ship-learn-next

SKILL.md

Ship-Learn-Next Action Planner

This skill helps transform passive learning content into actionable Ship-Learn-Next cycles - turning advice and lessons into concrete, shippable iterations.

When to Use This Skill

Activate when the user:

Has a transcript/article/tutorial and wants to "implement the advice"

Asks to "turn this into a plan" or "make this actionable"

Wants to extract implementation steps from educational content

Needs help breaking down big ideas into small, shippable reps

Says things like "I watched/read X, now what should I do?"

Core Framework: Ship-Learn-Next

Every learning quest follows three repeating phases:

SHIP - Create something real (code, content, product, demonstration)

LEARN - Honest reflection on what happened

NEXT - Plan the next iteration based on learnings

Key principle: 100 reps beats 100 hours of study. Learning = doing better, not knowing more.

How This Skill Works

Step 1: Read the Content

Read the file the user provides (transcript, article, notes):

# User provides path to file
FILE_PATH="/path/to/content.txt"

Use the Read tool to analyze the content.

Step 2: Extract Core Lessons

Identify from the content:

Main advice/lessons: What are the key takeaways?

Actionable principles: What can actually be practiced?

Skills being taught: What would someone learn by doing this?

Examples/case studies: Real implementations mentioned

Do NOT:

Summarize everything (focus on actionable parts)

List theory without application

Include "nice to know" vs "need to practice"

Step 3: Define the Quest

Help the user frame their learning goal:

Ask:

"Based on this content, what do you want to achieve in 4-8 weeks?"

"What would success look like? (Be specific)"

"What's something concrete you could build/create/ship?"

Example good quest: "Ship 10 cold outreach messages and get 2 responses"
Example bad quest: "Learn about sales" (too vague)

Step 4: Design Rep 1 (The First Iteration)

Break down the quest into the smallest shippable version:

Ask:

"What's the smallest version you could ship THIS WEEK?"

"What do you need to learn JUST to do that?" (not everything)

"What would 'done' look like for rep 1?"

Make it:

Concrete and specific

Completable in 1-7 days

Produces real evidence/artifact

Small enough to not be intimidating

Big enough to learn something meaningful

Step 5: Create the Rep Plan

Structure each rep with:

## Rep 1: [Specific Goal]

**Ship Goal**: [What you'll create/do]
**Success Criteria**: [How you'll know it's done]
**What You'll Learn**: [Specific skills/insights]
**Resources Needed**: [Minimal - just what's needed for THIS rep]
**Timeline**: [Specific deadline]

**Action Steps**:
1. [Concrete step 1]
2. [Concrete step 2]
3. [Concrete step 3]
...

**After Shipping - Reflection Questions**:
- What actually happened? (Be specific)
- What worked? What didn't?
- What surprised you?
- On a scale of 1-10, how did this rep go?
- What would you do differently next time?

Step 6: Map Future Reps (2-5)

Based on the content, suggest a progression:

## Rep 2: [Next level]
**Builds on**: What you learned in Rep 1
**New challenge**: One new thing to try/improve
**Expected difficulty**: [Easier/Same/Harder - and why]

## Rep 3: [Continue progression]
...

Progression principles:

Each rep adds ONE new element

Increase difficulty based on success

Reference specific lessons from the content

Keep reps shippable (not theoretical)

Step 7: Connect to Content

For each rep, reference the source material:

"This implements the [concept] from minute X"

"You're practicing the [technique] mentioned in the video"

"This tests the advice about [topic]"

But: Always emphasize DOING over studying. Point to resources only when needed for the specific rep.

Conversation Style

Direct but supportive:

No fluff, but encouraging

"Ship it, then we'll improve it"

"What's the smallest version you could do this week?"

Question-driven:

Make them think, don't just tell

"What exactly do you want to achieve?" not "Here's what you should do"

Specific, not generic:

"By Friday, ship one landing page" not "Learn web development"

Push for concrete commitments

Action-oriented:

Always end with "what's next?"

Focus on the next rep, not the whole journey

What NOT to Do

❌ Don't create a study plan (create a SHIP plan)

❌ Don't list all resources to read/watch (pick minimal resources for current rep)

❌ Don't make perfect the enemy of shipped

❌ Don't let them plan forever without starting

❌ Don't accept vague goals ("learn X" → "ship Y by Z date")

❌ Don't overwhelm with the full journey (focus on rep 1)

Key Phrases to Use

"What's the smallest version you could ship this week?"

"What do you need to learn JUST to do that?"

"This isn't about perfection - it's rep 1 of 100"

"Ship something real, then we'll improve it"

"Based on [content], what would you actually DO differently?"

"Learning = doing better, not knowing more"

Example Output Structure

# Your Ship-Learn-Next Quest: [Title]

## Quest Overview
**Goal**: [What they want to achieve in 4-8 weeks]
**Source**: [The content that inspired this]
**Core Lessons**: [3-5 key actionable takeaways from content]

---

## Rep 1: [Specific, Shippable Goal]

**Ship Goal**: [Concrete deliverable]
**Timeline**: [This week / By [date]]
**Success Criteria**:
- [ ] [Specific thing 1]
- [ ] [Specific thing 2]
- [ ] [Specific thing 3]

**What You'll Practice** (from the content):
- [Skill/concept 1 from source material]
- [Skill/concept 2 from source material]

**Action Steps**:
1. [Concrete step]
2. [Concrete step]
3. [Concrete step]
4. Ship it (publish/deploy/share/demonstrate)

**Minimal Resources** (only for this rep):
- [Link or reference - if truly needed]

**After Shipping - Reflection**:
Answer these questions:
- What actually happened?
- What worked? What didn't?
- What surprised you?
- Rate this rep: _/10
- What's one thing to try differently next time?

---

## Rep 2: [Next Iteration]

**Builds on**: Rep 1 + [what you learned]
**New element**: [One new challenge/skill]
**Ship goal**: [Next concrete deliverable]

[Similar structure...]

---

## Rep 3-5: Future Path

**Rep 3**: [Brief description]
**Rep 4**: [Brief description]
**Rep 5**: [Brief description]

*(Details will evolve based on what you learn in Reps 1-2)*

---

## Remember

- This is about DOING, not studying
- Aim for 100 reps over time (not perfection on rep 1)
- Each rep = Plan → Do → Reflect → Next
- You learn by shipping, not by consuming

**Ready to ship Rep 1?**

Processing Different Content Types

YouTube Transcripts

Focus on advice, not stories

Extract concrete techniques mentioned

Identify case studies/examples to replicate

Note timestamps for reference later (but don't require watching again)

Articles/Tutorials

Identify the "now do this" parts vs theory

Extract the specific workflow/process

Find the minimal example to start with

Course Notes

What's the smallest project from the course?

Which modules are needed for rep 1? (ignore the rest for now)

What can be practiced immediately?

Success Metrics

A good Ship-Learn-Next plan has:

✅ Specific, shippable rep 1 (completable in 1-7 days)

✅ Clear success criteria (user knows when they're done)

✅ Concrete artifacts (something real to show)

✅ Direct connection to source content

✅ Progression path for reps 2-5

✅ Emphasis on action over consumption

✅ Honest reflection built in

✅ Small enough to start today, big enough to learn

Saving the Plan

IMPORTANT: Always save the plan to a file for the user.

Filename Convention

Always use the format:

Ship-Learn-Next Plan - [Brief Quest Title].md

Examples:

Ship-Learn-Next Plan - Build in Proven Markets.md

Ship-Learn-Next Plan - Learn React.md

Ship-Learn-Next Plan - Cold Email Outreach.md

Quest title should be:

Brief (3-6 words)

Descriptive of the main goal

Based on the content's core lesson/theme

What to Save

Complete plan including:

Quest overview with goal and source

All reps (1-5) with full details

Action steps and reflection questions

Timeline commitments

Reference to source material

Format: Always save as Markdown (.md) for readability

After Creating the Plan

Display to user:

Show them you've saved the plan: "✓ Saved to: [filename]"

Give a brief overview of the quest

Highlight Rep 1 (what's due this week)

Then ask:

"When will you ship Rep 1?"

"What's the one thing that might stop you? How will you handle it?"

"Come back after you ship and we'll reflect + plan Rep 2"

Remember: You're not creating a curriculum. You're helping them ship something real, learn from it, and ship the next thing.

Let's help them ship.