Find Out Which of Your Tasks Should Become AI Skills
This prompt takes a list of the work you do in a typical month and sorts each task into a skill, a project, a saved prompt, or "just ask." You get a ranked build order for your first three skills, with the words that should trigger each one and the example to collect before you build it.
An AI skill is a saved set of instructions, stored in a file called SKILL.md, that an AI assistant loads automatically when your request matches what the skill is for. A project is a workspace whose instructions and files are available to every chat inside it. Knowing which one fits a task saves you from building the wrong thing.
Last checked: . Skills are new, and plan access and menus change often.
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What you need
A list of the work you do in a typical month. It doesn't have to be complete or tidy. Include the small, annoying tasks, because those are often the best skill candidates.
Roughly how often you do each one. Weekly, monthly, a few times a year. The prompt asks about anything you leave out.
An AI chat assistant. Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini all work. Whether your plan includes skills depends on the app. If yours doesn't include them, the planner still sorts your tasks and gives you a "build when skills are available" list.
Optional: anything you find yourself explaining to an AI over and over.
Plan on about 10 minutes for the sort, plus a few minutes to answer its questions.
Step 1: Open a new chat and paste the prompt
Start a fresh chat so nothing from an earlier conversation mixes in. Copy the prompt below.
Step 2: Fill in the three highlighted spots
Replace each bracketed placeholder: your list of tasks, which assistants you use (and whether you think your plan includes skills), and anything you re-explain often. Type NONE if the last one doesn't apply.
Step 3: Check the task table and answer the questions
The first reply restates your tasks in a table, with how often you do each one, what you give the AI, what you want back, and whether the standards stay the same each time. Anything you didn't say is marked Unknown. It then asks up to four short questions about the unknowns that matter most. Correct the table here, because the sorting depends on it.
Step 4: Read the sort and the build order
Each task is scored on four checks and sorted into a skill, a project, a saved prompt, or "just ask," with a one-sentence reason in your own words. You then get a build order for your first three skills, each with a proposed name, the requests that should trigger it, a "not for" note, and the one example of finished work to collect first. An overlap check flags skills that could be confused with each other.
Step 5: Build the first skill
Open a new chat and run the Skill Builder Interview. Paste in the name, job, trigger requests, and example from the planner's build order. If you already have a long prompt you use for one of these tasks, the Prompt to Skill Converter is the faster route.
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What this prompt does differently
Most advice about skills says to turn everything you repeat into one. That wastes effort on tasks you rarely do, and it leaves out the setups that fit some work better, like a project for ongoing client work. This planner matches each task to the setup that fits it and shows its reasoning, so you can disagree with it.
It also keeps the library from getting messy. When two of your tasks would be triggered by the same kind of request, it flags the overlap and suggests merging them or sharpening each one, because an assistant picks a skill by reading its short description and near-duplicates make that choice harder.
The four setups, and how the prompt scores a task
The prompt sorts every task into one of these. A project, in Claude and ChatGPT, is a workspace whose instructions and files are available to every chat inside it. A skill, by contrast, loads only when a request matches its description.
| Setup | Fits when | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Skill | A repeatable task with the same standards each time, used across many chats or topics. | Turning weekly project notes into a status email in a set format. |
| Project | Ongoing work built around shared background, where files and context should be there for every chat. | Everything for one client, one course, or one job search. |
| Saved prompt | A short request you reuse that has no standards to carry. | A one-line request to reword a message in a friendlier tone. |
| Just ask | A task that is rare, different every time, or simple enough for one sentence. | Renaming a batch of files from a template. |
To decide, the prompt scores each task from 0 to 3 on four checks. The total is out of 12.
| Check | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How often I do it | A few times a year | Monthly | Weekly | Daily or several times a week |
| Same standards each time | Different every time | Loose preferences | A few firm rules | A strict checklist or format |
| Cost of a mistake | None | Minor | Noticeable | Embarrassing or expensive |
| How often I re-explain it | Never | Sometimes | Usually | Every time |
As a rule of thumb, the prompt treats 8 or higher as a strong skill candidate and 5 to 7 as a candidate if the task has a clear process. That threshold is the prompt's own guide and not a standard, so change it if your work calls for a different cutoff.
Last checked September 30, 2026. The setups reflect how Claude and ChatGPT describe skills and projects today, and features may change.
Why it favors small, single-job skills
Claude's help article on creating custom skills advises keeping each skill focused, creating separate skills for different workflows, and notes that several focused skills combine better than one large skill. It also says skills can't explicitly reference each other, but Claude can use several together automatically. That is why the planner builds a library of small skills and not one big one.
Anthropic's skill authoring guide says an assistant uses a skill's description to choose among potentially 100 or more available skills. The more your skills overlap, the harder that choice gets, which is the reason the planner includes an overlap check and proposes a non-overlapping "not for" note for each skill. Sources checked September 30, 2026.
Tips for better results
List the annoying small tasks. A task that takes five minutes but happens every day can add up to more than a big task you do once a quarter.
Include where you re-explain things. If you keep telling an AI the same standards, that task is likely a skill candidate.
Skip the once-a-year tasks. The planner will treat them as "just ask" by default, so you can leave them off.
Build three first. You'll learn more from building and testing three skills than from planning twenty.
Come back in about a month. New tasks show up, and a task you thought was a skill may turn out to be a project.
Questions you may have
What are AI skills?
An AI skill is a saved set of instructions, stored in a file called SKILL.md, that an AI assistant loads automatically when your request matches what the skill is for. Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini each support skills, and the file format is an open standard.
Should I use a skill, a project, or a saved prompt?
Use a skill for a repeatable task with the same standards each time that you do in many different chats. Use a project for ongoing work built around shared background, like one client. Use a saved prompt for a short request with no standards to carry. For everything else, just ask. The planner scores each of your tasks and sorts them for you.
How many skills should I have?
I couldn't find official guidance on a number. Start with three. A small set that you've built and tested teaches you more than a long list, and each skill should have one clear job so its description doesn't overlap with another.
What's the difference between a skill and a connector?
A connector, sometimes called an MCP server, gives an assistant access to an app or data source, like your calendar or a shared drive. A skill tells the assistant how to do a task. The planner flags tasks that would need a connector, but it doesn't set one up.
Are AI skills free?
The prompt is free. Whether your app includes skills depends on your plan and changes over time, so check the help page for your app. If your plan doesn't include skills, the planner still sorts your tasks and gives you a list to build when skills are available, with a project or saved prompt to use in the meantime.
What if my plan doesn't include skills?
The planner still works. Skill candidates go into a separate list called Build when skills are available, and each one comes with a way to run it as a project or a saved prompt for now.
How often should I redo the planner?
About a month after you build your first skills, or whenever your work changes. New tasks come up, and some tasks you sorted as skills may fit better as projects once you see how you use them.
