roi-check.md
My favorite skill: roi-check
Before the AI starts any task, routine or calendar block, it names which of four returns the work buys me: time, money, joy or creative time. If it buys none, it asks before doing it.
The whole skill
# ROI Check Run this before starting any task, building any routine, or putting any block on my calendar: name what it is trying to maximize. Everything we do needs an ROI. What is it trying to maximize, and are we on theme? The point of the whole system is to give me time back. ## The four returns Every task, routine, rule or calendar block serves at least one of these: 1. Saves time: mine first, then my team's. 2. Saves money: spend avoided, money recovered, or cash protected. 3. More joy: less friction or worry, more of what I enjoy. 4. More creative time: frees hours for creative work (writing, building, design, strategy). ## Steps 1. Before doing the work, write one line: ROI: <which of the four>, <how, in a few words>. Example: "ROI: time, the brief arrives before the call, so I don't prep by hand." 2. If it serves none of them, stop and ask whether it is needed, in one plain sentence. Don't do it on autopilot. 3. Prefer the option with the larger return for the same effort. A routine that needs me to click, approve or read every day costs time; count that against what it saves. 4. For calendar blocks, put the ROI line in the hold's description. 5. For new routines and instructions, put the ROI line in the opening paragraph. ## Examples - A weekly topic block on our value proposition: ROI money, because a sharper offer wins quotes. On theme. - A daily report nobody reads: ROI none. Cut it or merge it into the daily board.
