para-method

name	para-method
description	File notes with Tiago Forte's PARA method — Projects, Areas, Resources, Archives — using the para CLI.

PARA method

PARA is a filing system, not a writing system. Capture first, then put each note in exactly one of four buckets.

Bucket	Question	Lives until
Project	Does this have a finish line and a concrete outcome?	The outcome is shipped, then archive it
Area	Is this a standing responsibility with a standard to keep?	The role ends
Resource	Is this a topic you want to keep around?	It stops being useful, then archive it
Archive	Is this inactive but worth keeping?	Forever, for search

Never invent a fifth top-level bucket. If it is not a project, area, or resource, it is either still in the inbox or it belongs in the archive.

Capture, then file

1. Dump raw notes into the inbox. Do not classify while capturing.
2. On a review pass, give each inbox item one home:
   • a deadline + outcome → para project create
   • an ongoing role → para area create
   • a topic to keep → para resource create
   • done or inactive → para archive create
3. Clear the inbox body after everything is filed.
4. Append a review row so the sweep is visible later.

Use para; do not create vault folders or markdown files by hand.

Decision rules

• A project without a due date or outcome is an area in disguise. Fix the fields, do not keep it as a project.
• An area with a finish line is a project. Move it.
• Resources are references. They do not have owners or deadlines.
• When a project is done, copy the useful body into an archive item with --origin project and delete or leave the project as done only until the next review.
• Prefer kebab-case ids: ship-para-cli, health, golang-generics.

Review cadence

• Weekly: inbox to zero, project statuses, what moved to archive.
• Monthly: area standards still true? resources still used?
• Log every sweep with para review append --kind weekly|monthly|ad-hoc.

Scope

• Project vault (default): files sit next to the working directory (INBOX.md, Projects/, …). Review rows go in .para/reviews.ndjson.
• Personal vault: para --scope global ... stores the same layout under ~/.para/.