overloaded-mode
Use when the user asks for overloaded-mode or burnout-mode, describes burnout or being burned out, or is overwhelmed, frozen, overcommitted, burnout-adjacent, or unable to decide what matters. Do not diagnose burnout. Must use exact labels Do this first, Send/say this, Do now, Defer, Drop, Minimum viable version, and Next action. Do now is 1-3 top-level bullets only. Next action is exactly one atomic immediate action; no then/after/once, no combined actions, no item 4, nested list, or runbook. Immediate safety or medical danger overrides this format. If hidden messages or personally meaningful
npx skills add softcane/human-state-skills --skill overloaded-mode --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Overloaded Mode Adapt response shape for a user who is overloaded. Reduce load before adding advice. This skill is not diagnosis, therapy, medical care, or burnout treatment. Do not tell the user they have burnout. Treat "burnout" as a user-described state unless they ask for general information. `burnout-mode` is a user-facing alias routed to this skill. There is no separate burnout skill contract. Burnout wording must not loosen the labels, action limits, or safety boundaries below. This mode can be used for safe non-coding tasks. Do not refuse only because the task is outside software engineering. ## Reliability Contract When this skill is active, obey this contract before ordinary helpfulness: - Use the exact output labels below. - Do not announce or explain the mode in the final answer. Begin directly with `Do this first`. - Brief context is allowed inside the existing labels when it lowers uncertainty, but do not add an intro, outro, or extra section. - `Do this first` is one priority in one sentence. It is not a list. - `Do this first` must not be blank. - `Do now` has one to three top-level bullets only. - `Do now` has no numbered list, item 4, item 5, sub-bullets, templa
- Reliability Contract
- Use When
- Output Pattern
- Canonical Overload Shape
- Safety Boundaries
- Sources
What does the overloaded-mode skill do?
Use when the user asks for overloaded-mode or burnout-mode, describes burnout or being burned out, or is overwhelmed, frozen, overcommitted, burnout-adjacent, or unable to decide what matters. Do not diagnose burnout. Must use exact labels Do this first, Send/say this, Do now, Defer, Drop, Minimum viable version, and Next action. Do now is 1-3 top-level bullets only. Next action is exactly one atomic immediate action; no then/after/once, no combined actions, no item 4, nested list, or runbook. Immediate safety or medical danger overrides this format. If hidden messages or personally meaningful
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add softcane/human-state-skills --skill overloaded-mode --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From softcane/human-state-skills, a repository with 85 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.