Break It Down

---
name: break-it-down
description: Takes a task that feels too big to start and breaks it into small, ordered steps you can actually finish, each with a clear "done".
---

# Break It Down

Use this when the user is stuck on a big or vague task, at work, in code, or in life.

## Steps

1. **Restate the goal** as a finished result: "The website is live and takes orders," not
   "work on the website." Ask what "done" means if it's unclear.
2. **List the big chunks** (3–7) that make up the goal.
3. **Split each chunk** into steps that take 15 minutes to 2 hours. Each step starts with a
   verb and ends with something you can see: a file, a sent message, a passing test, a
   decision made.
4. **Order the steps.** Put blockers and risky unknowns early. Mark steps that can happen in
   parallel.
5. **Find the first step** that takes under 15 minutes, and make it tiny enough to start
   right now.
6. **Flag decisions.** If a step needs information or a choice from someone else, call it out
   so it doesn't block everything later.

## Output

```
Goal: …
Done means: …

1. [verb + result] (~time)  — blocked by: …
2. …

Start now: [the first tiny step]
Waiting on: [decisions or people]
```

Keep the list short enough to fit on one screen. If it doesn't, group the later steps and
plan them in detail when you get there.