A workflow for initiating monthly planning, setting themes, and reviewing carryover items.
Install
mkdir -p .claude/skills/start-month && curl -L -o skill.zip "https://agentskills.codes/api/skills/download/17052" && unzip -o skill.zip -d .claude/skills/start-month && rm skill.zipInstalls to .claude/skills/start-month
Activation
This is the description your AI agent reads to decide when to run this skill — the better it matches your request, the more reliably it fires.
Opens the calendar month with a theme, monthly outcomes, and carryover from the prior month review. Use when the user says /start-month, start of month, monthly planning, or new month kickoff.Key capabilities
- →Define a monthly theme
- →Set 3 to 5 measurable outcomes for the month
- →Identify carryover tasks from the previous month's review
- →Establish a single strategic focus
- →Identify potential risks and constraints
- →Persist the monthly plan to a markdown file
How it works
This skill resolves the current month's context, gathers information from previous month reviews and goal files, then synthesizes a monthly plan including a theme, outcomes, carryover tasks, strategic focus, and risks. It can optionally persist this plan to a markdown file.
Inputs & outputs
When to use start-month
- →Plan the new month
- →Define monthly themes
- →Review carryover tasks
- →Set monthly strategic focus
About this skill
BASE_DIR=!~/.agents/scripts/get-env NOTES_DIR
TODAY=!date +%Y-%m-%d
YEAR=!date +%Y
MONTH=!date +%m
MONTH_NAME=!date +%B
PREV_MONTH=!date -d "last month" +%m
PREV_YEAR=!date -d "last month" +%Y
Start Month
Sets intent for the calendar month: theme, a small set of outcomes, carryover from last month’s review, and what to protect or drop.
Prerequisites
NOTES_DIRset (via~/.agents/scripts/get-env NOTES_DIR)- Optional:
{BASE_DIR}/goals.md,{BASE_DIR}/team-goals.md - Optional:
{BASE_DIR}/{PREV_YEAR}/{PREV_MONTH}/month-review.md(from end-of-month-review) - Optional: latest weekly
plan.mdorreview.mdunder{BASE_DIR}/{YEAR}/weekly/for continuity
Steps
1. Resolve month context
Use calendar month {MONTH} and {YEAR}. For “last month,” use {PREV_YEAR} and {PREV_MONTH} (handles January rolling to December of the prior year when using the same date patterns as end-of-month-review).
2. Gather context
Read if they exist:
{BASE_DIR}/{PREV_YEAR}/{PREV_MONTH}/month-review.md(especially the Next Month section){BASE_DIR}/goals.mdand{BASE_DIR}/team-goals.md- This month’s
{BASE_DIR}/{YEAR}/{MONTH}/month-plan.mdif you already started the month
3. Synthesize (in chat unless the user asks for a file)
Deliver:
- Theme (one line for the month)
- Top 3 to 5 outcomes (measurable or clearly done or not done)
- Carryover from last month’s review (scheduled, delegated, or explicitly dropped)
- Strategic focus (single most important thread, aligned with goals or OKRs)
- Risks (capacity, dependencies, recurring commitments to trim)
If last month’s month-review.md is missing, note the gap and plan from goals plus what the user states.
4. Optional file output
If the user wants it persisted, write {BASE_DIR}/{YEAR}/{MONTH}/month-plan.md:
---
month: {MONTH_NAME} {YEAR}
date: {TODAY}
---
# Month plan
## Theme
## Top outcomes (3 to 5)
## Carryover from last month
## Strategic focus
## Risks and constraints
Relationship to other skills
- end-of-month-review writes
{BASE_DIR}/{YEAR}/{MONTH}/month-review.mdat month end; start-month should read the previous month’s file when present. - Do not run the full end-of-month-review workflow here unless the user explicitly asks for a retrospective.
When not to use it
- →When a full retrospective of the previous month is needed
Prerequisites
Limitations
- →If `month-review.md` is missing, the skill plans from goals and user input.
- →The skill does not run the full `end-of-month-review` workflow unless explicitly asked.
How it compares
This workflow provides a structured approach to monthly planning by explicitly integrating carryover from previous reviews and goal alignment, offering a more continuous and focused planning cycle than ad-hoc monthly goal setting.
Compared to similar skills
start-month side by side with the closest alternatives in the catalog.
| Skill | Installs | Updated | Safety | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| start-month (this skill) | 0 | 3mo | Review | Beginner |
| notion-spec-to-implementation | 5 | 6mo | No flags | Intermediate |
| weekly | 2 | 6mo | No flags | Beginner |
| goal-tracking | 1 | 6mo | No flags | Intermediate |
Try saying
Example prompts that trigger this skill in your AI assistant.
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