notes/todos/)
• todo-format.md - Markdown checkbox format specification

Voice Interaction Design

Best Practices for User Input

Clear, Direct Patterns (Recommended):

• "Add a TODO to [action]"
• "Remind me to [action]"
• "I need to [action]"
• "Add to my TODO list: [action]"

For Best Results:

1. Be specific and actionable - Start with a verb

   • ✅ "Review pull request #42"
   • ❌ "The pull request thing"

2. Include context when needed

   • ✅ "Send Q1 report to Sarah by Friday"
   • ❌ "Send report"

3. One TODO at a time (or clearly separate multiple TODOs)

   • ✅ "Add three TODOs: review code, buy milk, learn Rust"
   • ❌ "I need to do some coding stuff and also personal things"

4. Use trigger phrases

   • "Add a TODO..."
   • "Remind me to..."
   • "I need to..."
   • "Don't forget to..."

5. Trust the AI for category detection, but be explicit if uncertain

   • It knows: "deploy" = work, "groceries" = personal, "ARDEN" = side-projects
   • If unsure, just say "work TODO" or "personal TODO"

What to Avoid:

• ❌ Too vague: "Remember something", "Add that thing"
• ❌ Too conversational/rambling: "So I was thinking maybe I should probably at some point review the code"
• ❌ Multiple TODOs in complex sentences without clear separation

Input Patterns

Natural language patterns that should trigger this skill:

• "Add a TODO: [task]"
• "Remind me to [task]"
• "I need to [task]"
• "Don't forget to [task]"
• "Make a TODO to [task]"
• "Add to my TODO list: [task]"
• "Task: [task]"
• "I have to [task]"
• "Remember to [task]"

Category-Specific Examples

For Work TODOs (use work-related keywords):

"Add a TODO to review the deployment logs"
"Remind me to send the quarterly report"
"I need to fix the authentication bug"
"Add to my work TODOs: prepare presentation for client meeting"

For Personal TODOs (use personal/household keywords):

"Remind me to buy groceries"
"I need to call the dentist"
"Add a TODO to pay the electricity bill"
"Don't forget to pick up dry cleaning"

For Side Projects (mention ARDEN or learning):

"I need to improve ARDEN's voice recognition"
"Add a TODO to learn Rust programming"
"Remind me to work on my side project"
"Add a TODO to experiment with the new API"

Explicit Category (Most Reliable):

"Add a work TODO to [action]"
"Add a personal TODO to [action]"
"Add a side project TODO to [action]"

Output Format

Voice responses should be:

• Brief confirmation: "Added to your TODO list"
• Repeat task: Echo back the TODO item
• Keep it short: Don't over-explain

Example Voice Interactions

Example 1: Work TODO

User: "Add a TODO to review the deployment logs"
Analysis: "deployment" → work category
ARDEN: "Added to your work TODOs: Review the deployment logs"

Example 2: Personal TODO

User: "Remind me to buy groceries"
Analysis: "buy groceries" → personal category
ARDEN: "Added to personal: Buy groceries"

Example 3: Side Project TODO

User: "I need to add a new feature to ARDEN"
Analysis: "ARDEN" → side-projects category
ARDEN: "Added to side projects: Add a new feature to ARDEN"

Example 4: Multiple TODOs

User: "Add three TODOs: review pull request, buy milk, and learn Rust"
Analysis: work, personal, side-projects
ARDEN: "Added 3 items: 1 to work, 1 to personal, and 1 to side projects"

Example 5: Explicit Category

User: "Add a work TODO to send the quarterly report"
Analysis: User explicitly said "work TODO"
ARDEN: "Added to work: Send the quarterly report"

Web Interface Integration

The skill integrates with the web TODO interface at /todos.html:

• TODOs added via skill appear in the web UI with category badges
• Color-coded badges: Work (blue), Personal (green), Side Projects (purple)
• Filter by category using the category dropdown
• Real-time updates via WebSocket
• Can toggle TODO status in web UI
• Full sync between chat, voice, and web

File Organization

Category Files

• Work: ~/Notes/todos/work.md
• Personal: ~/Notes/todos/personal.md
• Side Projects: ~/Notes/todos/side-projects.md

Consolidated File

• Master: ~/Notes/todo.md (auto-generated from all category files)

Important: Only files in ~/Notes/todos/ directory are scanned for TODOs. Regular notes in ~/Notes/ are NOT included in TODO consolidation.

TODO Format

Standard markdown checkbox format:

- [ ] Unchecked TODO item
- [x] Completed TODO item

Best Practices

1. Be Specific: "Review PR #42" vs "Review code"
2. Actionable: Start with action verbs
3. One Task: Each TODO should be a single action
4. Context: Include relevant context when needed

Integration with Other Skills

Works well with:

• Note-Taking Skill: Convert notes to TODOs
• User Context Skill: Add context to TODO items
• Daily Planning Skill: Review TODOs in morning briefing

Example Combined Usage:

# Create note with embedded TODO
create-note.sh "Meeting with Sarah - TODO: Send follow-up email" "meeting"

# Add standalone TODO
add-todo.sh "Send follow-up email to Sarah"

Configuration

TODOs Directory

Default: ~/Notes/todos/

Category files:

• work.md
• personal.md
• side-projects.md

Default Category

Default: personal (used when category cannot be determined)

To change, update the DEFAULT_CATEGORY variable in add-todo.sh

Consolidation Script

Location: ~/ARDEN/scripts/consolidate-todos.sh

Automatically runs after each TODO addition to keep master list updated. Only scans ~/Notes/todos/ directory (regular notes are excluded).

Examples

Example 1: Work - Development Task

User: "Add a TODO to fix the authentication bug in the login flow"
Category: work (technical task)
ARDEN: "Added to work: Fix the authentication bug in the login flow"

Example 2: Work - Meeting Follow-up

User: "Remind me to send the Q1 report to the team by Friday"
Category: work (team, report)
ARDEN: "Added to work: Send the Q1 report to the team by Friday"

Example 3: Personal - Errands

User: "Don't forget to buy milk and eggs"
Category: personal (groceries)
ARDEN: "Added to personal: Buy milk and eggs"

Example 4: Side Projects - ARDEN Improvement

User: "I need to improve ARDEN's voice recognition accuracy"
Category: side-projects (ARDEN mentioned)
ARDEN: "Added to side projects: Improve ARDEN's voice recognition accuracy"

Example 5: Side Projects - Learning

User: "Add a TODO to learn Rust programming"
Category: side-projects (learning)
ARDEN: "Added to side projects: Learn Rust programming"

Error Handling

The script handles common errors:

• Missing TODO text → Shows usage help
• Notes directory doesn't exist → Error message
• Target file doesn't exist → Creates automatically
• Consolidation fails → Continues anyway (TODO still added)

Dependencies

• Bash shell
• Write access to Notes directory
• consolidate-todos.sh script (optional but recommended)

Testing

Test the skill with different categories:

# Test work TODO
./skills/todo-management/tools/add-todo.sh "Deploy new feature" "work"

# Test personal TODO
./skills/todo-management/tools/add-todo.sh "Buy groceries" "personal"

# Test side project TODO
./skills/todo-management/tools/add-todo.sh "Add ARDEN feature" "side-projects"

# Test default (personal)
./skills/todo-management/tools/add-todo.sh "Call dentist"

# Test invalid category (falls back to personal)
./skills/todo-management/tools/add-todo.sh "Test task" "invalid"

Agent Preferences

Best used with:

• Assistant agent - General TODO capture
• Strategist agent - Planning and task breakdown
• Engineer agent - Technical task tracking

Future Enhancements

Potential improvements:

• [ ] Priority levels (high/medium/low) within categories
• [ ] Due dates for TODOs
• [ ] Recurring TODOs
• [ ] Sub-tasks
• [ ] Smart category suggestions based on user patterns
• [ ] Integration with calendar
• [ ] Smart reminders
• [ ] Category customization (add new categories)