now-dashboard

name	now-dashboard
description	Updates the NOW.md dashboard in Obsidian by aggregating tasks from project TODO.md files. Use when user says "update my NOW", "refresh my dashboard", "what should I work on", or "let's do my weekly review". Supports quick regeneration mode and guided weekly review mode.

NOW Dashboard Skill

This skill manages your NOW.md dashboard in your Obsidian vault by aggregating tasks from project TODO.md files.

Configuration

The Obsidian vault is located at: ~/obsidian

Key paths:

• Dashboard: ~/obsidian/Working Memory/NOW.md
• Projects folder: ~/obsidian/Projects/
• Dashboard template: ~/obsidian/Templates/Dashboard.md
• TODO template: See TODO-TEMPLATE.md in this skill folder

Two Modes

Mode 1: Quick Regeneration

Triggers: "update my NOW", "refresh my dashboard", "regenerate NOW"

Quick mode:

1. Scan /Projects/*/TODO.md for all project TODO files
2. Extract incomplete tasks (- [ ]) from each project
3. Pick the top 2-3 tasks from each active project
4. Update the "Active Projects" section in NOW.md
5. Preserve existing content in: This Week's Focus, Inbox, Waiting On, Reference Links
6. Update the timestamp

Mode 2: Weekly Review

Triggers: "weekly review", "let's review my week", "weekly planning"

Guided mode:

1. Review completed tasks: Show tasks marked [x] across all projects this week
2. Process each project: For each project with a TODO.md:
   • Show current tasks
   • Ask: "Any tasks to add, remove, or reprioritize?"
   • Update TODO.md based on response
3. Set This Week's Focus: Ask user to pick top 2-3 priorities for next week
4. Process Inbox: Show any items in NOW.md Inbox section
   • For each item, ask: "File to project, add to Google Tasks, or delete?"
5. Review Waiting On: Ask if any blocked items have been resolved
6. Generate fresh NOW.md: Aggregate everything into clean dashboard

Workflow: Quick Regeneration

Step 1: Find All Project TODOs

find ~/obsidian/Projects -name "TODO.md" -type f

Step 2: For Projects Without TODO.md

If a project folder exists but has no TODO.md:

• Create one from the TODO-TEMPLATE.md template
• Inform user: "Created TODO.md for [Project Name]"

Step 3: Parse Each TODO.md

For each TODO.md found:

• Extract project name from folder path
• Parse tasks by section: ## Engineering and ## Sales & Marketing
• Find all incomplete tasks: lines matching - [ ] within each section
• Identify high-priority items (first 2-3 incomplete tasks per section)
• Note any nested subtasks
• Ignore ## Backlog section (these are lower priority)

Step 4: Update NOW.md

Read the current NOW.md and update ONLY the "Active Projects" section:

## Active Projects

### [Project Name]
*Full list: [[Projects/ProjectName/TODO]]*

**Engineering**
- [ ] Top engineering task 1
- [ ] Top engineering task 2

**Sales & Marketing**
- [ ] Top marketing task 1
- [ ] Top marketing task 2

Only include sections that have incomplete tasks. If a project has no Engineering tasks, omit that subsection.

IMPORTANT: Preserve these sections exactly as they are:

• ## This Week's Focus - user-curated, don't auto-modify
• ## Inbox - user's capture area
• ## Waiting On - user's blocked items
• ## Reference Links - user's bookmarks

Step 5: Update Timestamp

Change the **Updated:** line at the top to current date/time.

Workflow: Weekly Review

Step 1: Show Week's Completions

Search all TODO.md files for completed tasks (- [x]):

• Display grouped by project
• Ask: "Would you like to archive these completed items?"
• If yes, remove [x] items from TODO.md files

Step 2: Project-by-Project Review

For each project folder in /Projects/:

1. If no TODO.md exists, ask: "Create a TODO for [Project]?"
2. Display current incomplete tasks
3. Use AskUserQuestion:
   • "Any changes to [Project Name] tasks?"
   • Options: "Add tasks", "Remove/complete tasks", "Looks good", "Skip this project"
4. If adding tasks, prompt for task text and add to TODO.md
5. If removing, show list and let user pick which to mark complete or delete

Step 3: Set Weekly Focus

Use AskUserQuestion:

• Show top tasks from each active project
• Ask: "What are your top 2-3 priorities for this week?"
• Let user pick or type custom focus items
• Update ## This Week's Focus section in NOW.md

Step 4: Process Inbox

Read the ## Inbox section from NOW.md:

• For each item, use AskUserQuestion:
  • "What to do with: [item]?"
  • Options:
    • "Move to [Project] TODO"
    • "Add to Google Tasks" (requires daily-planning skill)
    • "Convert to Zettelkasten note"
    • "Delete"
• Execute the chosen action
• Clear processed items from Inbox

Step 5: Review Waiting On

Read the ## Waiting On section:

• For each item, ask: "Is this still blocked?"
• If resolved, ask which project to move it to or if it's complete

Step 6: Final Dashboard Generation

Run the Quick Regeneration workflow to produce the final NOW.md.

TODO.md Structure

Each project's TODO.md has three sections:

# Project TODO

## Engineering
> Technical tasks, bugs, features, infrastructure

- [ ] Task description
- [ ] Task with Google Task link <!-- gtask:abc123 -->
	- [ ] Nested subtask

## Sales & Marketing
> Outreach, campaigns, content, customer conversations

- [ ] Marketing task
- [x] Completed task

## Backlog
> Lower priority items waiting for bandwidth

- [ ] Future task

The <!-- gtask:abc123 --> comment is used by the daily-planning skill to sync with Google Tasks.

Related Files (Per Project)

Projects may also have these companion files (not managed by this skill):

• PRODUCT-IDEAS.md - Feature ideas, technical improvements, integrations
• MARKETING-IDEAS.md - Content ideas, campaigns, positioning
• REFERENCE.md - Links, customer notes, competitor notes

Templates for these files are in ~/obsidian/Templates/.

Error Handling

• No TODO.md files found: Inform user, offer to create them
• NOW.md missing: Create from template
• Parse errors: Show the problematic content and skip that section

Important Notes

• Never delete user content from Inbox, Waiting On, or Reference Links without explicit confirmation
• Always preserve the "This Week's Focus" section (only modify during weekly review)
• When creating new TODO.md files, use the template from TODO-TEMPLATE.md
• The skill should be conversational during weekly review mode
• Quick regeneration should be fast and silent (just update and confirm)