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:

1. .context/current-focus.md — current file contents
2. Latest file in log/ — most recent session log (if one was created)
3. 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:

1. "Does this session summary look right?" (show the draft)
2. "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.
vault sync (edit vault files directly)	Updates projects/_index.md and vault. 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?