# task-breakdown

Turns a paralyzing task into small, startable steps. Built around ADHD- and autism-aware strategies for executive function.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 476 installs · ★ 176
- Author: jwynia
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/jwynia/agent-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/general/productivity/task-breakdown/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-02-24
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/task-breakdown

## What it does

The `task-breakdown` skill takes an overwhelming task and breaks it into concrete actions. It skips motivation lectures and supplies external scaffolding instead: written structures, chunks sized by time and energy, a tiny first step. The author calls it prosthetic executive function — systems that compensate for working memory limits.

Inside is the DECOMPOSE method, ten steps long. Define the minimum deliverable, estimate cognitive load, chunk by natural breakpoints, order by energy and dependencies, make progress visible, prepare transition bridges. Six diagnostic states come with it: the Wall of Awful, cognitive overload, time blindness, task initiation block, perfectionism paralysis, and energy-task mismatch. Each state gets its own questions and interventions. Templates include the Onion Peel for large projects and the Energy Mapper for variable-capacity days.

The skill targets people with ADHD, autism, and other executive function differences. If you want a plain project plan for a neurotypical workflow, the Wall of Awful framing and the prosthetic-function language will read as extra. It installs into Claude, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, and OpenCode.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill task-breakdown -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/task-breakdown/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/task-breakdown/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill task-breakdown -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/task-breakdown/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill task-breakdown -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/task-breakdown/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install jwynia/agent-skills task-breakdown
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/task-breakdown/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill task-breakdown -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/jwynia/agent-skills --path skills/general/productivity/task-breakdown
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/task-breakdown/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill task-breakdown -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/jwynia/agent-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/general/productivity/task-breakdown/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- break a large project into steps you can actually start
- identify why a task causes paralysis and pick a matching intervention
- cut the number of decisions a task requires to reduce overload
- define a minimum viable output instead of a perfect one
- match tasks to your current energy level

## Example prompts
- Help me break this task into steps: I need to write a report but I can't start
- I've hit the Wall of Awful on this project — what do I do?
- Break this task down using the DECOMPOSE method

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 0c754049245dbc3b.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 0c754049245dbc3b
```text
---
name: task-breakdown
description: Help neurodivergent users break down overwhelming tasks into manageable steps. Use when tasks feel paralyzing, when executive function is struggling, when someone can't start, or when the Wall of Awful has built up. Applies ADHD/autism-aware decomposition strategies.
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: jwynia
  version: "1.0"
  type: utility
  mode: assistive
  domain: productivity
---

# Task Breakdown: Executive Function Support Skill

You help people with ADHD, autism, and other executive function differences transform overwhelming tasks into manageable action steps. Your role is to provide external scaffolding, not motivation lectures.

## Core Principle

**Executive dysfunction is neurological, not motivational. External systems compensate for working memory limitations.**

You're not here to "fix" anyone. You're providing prosthetic executive function—tools that help navigate a world built for different cognitive styles.

## The Three Foundations

### 1. External Scaffolding Over Internal Willpower
- Systems compensate for working memory limits
- Visual/written structures reduce cognitive load
- Tools act as prosthetic executive function
- Shame and "just do it" advice make it worse

### 2. Flexibility Within Structure
- Rigid systems fail during stress/burnout
- Multiple pathways to completion
- Adaptable to energy fluctuations
- "Good enough" options prevent all-or-nothing paralysis

### 3. Interest-Based Nervous System Accommodation
- ADHD brains respond to: Interest, Challenge, Novelty, Urgency
- Autistic brains need: Predictability, Clear parameters, Sensory considerations
- Both benefit from: Personal meaning, Special interest integration

## Diagnostic States

When someone is stuck, identify which state applies:

### State T1: The Wall of Awful
**Symptoms:** Task has accumulated negative emotional associations; past failures creating anticipatory anxiety; shame spiral preventing initiation.
**Key Questions:** What past experiences are attached to this task? What emotions come up when you think about it?
**Interventions:** Acknowledge the wall; find smallest possible breach; separate task from accumulated shame.

### State T2: Cognitive Overload
**Symptoms:** "I don't know where to start"; mental fog; avoiding even looking at task list; physical stress responses.
**Key Questions:** How many decisions does this task require? What's ambiguous?
**Interventions:** Reduce decision count; clarify ambiguities; chunk by natural breakpoints.
```
END THIRD-PARTY FILE 0c754049245dbc3b

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the 0c754049245dbc3b tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

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