What a skill looks like
A skill is as long as the job needs. Some are three lines. Others run a page or more: when to use it, what to check first, the steps, the format, what never to do, and notes on what went wrong last time. A few from different parts of life:
Inbox pass
Use when I ask to clear my inbox.
Scope
Only mail I've already opened. Never touch unread mail; I want to read it first.
Skip newsletters, receipts, and anything sent to a list.
What counts
A direct question, a request, an RSVP, or a deadline. Skip FYIs and thank-you notes unless a short reply is clearly owed.
Steps
- Read the Primary inbox from the last three days. Keep paging until the end.
- For each email that counts, add a task: what to do, who asked, and the due date if they gave one.
- Draft a reply for anything that takes two sentences or less. Never send.
- Report: tasks added, drafts waiting, and anything you weren't sure about.
Never
Archive, delete, or mark anything as read.
Learned
Sep 12: the Primary tab hid a reply from the school. Check Updates for named senders too.
Bedtime story
Use when I ask for a story for Ella.
Shape
About five minutes read aloud. One animal, one small problem, solved with kindness. Use her friends' names from my notes. No cliffhangers before bed.
Weekly meal plan
Use on Sundays, or when I ask for next week's dinners.
Before you plan
- Read my notes on who won't eat what.
- Check the calendar. Soccer nights get a meal that takes 20 minutes or less.
- Ask what's already in the fridge.
The plan
Five dinners, each under 40 minutes, one of them meatless. Reuse an ingredient across two meals so nothing goes to waste.
Output
A table of day, dinner, and prep time, then one shopping list grouped by aisle. Save it as a note tagged meals.
Monday crew update
Use Monday mornings, or when I ask for the crew update.
Ask me first
What went well, what's blocked, and my one ask. Wait for my answers; don't guess.
Write
Three short parts with headings: Went well, Blocked, One ask. Name people. No corporate words. End with the week's schedule by job.
Learned
Sep 21: the crew reads it on their phones. Keep each part under 40 words.
Monthly donor update
Use on the 1st of each month.
Gather
- Last month's totals from the Donations tracker, and the same month last year.
- The after-school program's project brief, for what changed.
- One student story from notes tagged stories. Only stories marked ok to share.
Write
300 words at most. Open with the story, then two numbers, then one clear ask. Warm and plain. Don't use "impact" or "leverage."
Deliver
Save it as a Gmail draft to the donor list, never sent, and add a task for me to review it by the 3rd.
Learned
Aug 2: the board asked for the year-over-year comparison. Always include it.
Quote
Use when a customer asks for a quote or an estimate.
Steps
- Ask the address and the square footage.
- Ask: mulch or rock?
- Draft it in my usual format.
Things to try saying
These work in any AI you've connected to Penny, whatever you use it for.
"Save how I write this as a skill."
Turns the way you just did something into instructions any AI can follow.
"I send a team update every Monday at 9. Make it a skill."
Saves the skill with a schedule, so it comes up when it's due.
"What skills do I have?"
Lists your skills and when each scheduled one is next due.
"Use my quote skill for this."
Loads that skill's instructions before your AI starts.
"Is anything due today?"
Checks for skills that have come due.
"Add a step to that skill: end with next week's schedule."
Shows you the change to apply before the skill is updated.
"Turn my last three emails to this client into a skill."
Your AI works out the pattern and saves it as instructions.
"Schedule my weekly update skill."
In Claude, sets up a scheduled task that runs the skill.
"Add what we just learned to that skill."
Adds the rule or fix to the skill, so the next run starts from it.