# Pressing Items: What Needs My Attention Right Now

> **Version 1.0.0 · Last updated 2026-10-22 · Difficulty: Beginner · Setup time: 15–30 minutes**

> 🧩 **Based on the prebuilt skill `Clone-Pressing-Items`.** You attach it; you don't have to write it.

Ask your clone "What's pressing?" and get a ranked triage of everything that needs you in the last 12 hours, as a Slack/Teams message and a branded HTML email.

---

## 1. Overview and value

Your inbox, calendar, files, CRM and Linear all produce small fires. Most are noise. A few are real: a customer who is losing patience, a deadline that passed, a colleague blocked on your approval. Finding them means checking five tools.

The Pressing Items skill does that sweep for you. It looks at **exactly the last 12 hours** (anchored to the real current time), across every source you've connected, and returns a short ranked list of what needs you now.

| Benefit | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| One sweep instead of five tabs | Email, calendar, files, CRM, Linear and knowledge bases checked together |
| Ranked, not dumped | A "Top Pressing Items" list ordered by severity, time pressure, blast radius and who's waiting |
| Honest | It never pads the list or invents urgency. Nothing pressing? It says "your plate is clear" |
| Two formats | A short Slack/Teams message plus a branded HTML email |
| Safe | It delivers only after you confirm the channel and recipients |

What it looks for:

| Class | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 🔴 Emergency | Outage, security, legal, or a customer-facing failure happening now |
| ⏰ Overdue | A promised or due date has passed |
| ⏳ Due Soon | A deadline or meeting coming up that needs something from you |
| 🙋 Frustrated/Escalating | Tone is getting sharper, repeated follow-ups, "any update?" |
| 🤝 Awaiting You | Others are blocked until you reply, approve or decide |
| 📨 Direct Ask | Someone asked you something directly and it's unanswered |
| 🔁 Dropped Thread | A conversation you were part of went quiet with an open item |

It also reads **meeting-recap emails** and pulls out action items assigned to you.

---

## 2. Who it's for

- **Leadership** who need a "what do I deal with first" view between meetings.
- **Ops** leads who field requests from many directions.
- **Sales** reps and managers watching deals, replies and follow-ups.
- **Customer Success** managers tracking escalations and promised follow-ups.

## 3. How it works

```
 You: "What's pressing?"   (or a scheduled run at 7 AM / 1 PM)
                 │
                 ▼
 ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
 │ Clone-Pressing-Items                                       │
 │  1. Get the real current time ──► window = last 12 hours   │
 │  2. Sweep sources (whatever is connected):                 │
 │       Email (primary) · Calendar · Files · CRM ·           │
 │       Linear · Knowledge bases · meeting-recap emails      │
 │  3. Classify: 🔴 ⏰ ⏳ 🙋 🤝 📨 🔁                              │
 │  4. Rank: severity · time pressure · blast radius ·        │
 │           who's waiting                                    │
 │  5. Draft: Slack/Teams message + branded HTML email        │
 │  6. Show both in chat                                      │
 └──────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────┘
                            │
        You confirm channel + recipients
                            │
                            ▼
              Delivered to Slack/Teams and/or email
```

## 4. What the clone does (and never does)

**Does**
- Anchors to the real current time and reviews only the last 12 hours.
- Reports which sources were checked, which weren't connected, and which failed.
- Ranks items and says why each one is pressing.
- Shows both drafts in chat first.

**Never**
- Pads the list or invents urgency. A clear plate is a valid result.
- Sends anything before you confirm the channel and recipients.
- Replies to, edits or closes anything in your email, CRM, Linear or files. It is read-only.
- Reads Slack or Teams as a source (not supported yet; delivery only).

## 5. Setup walkthrough

The quickest path: give **CLONE-INSTRUCTIONS.md** to your clone and say *"Please set this up. Show me a plan first."*

1. **Check requirements (5 min):** open REQUIREMENTS.md.
2. **Hand over the instructions (2 min).**
3. **Review the discovery table (3 min).**
4. **Attach the skill (2 min):** the clone attaches **Clone-Pressing-Items** via the platform after you approve.
5. **Connect sources (5–15 min):** email first, then calendar, files, CRM, Linear. You sign in (OAuth); the clone never needs a password.
6. **Run it:** say **"What's pressing?"** Check the results.
7. **Optional schedule:** for example 7 AM and 1 PM on weekdays. The prompt must state the delivery channel and email (exact text is in CLONE-INSTRUCTIONS.md).

## 6. Placeholders to decide

| Placeholder | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| `{DELIVERY_CHANNEL}` | Slack or Teams channel or DM for the message | #my-pressing-items (Slack) |
| `{EMAIL_RECIPIENTS}` | Who gets the HTML email | you@yourcompany.com |
| `{SCHEDULE_TIMES}` | When scheduled runs happen (with time zone) | 7:00 AM and 1:00 PM America/New_York, Mon–Fri |
| `{TIME_ZONE}` | Your time zone | America/New_York |

## 7. What to expect

- On demand: a few minutes, then both drafts appear in chat with a source-status line.
- After you confirm channel and recipients, it delivers and tells you what was sent where.
- Busy day: a ranked list with the top items first. Quiet day: "Your plate is clear" plus the sources checked.
- Scheduled: arrives at the stated times in the stated destination.

## 8. Customizing

- Ask for fewer or more items in the Top list ("top 5 only").
- Ask it to ignore certain senders, labels or projects ("ignore newsletters and Linear project X").
- Change the email branding (name, colors, logo) by telling the clone.
- Run on different days or times by editing the scheduled task.

## 9. Known gotchas

- **Email is the most important source.** Connect it first. Without it, the sweep misses most direct asks, escalations and dropped threads.
- **Slack/Teams can't be read as a source yet.** They are delivery only. Messages sent to you there won't appear in the sweep.
- **Scheduled runs need the destination in the prompt.** A scheduled run can't ask you to confirm, so the prompt must name the channel and email recipients.
- **12 hours only, by design.** Anything older is out of scope. For a broader view, use a different card (for example Customer Pulse for accounts).
- **It only knows connected sources.** The report tells you which were checked.

## 10. FAQ

**Will it reply to people for me?** No. It is read-only and only delivers the summary.

**Can it look back 24 hours?** Not in this card. The 12-hour window is deliberate so the list stays short and fresh.

**Which CRM?** Salesforce or HubSpot. HubSpot has no ticket operator, so support items appear as notes/tasks via HubspotEngagementOperator.

**What if nothing is pressing?** You get "your plate is clear" and the sources checked.

**Does it need all sources?** No. Email alone works; more sources make it better.

## 11. Troubleshooting

| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Very few items | Email not connected | Connect Gmail or Outlook first |
| Scheduled run didn't deliver | Destination missing in prompt | Edit the scheduled task and add channel and recipients |
| "CRM not connected" in status | Connection not signed in | Re-run sign-in for Salesforce or HubSpot |
| Items older than 12 hours | Window drift (rare) | Ask it to re-anchor to the current time and re-run |
| Nothing posted to Slack/Teams | Channel not confirmed or no access | Confirm the channel and check the messaging integration |
| Slack messages missing from the sweep | Slack/Teams aren't readable sources | Expected; forward key items to email |

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**Version:** 1.0.0 · **Last updated:** 2026-10-22 · Part of the Clone Use Case Library.