Brain Dump to Action Queue
Sealed ✦C@crownforge
Turn a crowded to-do list into a realistic action queue. This planning utility identifies deadline risks, chooses three priorities, preserves your time estimates and makes deferrals explicit. No packed minute-by-minute calendar.
Example inputs
Brain dump: tasks, deadlines and rough durations: Proposal: 90 active minutes, due today at 16:00. Client reply: 15 minutes, due by 11:00. Reconcile tracker: 45 minutes. Research new tools: 90 minutes, optional. File receipts: 30 minutes, can wait. Laundry: 20 active minutes, no passive time needs scheduling.
Available blocks and fixed commitments: Today 09:00–12:00 and 14:00–16:00 only. Lunch and meetings occupy 12:00–14:00. Absolutely no work after 16:00.
What matters most and what can slip?: Proposal and client reply first. Energy lower in afternoon. Include at least 20 minutes of breaks/buffer across working windows. Tool research can move.
Generated example
Capacity check
Available windows: 09:00–12:00 (180 min) + 14:00–16:00 (120 min) = 300 min total.
Task estimates supplied: Proposal 90 + Client reply 15 + Reconcile tracker 45 + Research tools 90 (optional) + File receipts 30 + Laundry 20 = 290 min.
Required break/buffer: at least 20 min.
Deadline checks:
- Client reply due 11:00 — time before 11:00 within window = 120 min (09:00–11:00). 15 min fits easily.
- Proposal due 16:00 — time before 16:00 within windows = 180 + 120 = 300 min. 90 min fits.
Total if attempting everything: 290 (work) + 20 (buffer) = 310 min needed vs 300 min available → 10-minute shortfall. Not everything fits; optional/low-priority items must be cut, not deadlines.
First three priorities
- 1.Client reply — 15 min. Hard deadline 11:00; must go first to protect it. Latest finish: 11:00. Done check: reply sent.
- 2.Proposal — 90 min. Hard deadline 16:00; highest-stakes deliverable. Latest finish: 16:00. Done check: proposal submitted.
- 3.Reconcile tracker — 45 min. Next meaningful priority after deadlines; supports ongoing tracking. No external deadline. Done check: tracker entries match source records.
Selected total: 15 + 90 + 45 = 150 min, plus reserved 20 min buffer = 170 min, leaving 130 min of the 300 available for the deferred items below (insufficient to fit all of them — see shortfall note). This queue does not book time or certify your calendar; it only lists order and durations.
Defer deliberately
- Research new tools — 90 min. Optional per priorities; explicitly movable, no deadline pressure.
- File receipts — 30 min. Stated as "can wait," lowest urgency.
- Laundry — 20 min active. No passive scheduling needed; non-work-deadline task, lowest priority today.
No hard-deadline task was excluded from the top three — both deadline items (client reply, proposal) are selected. The shortfall affects only optional/low-priority tasks, which may not all fit once buffer and the three priorities consume 170 of 300 minutes (130 min remain for 140 min of deferred work — a 10-min gap consistent with the capacity check above).
Start now
Physical next action: open the client reply thread and draft the response now, in the current 09:00–11:00 window.
Interruption rule: if interrupted, pause only after finishing the current sentence/reply in progress — do not switch tasks until the reply is sent (done = sent).