Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Hourly Rate Time Allocation agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The hourly-rate-time skill is a text-only guide for an AI agent that helps you think about how to spend your time. It is built on a set of ideas from Naval Ravikant's book The Almanack of Naval Ravikant, and it pushes the agent to set a deliberately high personal hourly rate and to use that rate to judge chores, errands and delegation. This guide explains what the skill does, how to install it, how to ask for it in plain language, and where it should not be used.
Hourly Rate Time Allocationkangarooking/cangjie-skill · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Download the skill ZIP from this page to your computer.
- 2Unzip into the skills folder. Place the hourly-rate-time folder in ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or in a project's .claude/skills/ folder for one project.
- 3Or upload in the Claude apps. In the Claude apps, open Settings, go to Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the ZIP.
- 4Start a new conversation. Open a fresh chat so the agent loads the skill.
- 5Ask a time decision question. Describe a specific chore, queue or outsourcing choice with its cost and time.
- 6Set and test your hourly rate. Write down a rate that feels high, then compare each task against it.
What the hourly-rate-time skill makes the agent do
Agent skills are folders of instructions that an AI agent loads when a request matches what the skill covers. This one contains a single main instruction file, SKILL.md, plus test prompts and test results. It runs no scripts and uses no network access, so it only shapes how the agent reasons and answers.
When you are unsure how to spend your time, the agent applies a simple filter. Tasks valued below your personal hourly rate are outsourced, delegated or dropped. Tasks worth more than that rate are kept and done yourself. The skill also covers two related ideas: avoiding lifestyle inflation as income rises, and treating retirement as not sacrificing today for an imagined tomorrow.
- Sets a personal hourly rate that should feel high, even absurd
- Compares each chore or errand against that rate before you act
- Suggests outsourcing, delegating or dropping low-value tasks
- Warns against raising spending every time income goes up
- Helps you compare your current position with financial independence
Install the hourly-rate-time skill
Download the ZIP file for the skill from this page. Unzip it so that the hourly-rate-time folder, containing SKILL.md, sits in one of two places. For a personal setup that applies everywhere, use the skills folder in your home directory, ~/.claude/skills/. For a single project, put it in the .claude/skills/ folder inside that project.
If you use the Claude apps instead of files on your computer, you can upload the skill. Open Settings, go to Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the ZIP there. The skill has no listed requirements, so you do not need to install any other tools for it.
After installing, start a new conversation so the agent can see the skill. If it does not respond to your requests, check that the folder name is hourly-rate-time and that SKILL.md is directly inside it, not nested one level deeper.
Trigger the skill with natural requests
You do not need a special command. The skill is meant to load when you ask about time allocation, outsourcing, or financial freedom. The skill's trigger keywords include hourly rate, time management, outsourcing, chores, queues, financial freedom, retirement and delegate, and its main instructions are in Chinese, so keep your request clear and specific.
Good requests describe a real decision with a time or money trade-off. Vague questions about productivity may not match the skill as closely as a concrete choice would.
- Is it worth paying 50 yuan to skip a two-hour queue?
- Should I hire someone to do my cooking or errands?
- I am busy every day but produce nothing. How should I allocate my time?
- How far am I from being able to stop working for money?
Work through the skill step by step
The skill's method has five parts. First, you set a personal hourly rate and write it down, checking that it looks and feels unreasonably high. If it feels comfortable, the guidance says it is too low and should be raised.
Next, list everything you did this week and note the opportunity cost of each item, which is your hourly rate multiplied by the hours spent. Then outsource, delete or change the way you do at least three low-value activities. Check that your spending did not rise with your income, and finally calculate the ratio of passive income to expenses to see how far you are from not sacrificing today for tomorrow.
- Set your hourly rate and confirm it feels absurdly high
- List this week's activities with their opportunity cost
- Outsource, delete or change at least three low-value items
- Confirm that savings rose when income rose
- Work out your passive income to expenses ratio
Know the limits and safety notes
The skill is not meant for rest, time with family, or unstructured relaxation. It says that doing things you want to do is not a waste of time, and using the framework on those moments may make you feel guilty about downtime. Do not use it for those purposes.
The advice assumes you have spare money to pay for outsourcing. The source itself acknowledges that outsourcing is a luxury for lower-income people, so check your budget before acting on it. The skill gives rules of thumb from one book, not personalised financial or legal analysis. Because it runs no scripts and uses no network, the main risks are about the advice itself rather than your computer.
- Not for rest, family time or relaxation
- Check your cash flow before outsourcing
- Not a substitute for personalised financial or legal planning
- Treat its hourly rate as one input, not the only decision rule
Tips for getting useful results
Give the agent real numbers. Tell it what a task costs, how many hours it takes, and what you earn, so the hourly comparison has something to work with. Ask it to show the calculation.
The skill is designed to sit alongside other skills. The source names decision-heuristics as a skill that composes with this one, and wealth-structure as one that covers a different question, namely how to build assets rather than how to use time. Use hourly-rate-time for the time decision and the others for the wider choice.
- Include costs and hours in your request
- Ask for the opportunity cost calculation to be shown
- Use decision-heuristics when the choice is between options, such as job offers
- Revisit your hourly rate as your situation changes
What people use it for
- Deciding whether to pay for a delivery or spend the time cooking yourself
- Judging whether a two-hour queue is worth the money saved
- Choosing which errands or admin tasks to hand to someone else
- Reviewing a busy week to find activities that produce nothing
- Checking whether spending has risen along with income
Frequently asked questions
Is the hourly-rate-time skill free?
The source lists the skill under the MIT licence. Under that licence you can generally use and share the material, but read the licence text itself for the exact terms.
What do I need to run the hourly-rate-time skill?
The source lists no requirements. The skill runs no scripts and uses no network, so it is text guidance that the agent reads and applies to your questions.
Where do I install an agent skill like this?
Unzip the folder into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. In the Claude apps, you can instead upload the ZIP under Settings, then Capabilities, then Skills.
Why does the skill not trigger for my question?
The skill matches on requests about time allocation, outsourcing, chores, queues, financial freedom and retirement. Try describing a specific trade-off, and check that the folder is named hourly-rate-time with SKILL.md directly inside it.
How does this compare with other time management methods?
The skill uses a single quantitative filter, your hourly rate, drawn from one book. The source says it is a heuristic, not personalised analysis, and that it works alongside decision-heuristics rather than replacing it.
Is it safe to let the agent use this skill?
The skill runs no scripts and uses no network access. Its real risk is the advice itself, which assumes spare cash for outsourcing, so check your budget before acting on it.
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Our verdict
Use this skill if you want a blunt, simple test for whether a chore or errand is worth paying to avoid, or if you are checking how far you are from financial independence. Pick something else if you need rest-friendly time planning, personalised financial or legal advice, or guidance for a tight budget.
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