Brain Operating System

Navigation guide for jonmagic's second-brain workspace covering directory intents, naming conventions, and operational norms.

Directory Map

| Directory | Purpose | Notes | |-----------|---------|-------| | Daily Projects/YYYY-MM-DD/ | Day-level focus logs, scratch pads, context files | Start new execution work here. Append to existing date folders rather than creating duplicates. | | Weekly Notes/YYYY-MM-DD/ | Planning, goals, schedules, backlinks to meeting notes | Anchor for weekly rituals. New headings at top (newest first). | | Snippets/YYYY-MM-DD-to-YYYY-MM-DD.md | Weekly accomplishment summaries (Ships, Collabs, Risks, etc.) | Primary feed for retros and exec updates. Maintain existing section headers. | | Executive Summaries/YYYY-MM-DD/ | Distilled updates for leadership | Keep concise (1–2 pages). Reference snippets and priorities. | | Meeting Notes/<team-or-person>.md | Rolling notes with ## YYYY-MM-DD sections | Link to transcripts/summaries via wikilinks. New dates append at top. | | Projects/<slug>/ | Multi-week initiatives | Use README-like overviews, milestone logs, resource links. | | Archive/YYYY-MM-DD/ | Cold-storage for inactive artifacts | Only move files once captured elsewhere. |

Other directories (Feedback/, Transcripts/, Templates/, etc.) follow similar patterns—check existing files before adding content.

Naming Conventions

• Filenames: lowercase with hyphens (my-file-name.md)
• Date folders: YYYY-MM-DD format
• Sequential files: When creating multiple related files in same date folder, use numeric prefixes (01-new-angle.md, 02-follow-up.md)
• Prefer appending: Always try to append to existing date folders rather than creating duplicates

Operational Norms

Append-Only Discipline

• Daily Projects, Weekly Notes, Meeting Notes: Always append new entries at top (reverse-chronological)
• Context files (e.g., snippets-context-*.txt, retro-context-*.txt): Always append to end, never edit middle sections
• Snippets, Executive Summaries: Create new files for new time periods

Wikilink Patterns

Use [[...]] wikilinks liberally to connect documents:

• [[Snippets/2025-11-24-to-2025-11-30]]
• [[Projects/spiral-funnel-architecture/README]]
• [[Meeting Notes/alice]]

Thread Awareness

Before editing any document:

1. Scan the last few entries to understand current state
2. Check for linked documents that provide context
3. Maintain chronological or thematic continuity

Minimal Duplication

• If concept exists elsewhere, link to it rather than restating
• Use wikilinks to connect related content
• Consolidate learnings into appropriate long-term documents (Weekly Notes, Projects, etc.)

Workflow Expectations

1. Start in Daily Projects: Kick off new work in Daily Projects/YYYY-MM-DD/
2. Propagate learnings: Copy distilled notes into relevant Weekly Note, Snippet, or Project file
3. Follow breadcrumbs: Use wikilinks to trace decision history
4. Version-friendly: Use Markdown headings, tables, bullet lists; avoid inline HTML

File Creation Decision Tree

Creating a new file?

1. Is it daily execution work? → Daily Projects/YYYY-MM-DD/
2. Is it weekly planning? → Weekly Notes/YYYY-MM-DD/
3. Is it accomplishment tracking? → Snippets/YYYY-MM-DD-to-YYYY-MM-DD.md
4. Is it a meeting record? → Meeting Notes/<person-or-team>.md (append new ## YYYY-MM-DD section)
5. Is it multi-week scope? → Projects/<slug>/
6. Is it feedback? → Feedback/
7. Is it a transcript? → Transcripts/

When in doubt: Start in Daily Projects/YYYY-MM-DD/ and migrate later if it becomes evergreen.