| name | idea-distill |
| description | Process the Inbox.md and Ideas/ folder, surfacing patterns and recommending where to develop ideas further. Triggers on "process my inbox", "distill ideas", or when Inbox.md exceeds ~50 lines. |
Skill: idea-distill
Convert raw capture (in Inbox.md) into more developed thinking (in Ideas/, coach folders, or daily notes), and surface patterns across captured thoughts.
When to invoke
- User asks: "process my inbox", "what's in my inbox", "distill ideas"
Inbox.md is over ~50 lines (signal to process)- During weekly review (the inbox should be empty by Sunday)
What to do
-
Read Inbox.md from top to bottom
-
For each entry, classify:
- Already developed — move to a permanent home (Ideas/, coach folder, daily note, project)
- Needs more thought — leave in inbox with a note, or create a stub in Ideas/ to grow
- Throwaway — flag for user to confirm deletion
- Cross-domain — surface to the user; suggest which coach it belongs to
-
Read all files in Ideas/ — note ones that haven't been touched in >30 days (potentially stale)
-
Surface patterns:
- Themes appearing multiple times across inbox + ideas
- Connections between recent inbox items and existing ideas
- Gaps — areas the user is captures-poor (might mean they're not capturing, or genuinely not thinking about it)
Output
Don't just rearrange files silently. Tell the user:
- "Here are 4 inbox items I'd move to [target]: [list with target]"
- "Here are 2 themes that appeared 3+ times this week: [list]"
- "3 ideas haven't been touched in 30+ days: [list] — develop, archive, or delete?"
User confirms; then apply changes.
Important
- Don't move things without permission — show what you'd do, then act after the user confirms
- Don't delete anything — only the user deletes
- Surface, don't decide — your job is to make the choices visible; the user owns the decision
Why this matters
Capture is easy; distillation is the bottleneck. Without periodic distill, Inbox.md becomes a graveyard of half-thoughts and the system loses value. This skill is what keeps the brain alive instead of merely full.
