Obsidian Workflows & Second Brain Methodology

Actionable guidance for building and maintaining a second brain in Obsidian. This skill focuses on workflows and decisions — not PARA theory (Claude already knows that).

PARA Quick Reference

Organize by actionability, not topic:

Category	What Goes Here	Review Cadence
Projects	Active work with clear endpoints	Weekly
Areas	Ongoing responsibilities, no endpoint	Monthly
Resources	Reference materials, future interest	Quarterly
Archives	Completed/inactive from above	Annually

When in doubt: "Does this have a deadline or clear outcome?" Yes = Project. "Is this an ongoing responsibility?" Yes = Area. Otherwise = Resource.

Key Workflows

Capture (minimize friction)

1. Drop everything into Inbox
2. Minimal formatting — structure comes later
3. One idea per note (atomic)
4. Include source and why it matters
5. Tag as #inbox for processing

Inbox Processing (weekly review, 30 min)

For each inbox note, decide:

• Delete — Not useful, was impulse capture
• Archive — Useful reference but no action needed now
• Elaborate — Add context, links, tags, then move to PARA category

Target: empty inbox weekly.

Review Cadences

Cadence	Time	What to Do
Daily	5 min	Create daily note, review active projects, process quick captures
Weekly	30 min	Process inbox completely, review all projects, update areas, clean loose ends
Monthly	1 hour	Review areas, archive completed projects, check OKRs/goals, update MOCs
Quarterly	2 hours	Strategic review, archive inactive resources, consolidate tags, adjust PARA

Linking Rules

The 2-Link Rule

Every new note links to at least 2 existing notes. This prevents orphans and forces context-building. Ask "What does this connect to?" before saving.

MOCs vs Dashboards

Keep these separate — they serve different purposes:

MOCs (Maps of Content) — Hand-curated navigation. Each link includes why it's connected. Create when a topic has 10+ related notes. Updated intentionally, not constantly.

Dashboards — Auto-generated views (dataview queries). Show recent activity, stats, tasks. No manual curation needed.

When to Create a MOC

• Topic has 10+ related notes
• Need an overview of a knowledge area
• Connecting notes across multiple PARA categories
• Want curated navigation (not just a flat list)

Evergreen Notes (3-Layer Pattern)

Concept notes that grow over time:

Layer 1 — Definition: What is this concept? Your own words, core explanation. Rarely changes.

Layer 2 — Related: How does this connect? 2-5 links with reasons:

## Related
- [[Event Loop]] — closures power async callbacks
- [[Garbage Collection]] — closures affect GC behavior

Layer 3 — Encounters: Real-world usage added over time:

# Encounters

## 2026-02-05 - Debugging closure scope issue
Discovered that closures in a forEach loop captured the loop variable by reference.
Link: [[TIL 2026-02-05]]

Use Outgoing Links panel to discover connections you missed.

Progressive Summarization

Refine notes just-in-time (when you revisit them, not when you capture):

1. Capture — Full source material
2. Bold — Key passages (10-20% of content)
3. Highlight — Within bold (10-20% of that)
4. Summarize — 2-3 sentence executive summary at top
5. Remix — Create new output from distilled knowledge

Apply layers only when you return to a note for a specific purpose. Don't process everything upfront.

Gotchas

• Inbox zero is a target cadence, not a daily requirement — weekly processing is the realistic goal
• Don't create MOCs prematurely — wait for 10+ related notes; premature MOCs become maintenance burden
• Progressive Summarization is just-in-time, not upfront — only bold/highlight when you RETURN to a note for a purpose
• The 2-Link Rule ("every note links to at least 2 existing notes") is easy to skip under time pressure — enforce it, orphaned notes are lost knowledge
• Evergreen notes Layer 3 (Encounters) is the most valuable but most neglected — actively prompt to add real-world encounters when revisiting concept notes
• Review cadences will drift — anchor them to existing habits (daily standup, weekly planning meeting)

Integration with Plugin Commands

This skill informs all plugin commands and agents:

• /daily-startup uses daily note workflow patterns
• /process-inbox implements inbox processing workflow
• /review-okrs applies review cadences to goal tracking
• /maintain-vault ensures link health and organization