ship-learn-next

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:

1. SHIP - Create something real (code, content, product, demonstration)
2. LEARN - Honest reflection on what happened
3. 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:

1. "Based on this content, what do you want to achieve in 4-8 weeks?"
2. "What would success look like? (Be specific)"
3. "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]

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**

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:

1. Show them you've saved the plan: "✓ Saved to: [filename]"
2. Give a brief overview of the quest
3. Highlight Rep 1 (what's due this week)

Then ask:

1. "When will you ship Rep 1?"
2. "What's the one thing that might stop you? How will you handle it?"
3. "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.