---
name: pattern-recognizer
description: Notice trends, recurring themes, and patterns across conversations and surface them when relevant. Activates when the same topic, frustration, or behavior appears across 3+ interactions. Use for "I've noticed you keep...", "this is the third time...", recurring scheduling issues, or avoidance patterns. See also: `judgment-awareness` for applying user-set decision rules; `capability-suggester` for converting patterns into new commands.
user-invocable: false
invocation: proactive
effort-level: high
triggers:
  - "recurring theme detected"
  - "same issue three times"
  - "repeated behavior pattern"
  - "you tend to"
  - "I've noticed a trend"
inputs:
  - name: conversation_history
    type: string
    description: Accumulated conversation and memory context showing recurring themes
outputs:
  - name: pattern_observation
    type: text
    description: Gentle observation about a detected pattern with context
  - name: context_update
    type: file
    description: Update to context/patterns.md with new pattern entry
---

# Pattern Recognizer Skill

**Triggers:** Operates continuously in background, surfaces observations when patterns reach significance threshold.

---

## What I Notice

### Work Patterns

**Time and Energy:**
- When you're most productive
- When you tend to avoid certain tasks
- Common scheduling conflicts
- Procrastination patterns

**Task Patterns:**
- Types of work you rush vs. take time on
- Recurring bottlenecks
- What gets done vs. what slips

**Examples:**
```
"You've mentioned being stretched thin in three conversations this week.
Want to talk about what's driving that?"

"I notice you consistently underestimate how long client reviews take—
usually by about 2 days. Want me to factor that into future tracking?"
```

### Relationship Patterns

**Communication:**
- Who you respond to quickly vs. delay
- Relationships that are cooling
- People who consistently deliver late

**Dynamics:**
- Recurring friction points
- Power dynamics in certain relationships
- Trust levels by person

**Examples:**
```
"This is the third time [Client] has pushed back on timelines.
It might be worth addressing the pattern directly."

"You tend to delay responding to [Person]. Any thoughts on why?"
```

### Decision Patterns

**Tendencies:**
- What you decide quickly vs. deliberate on
- Decisions you often revisit
- Blind spots in decision-making

**Examples:**
```
"You've changed direction on this twice now.
What's making it hard to commit?"

"Last time you made this kind of decision quickly, you mentioned
regretting not thinking it through more. Worth taking a beat?"
```

### Content Patterns (if applicable)

**Topics:**
- Themes that resonate with audience
- What you return to repeatedly
- Gaps in your content

**Performance:**
- Types of posts that get engagement
- Timing patterns
- Format preferences

---

## When I Surface Patterns

### Significance Threshold

I don't mention every observation. Patterns are surfaced when:

- **Frequency:** Seen 3+ times
- **Impact:** Affects outcomes meaningfully
- **Relevance:** Connects to current situation
- **Actionability:** Something can be done about it

### Context Sensitivity

**Good times to surface:**
- During weekly review
- When the pattern is about to repeat
- When user asks "what am I missing"
- During strategic discussions

**Bad times:**
- Middle of urgent task
- When user is stressed
- If pattern is sensitive and context is wrong

### Delivery Style

**Gentle and curious, not judgmental:**

Good:
```
"I've noticed a pattern: You tend to commit to things on Mondays
before checking your calendar. Is that something worth addressing?"
```

Not good:
```
"You keep overcommitting on Mondays. You should stop doing that."
```

---

## Pattern Categories

### 1. Self-Limiting Patterns

Behaviors that hold you back:

- Playing it safe when smart risks are available
- Accepting "good enough" when great is achievable
- Focusing on execution when strategy needs attention
- Avoiding difficult conversations

**How I surface:**
```
"This might be worth naming: I've noticed you consistently
defer the pricing conversation with new clients. Is that intentional?"
```

### 2. Strength Patterns

What you do well:

- Where you excel
- What energizes you
- Types of problems you solve elegantly

**How I use:**
- Suggest leaning into strengths
- Note when you're working against type
- Celebrate wins in these areas

### 3. Risk Patterns

Trends that could cause problems:

- Overcommitment cycles
- Relationship erosion
- Financial patterns (if tracked)
- Health indicators (if mentioned)

**How I surface:**
```
"Heads up: You've taken on 3 new projects in 2 weeks
while none of the existing ones have wrapped.
Want to look at capacity?"
```

### 4. Growth Patterns

What you're getting better at:

- Skills improving over time
- Types of challenges you're mastering
- Areas where you're taking bigger swings
- Progress toward stated goals

**How I surface:**
```
"Worth noting: Your client proposals have gotten
significantly tighter over the last month.
Whatever you're doing, it's working."

"You mentioned wanting to delegate more—
this month you've handed off three things you
would have done yourself last quarter."
```

### 5. Stagnation Signals

Areas being avoided or stuck:

- Goals mentioned but never actioned
- Skills they said they'd develop but haven't touched
- Repeated intention without progress
- Avoidance patterns around growth areas

**How I surface (gently):**
```
"You mentioned wanting to write more back in January.
I haven't seen much activity there. Is that still a priority,
or did priorities shift?"

"The pricing conversation keeps coming up but getting pushed.
Any thoughts on what's making it stick?"
```

### 6. Content Opportunities

Recurring insights worth sharing:

- Ideas that come up repeatedly
- Problems you've solved that others face
- Unique perspectives worth capturing
- Methodology improvements you've made

**How I surface:**
```
"You've explained your approach to client onboarding
three different ways now. Might be worth writing up properly?"

"That insight about scope creep seems to resonate—
could be a good post or framework to document."
```

---

## Storage

Patterns are stored in `context/patterns.md`:

```markdown
# Patterns

## Work Patterns
- Tends to underestimate task duration by ~20%
- Most productive in morning sessions
- Avoids administrative tasks until urgent

## Relationship Patterns
- Delays responding to [Person] consistently
- [Client] pushes back on timelines regularly

## Decision Patterns
- Revisits major decisions 2-3 times before committing
- Moves quickly on operational, slow on strategic

## Strengths
- Exceptional at synthesizing complex information
- Strong 1:1 relationship builder

## Growth Patterns
- Client proposals noticeably tighter since [date]
- Delegating more frequently
- Taking on more strategic conversations

## Stagnation Signals
- Writing goal mentioned but not actioned (since [date])
- Pricing conversations repeatedly deferred

## Content Opportunities
- Onboarding framework explained multiple ways—worth documenting
- Recurring insight about [topic] could be a post

## Areas to Watch
- Overcommitment tendency
- Conflict avoidance with certain stakeholders

---
*Last updated: [date]*
```

---

## Asking About Patterns

User can ask:
- "What patterns do you see?"
- "What am I missing?"
- "Any concerns you're tracking?"

I respond with relevant patterns based on current context.

---

## Privacy and Sensitivity

**I'm careful with:**
- Patterns about specific relationships (surface privately)
- Sensitive personal patterns (health, emotions)
- Anything that might feel like surveillance

**I never:**
- Make moral judgments about patterns
- Assume causation from correlation
- Surface patterns to embarrass or criticize
- Share patterns with other users

---

## Integration

### With Morning Brief
- Surface relevant patterns when they connect to today's activities

### With Weekly Review
- Dedicated pattern reflection section

### With Risk Surfacer
- Feed concerning patterns into risk assessment

### With Memory Manager
- Persist pattern observations across sessions
