Update Focus Skill

Structured end-of-session update to .context/current-focus.md that preserves the document's full structure.

Purpose

The stop hook nudges to update current-focus.md at session end, but ad-hoc edits risk flattening its rich structure. This skill handles session rotation, open loop management, and targeted questions — so the file stays useful as a working memory between sessions.

When to Use

At the end of a work session (triggered by stop hook or manually)
When the user says "update my focus", "save where I left off", "update current focus"
After /session-log if current-focus.md wasn't updated

Canonical Document Structure

current-focus.md follows this structure — always preserve it:

# Current Focus

> Update this file regularly...

## This Week's Focus (w/c YYYY-MM-DD)

### Primary Goal
[One sentence]

### Active Projects (Top 3)
1. **[Project]** - [Status/phase]
2. **[Project]** - [Status/phase]
3. **[Project]** - [Status/phase]

### Waiting On
- [ ] [Person] - [What] - [Since when]

### Upcoming Deadlines
| Deadline | What | Project |
|----------|------|---------|

## Recent Context

### Last Session Summary (YYYY-MM-DD — [Title])
- [Bullet points of what happened]

### Previous Session (YYYY-MM-DD — [Title])
- [Bullet points]

### Previous Session (YYYY-MM-DD — [Title])
- [Bullet points]

### Previous Session (YYYY-MM-DD — [Title])
- [Bullet points]

### Open Loops
Things I started but haven't finished:
- [ ] [Item]
- [x] [Completed item — remove on next update]

### Mental State
[Optional: How are you feeling about work?]

---

## Quick Reference

### Key Meetings This Week
- [Day]: [Meeting] with [Person] about [Topic]

### Papers in Active Revision
- [Paper title] - [Journal] - [Stage]

---

Workflow

Step 1: Read current state

Read these three sources to understand what happened:

.context/current-focus.md — current file contents
Latest file in log/ — most recent session log (if one was created)
git log --oneline -10 — recent commits for concrete evidence of work done

Also note today's date for week rollover detection.

Step 2: Detect week rollover

Compare the w/c date in ## This Week's Focus (w/c YYYY-MM-DD) against today's date.

If today is in a new week (Monday-based), flag that weekly sections need updating.
If same week, skip weekly section updates.

Week rollover means: Primary Goal, Active Projects Top 3, Waiting On, Upcoming Deadlines, and Key Meetings may all need refreshing.

Step 3: Draft session summary

From the session context (conversation history, commits, log), draft a summary in the same bullet-point format as existing entries:

### Last Session Summary (YYYY-MM-DD — [Short Title])
- [What was done, in bullet points]
- [Key decisions or outputs]
- [Files/commits if relevant]

Keep it concise — 3-6 bullet points. Match the style of existing entries.

Step 4: Ask targeted questions (2-4 max)

Ask only what's needed. Skip questions where the answer is obvious from context.

Always ask:

"Does this session summary look right?" (show the draft)
"Any open loops to add or check off?" (show current list with proposed changes marked)

Ask only if relevant: 3. "How are you feeling about work?" — only if Mental State is still a placeholder ([Optional: ...]) 4. "Has your primary goal or top 3 changed?" — only on week rollover

Present questions concisely with proposed answers. Let the user confirm or adjust.

Step 5: Apply the update

Use Edit to make targeted changes. Never rewrite the whole file.

Session rotation rules

Rename the current ### Last Session Summary (...) to ### Previous Session (...)
Insert the new ### Last Session Summary (...) in its place
Keep a maximum of 4 session entries in Recent Context (1 Last + 3 Previous)
If there are already 4 entries, delete the oldest Previous Session
Preserve the exact header format: ### Last Session Summary (YYYY-MM-DD — Title) for the newest, ### Previous Session (YYYY-MM-DD — Title) for older ones

Open loop management

Check off items that were completed this session (change - [ ] to - [x])
Remove items marked [x] from previous sessions (they've been acknowledged)
Add new open loops identified during the session
Keep the intro line: Things I started but haven't finished:

Other updates

Update Mental State if the user provided one
Update weekly sections if week rollover was detected and the user confirmed changes
Update Quick Reference if meetings or paper revisions changed
Update Waiting On if new blockers emerged or old ones resolved

Step 6: Confirm

Report what was changed:

Updated .context/current-focus.md:
- Session: [title] added to Recent Context
- Open loops: [N checked off, M added]
- [Any other changes]

If no session log was created this session, offer: "Want me to run /session-log too?"

Integration with Other Skills

Skill	Relationship
`/session-log`	Creates the detailed log; `/update-focus` updates the working memory. Often run together.
`/save-context`	For ad-hoc saves to any context file. Defers to `/update-focus` for structured focus updates.
`/sync-notion`	Updates `projects/_index.md` and Notion. For full session-level focus updates, defers to `/update-focus`.

Example Interaction

Claude: Here's what I'd update in current-focus.md:

Session summary:

### Last Session Summary (2026-02-08 — Update Focus Skill)
- Created `/update-focus` skill for structured current-focus.md updates
- Updated stop hook, session-log, and update-context with cross-references
- Updated CLAUDE.md skills list (16 → 17)

Open loops — proposed changes:

~~Commit all pending changes~~ (done this session)
Test new skills on CAPE-MOBO or MRes paper (keep)
Try replication protocol on a real paper (keep)
New: [ ] Test /update-focus skill end-to-end

Does this look right? Any open loops to add or change?

the user: Looks good, also check off the replication one, I decided to skip it.

Claude: Got it. [Applies edits] Updated .context/current-focus.md:

Session: "Update Focus Skill" added to Recent Context
Open loops: 2 checked off, 1 added
Previous sessions rotated (oldest dropped)

Want me to run /session-log too?