inbox-triage

name

inbox-triage

description

Process raw Todoist inbox items into a structured knowledge system using GTD (actions → Todoist) and PARA (reference → Obsidian). Use when batch-processing inbox captures, triaging voice notes and links, filing raw ideas into Obsidian with MOC suggestions, or running an inbox-to-knowledge-system pipeline. Handles enrichment (URL fetching, voice interpretation), clustering related items, generating Obsidian reference notes, filing Todoist actions, and producing a triage report. Self-improving via prompt-self-improvement protocol.

Inbox Triage

Process a batch of raw Todoist inbox items and produce: a triage report (audit trail), Obsidian reference notes (semi-atomic, linked), and Todoist action items (filed to projects).

Step 0: Load Context

1. Read references/scenarios.md for correction patterns and domain-specific guidance
2. Load recent triage sessions (prioritize ones with corrections)
3. Check ~/ws/notes/.claude/rules/coach-patterns.md for learned filing patterns
4. Adapt approach based on what you see — don't apply rules mechanically

Step 1: Project Check-In

Present the current active projects list and ask if anything has changed:

Current active projects: [list from para-index system IDs] Have any projects changed, been completed, or been added since last triage?

Wait for confirmation before proceeding. Use the para-index skill's references/system-ids.md for current project/area/resource IDs across Todoist, Notion, and Obsidian.

Step 2: Ingest & Classify

2a. Enrich

• URL/link items: Fetch the page, summarize in 2-3 sentences (what it is, why relevant). For GitHub repos: one sentence on what it does, note stars/last-commit/activity, flag if relevant to active project. Don't summarize the README.
• Voice captures (informal language, stream-of-consciousness): Interpret intent. Voice captures using modal/conditional language (could, might, what if, idea for) are ideation — classify as Reference or Project Seed. Imperative language (tell, send, make, build) with a specific target signals Action.
• Ambiguous items: Flag for clarification rather than guessing.

2b. Classify into exactly one category

Category	Definition	Destination
Action	Clear next physical action. Imperative + specific target.	Todoist → matching active project
Reference	Information, tool, framework, or idea worth keeping. Not actionable now.	Obsidian → Resources or relevant Area
Project Seed	Could become a project. Needs incubation.	Obsidian → Resources/Project Seeds + flag in report
Clarify	Can't determine intent without more context.	Hold → list in report with best guess + question

2c. Cluster Related Items

Before filing, scan ALL items for clusters — items about the same topic, tool, or idea:

• Multiple links about the same tool → one reference note
• Several voice notes about the same concept → synthesize into one note
• An action and a reference about the same project → link them

Cluster by problem domain and use case, not by source. Multiple tools solving the same problem = one note.

Step 3: Generate Outputs

Obsidian Reference Notes

For each reference item or cluster, create a semi-atomic note. See references/examples.md for the full template.

Key rules:

• Tags: [source-type, topic-tags]
• Include original inbox text verbatim in Source Links section
• If 3+ notes cluster under one topic → suggest a MOC (Map of Content)
• MOC naming: use conceptual theme, not tool name ("Agent Orchestration Frameworks" not "Claude Code Links")
• Filing: Resources/[Topic Area]/ or Areas/[Area Name]/ — check ~/ws/notes/ vault structure. See _agent/Idea-Places.md for routing heuristics.

Todoist Actions

For each action item:

• Task title: Clear next action, starts with a verb
• Project: Which active project (or Inbox if none match). When an item references a person, use their known project association as the primary signal over keywords.
• Context/label if obvious (@computer, @call, @waiting-for)
• Link to any related Obsidian note: 📎 See also: [[Note Title]]

Triage Report

Master document per session. See references/examples.md for the full template. Includes: projects confirmed, summary stats, actions filed table, reference notes table, clusters identified, items needing clarification, MOC suggestions.

Processing Principles

1. Bias toward reference over action. "I should look into this someday" = reference note, not a task.
2. Preserve original context. Always include original inbox text verbatim somewhere.
3. Don't over-organize. No clear cluster → standalone note is fine.
4. Surface implicit project relevance. Reference clearly related to active project → note the connection, still file as reference unless there's a clear action.
5. 80% confidence threshold. Above 80% → proceed but flag reasoning. Below 80% → Clarify.
6. Primary project default. Items matching the user's primary project domain associate with it unless they clearly belong elsewhere.
7. Dynamic taxonomy. Suggest new categories/MOCs when items reveal patterns without a home. But keep it minimal.

Session Folder Structure

triage/
  {date}-{uuid}/
    input.json          # Raw Todoist items
    triage-report.md    # The output
    notes/              # Generated Obsidian notes
    corrections.md      # User corrections (post-review)

Self-Improvement

This prompt is self-improving. After review, follow the prompt-self-improvement skill. Domain-specific correction examples are in references/scenarios.md.

Related Skills

• para-index — System IDs for Todoist/Notion/Obsidian PARA structure
• todoist — CLI operations for Todoist (td commands)
• idea-capture — Real-time single-idea capture to Obsidian (this skill does batch processing)
• prompt-self-improvement — General protocol for improving this prompt from corrections
• coach — Daily startup/shutdown may surface items for triage