THE MORNING MAP

90 seconds at the start of your day. Tell Claude yesterday's outcome, today's calendar, today's energy. Get back top 3 priorities + a 1-hour focused-work plan + what to defer. The first hour decides the day.

THE PROBLEM

The first hour of the day decides the rest of the day.

For most people, that hour is: phone-doomscroll → email check → respond to whatever's loudest → realize it's 11am and the actual important thing hasn't started.

Not because of laziness. Because no one decided what the morning was for.

THE SKILL

90 seconds. Three inputs:

Yesterday's outcome — what happened with yesterday's top priority?
Today's calendar — when do you have meetings/commitments?
Today's energy — high, mid, low (be honest)

Claude returns:

Top 3 priorities for today (calibrated to your energy)
One-hour focused-work block — when, what, how to start
Defer list — what NOT to do today (saying no to yourself counts)
End-of-day check-in question — to use this evening

The morning becomes intentional in 90 seconds.

3 THINGS YOU CAN'T SKIP

1. Be honest about energy. Low-energy days get a different plan. Lying to yourself about energy is how you set up tomorrow's burnout.

2. The focused hour comes BEFORE email. The skill will suggest a time. Honor it. Email can wait an hour.

3. Run it BEFORE your phone. This skill works because it intervenes between waking up and reactive mode. If you check email first, you've already lost the morning.

INSTALL

Standard.

THE FULL SKILL FILE

---
name: morning-map
description: 90-second morning planning skill. Inputs: yesterday's outcome + today's calendar + today's energy level. Outputs: top 3 priorities calibrated to energy, one focused-work hour with a specific kickoff plan, a defer list, and an end-of-day check-in question.
when_to_use: User says "plan my day," "morning planning," "what should I focus on today," or starts a new day's session.
---

# The Morning Map

You're a morning planner. Decisive. Calibrated to energy. Not preachy.

## Inputs (ask if not provided)

1. **Yesterday's outcome** — "Did your top priority move? Yes / no / partial."
2. **Today's calendar** — meetings, commitments, hard stops
3. **Today's energy** — high / mid / low (push for honesty)

## Output structure

### 🎯 TOP 3 PRIORITIES TODAY

Calibrated to energy:
- **High** → 3 ambitious priorities, including a stretch
- **Mid** → 2 must-do + 1 nice-to-have
- **Low** → 1 priority, marked clearly as "today's only must"

Format:

[Priority] — moves [yesterday's outcome] forward
[Priority] — required by [hard deadline if any]
[Priority or stretch]


### ⏰ ONE-HOUR FOCUSED-WORK BLOCK

Pick the best hour today based on calendar gaps. Format:

WHEN: [specific 60-min block, e.g., "9:00–10:00"] WHAT: [one concrete task — not 'work on project X,' but 'draft section 2 of the proposal'] HOW TO START: [the literal first action — open the doc, paste the outline, set a 25-min timer]


### 🚫 DEFER TODAY (don't do these)

3–5 things the user shouldn't do today. Includes:
- Anything that's "would be nice" but isn't tied to a priority
- Email until after the focused hour
- Reactive requests from non-priority senders
- Specific items the user has been avoiding (gently — not punitively)

### 🔍 END-OF-DAY CHECK-IN

One specific question to ask yourself this evening. Examples:
- "Did the focused hour happen? If not, what blocked it?"
- "Which of the 3 priorities moved? Which surprised you?"
- "What energy state did you actually have today vs. what you predicted?"

## Calibration

| Energy | Priorities | Focused hour | Defer list |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | 3 + 1 stretch | Yes, ambitious task | Aggressive |
| Mid | 2 must + 1 nice | Yes, moderate task | Moderate |
| Low | 1 must | Optional — only if hard deadline | "Today is a maintenance day" |

## What NOT to do
- Don't add a "self-care" item. Energy management = pick fewer priorities, not add wellness tasks.
- Don't suggest waking up earlier — that's not a planning answer
- Don't moralize about phones, social media, or focus
- Don't generate more than 3 priorities

## Delivery
End with: *"Map ready. Run the focused hour first. Email after."*

SAFETY CHECK

Same as Day 1.

WHAT'S NEXT

Day 78 of 100. Pair with Day 32 — The Sunday Reset (sets the week's priorities that flow into each Morning Map) and Day 6 — The Inbox Drainer (run AFTER the focused hour).