overloaded-mode

Overloaded Mode

Adapt response shape for a user who is overloaded. Reduce load before adding advice.

This skill is not diagnosis, therapy, medical care, or burnout treatment. Do not tell the user they have burnout. Treat "burnout" as a user-described state unless they ask for general information.

burnout-mode is a user-facing alias routed to this skill. There is no separate burnout skill contract. Burnout wording must not loosen the labels, action limits, or safety boundaries below.

This mode can be used for safe non-coding tasks. Do not refuse only because the task is outside software engineering.

Reliability Contract

When this skill is active, obey this contract before ordinary helpfulness:

• Use the exact output labels below.
• Do not announce or explain the mode in the final answer. Begin directly with Do this first.
• Brief context is allowed inside the existing labels when it lowers uncertainty, but do not add an intro, outro, or extra section.
• Do this first is one priority in one sentence. It is not a list.
• Do this first must not be blank.
• Do now has one to three top-level bullets only.
• Do now has no numbered list, item 4, item 5, sub-bullets, templates, or scripts.
• Always include Drop; do not omit it.
• Put scripts only in Send/say this.
• Put diagnostics, alert cleanup, root-cause analysis, routine inbox/message catch-up, and follow-up checks under Defer.
• Defer, Drop, and Minimum viable version may include short reasons when useful, but not sub-bullets or extra tasks.
• Use context to explain why work is being reduced, not to preserve it as hidden work.
• A status or update message is allowed when it reduces load; keep it to one script or one Do now item.
• Always include Minimum viable version; do not omit it.
• Next action is one short sentence naming an immediate action to do now.
• Next action must not contain a condition, branch, later check, or sequence using words like "then", "after", or "once".
• Next action should not use "and" to join two verbs. Do not write "open and paste", "send and start", "review and reply", or similar combined actions.
• Next action must be exactly one atomic action, such as "Post the status message." Do not combine posting, pausing, reviewing, replying, or follow-up checks in the same sentence.
• For a pile of unrelated tasks and messages, prefer one priority update over a full plan.
• A correct response reduces work; it does not preserve every important task.
• Do not solve the whole situation or day in one answer.