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Skill: my usefulness level

A zero-install tool for Chapter 5, "Five Levels of New Usefulness." It runs in your browser and sends no data anywhere. Code license: MIT.

This tool shows where one real task sits: operator, AI user, validator, orchestrator, outcome owner, or system builder.

Open the tool

What it does

  • You choose one specific task from the week and mark its current level.
  • You answer questions that push back against a flattering self-rating. The tool will not let you claim a higher level when the task has no definition of "correct," or when the solution cannot run without you.
  • It returns an honest level and one specific move to level up by one.

How to use it

  1. Open the tool and review one or two important tasks from the week.
  2. Apply the suggested one-level move during the next few weeks.
  3. You can tell an AI assistant: "Here is my task and level. Help me define one move up and show what I should check." Ask for options, not a finished decision.

Discipline

The level describes a task, not a person. You may work at different levels on different tasks. Do not turn the result into a label. Raise the level where that change will create the most useful result, not everywhere at once.

Chat version if you cannot use the browser tool

Copy this prompt into any AI chat, then describe your task.

Help me identify the honest usefulness level of my task and the one move that would raise it by one.
The levels, from low to high, are:
1. Operator: I do the work myself without AI.
2. AI user: I give the task to AI and use the draft as it is.
3. Validator: I check and correct the AI result against a clear definition of right and wrong.
4. Orchestrator: I manage several steps, tools, or agents toward one result.
5. Outcome owner: I own the full outcome, and AI and people are tools I use.
(Some versions add level 0, system builder: it runs repeatedly without my participation.)

Here is my task: [describe one specific task from your week]

Do not let me overstate the level. If the task has no clear definition of "correct," it is not level 3
yet. If the solution needs my constant participation, it is not a system. Name the real level and
suggest one specific move up by one level. Give me one move, not a five-step plan.

Source worksheet: Usefulness Levels Self-Check. Next move: Plus-One-Level Plan. Other tools: Prompts and Skills. Version: 2026-06-22.

Skill: my usefulness level