Personal Operating Manual

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name: personal-operating-manual
description: "Write the manual for how you work best — your energy, triggers, communication style, and non-negotiables — to share with a manager, team, or partner (or to know yourself). Use when asked to write my user manual, how I work best, a working-with-me guide, or help my team understand me. Produces a clear one-pager covering how you communicate, when you're at your best, what drains you, how you like feedback, and your non-negotiables — turning invisible friction into stated expectations, so people can work with you instead of around you."
---

# Personal Operating Manual

Half of workplace and relationship friction is unspoken mismatch — you need quiet mornings, they schedule 9am calls; you want direct feedback, they hint. A "how to work with me" manual makes the invisible explicit. This writes yours: how you communicate, when you're at your best, what drains you, how you like feedback, and your hard lines — so people can adapt to how you actually work instead of guessing.

## What This Skill Produces

- **How I communicate** — your preferred channels, response speed, and style (direct vs. warm, written vs. talk-it-out)
- **When I'm at my best** — your energy windows and the conditions for your best work
- **What drains me** — the things that wreck your focus or energy (context-switching, surprise meetings, ambiguity)
- **How I like feedback** — direct, private, written, immediate — however it actually lands well for you
- **My non-negotiables** — the few hard lines (protected focus time, no weekend messages, whatever's real)
- **How to get the best from me** — the practical "if you do X, I'll deliver Y"

## Required Inputs

Ask for these if not provided:
- **The audience** — a manager, a whole team, a partner, or just for yourself
- **How you work best** — your conditions, energy, and style (drawn out if needed)
- **Your friction points** — where mismatches keep happening
- **Feedback preference** — how criticism actually lands well for you
- **Your non-negotiables** — the genuine hard lines

## Framework: Make The Invisible Explicit

1. **Cover the high-friction areas.** Communication, energy/best-conditions, drains, feedback, and non-negotiables — these are where unspoken mismatch causes the most friction.
2. **Be specific and honest.** "I need 2 hours of uninterrupted morning focus" beats "I like focus" — specifics let people actually adapt.
3. **Frame as enabling, not demanding.** Present preferences as "here's how to get the best from me," not a list of complaints or rules.
4. **Distinguish preferences from non-negotiables.** Most items are "nice if"; a few are genuine hard lines — separate them so the real ones carry weight.
5. **Keep it a one-pager.** Short enough to actually read and remember; this is a quick reference, not an autobiography.

## Output Format

### How to work with me — [for audience]

**How I communicate:** [channels · speed · style].
**I'm at my best when:** [energy windows + conditions].
**What drains me:** [the focus/energy killers].
**How I like feedback:** [direct/private/written/etc.].
**My non-negotiables:** [the few real hard lines].
**Get the best from me:** [practical "if X then Y"].

## Quality Checks
- [ ] Covers the high-friction areas (comms, energy, drains, feedback, non-negotiables)
- [ ] Items are specific and actionable, not vague
- [ ] Framed as enabling, not demanding
- [ ] Separates preferences from genuine non-negotiables
- [ ] Fits on one readable page
- [ ] Tuned to the intended audience

## Anti-Patterns
- **Vague preferences** no one can act on.
- **A list of demands** rather than an enabling guide.
- **Everything as a "non-negotiable"** — diluting the real ones.
- **An autobiography** instead of a one-pager.

## Example Trigger Phrases
- "Write my 'how to work with me' guide for my new team."
- "Help me make a user manual for myself."
- "My manager should know how I work best — help me put it in writing."
- "A working-with-me guide for my partner about how I operate."
- "Help me articulate my non-negotiables and work style."