| tags |
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Personal Knowledge Management system — an Obsidian vault implementing PARA Method and CETDE workflow to create a "second brain."
The first brain is like a CPU — constantly switching between tasks, overwhelmed by context overload. LifeOS serves as the "second brain": an external storage system (memory + hard disk) that caches everything the first brain doesn't need to hold right now, allowing it to focus on the present moment.
You can call it a second brain, a "Programmable Personal Productivity System," or a "Monorepo Project" — each folder is a project, and each project's README describes its metadata like a package.json.
Extended from Tiago Forte's CODE model (Capture → Organize → Distill → Express), CETDE adds two intermediate stages for deeper knowledge integration:
| Stage | Directory | Purpose | DIKW Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capture | 9.Capture/ |
Externalize information quickly | Data |
| Encode | PARA folders | Add structure & metadata (frontmatter, tags) | Information |
| Transfer | Links created | Connect with 3-7 typed relationships | Knowledge |
| Distill | In-place | Progressive Summarization (5 layers) | Knowledge (refined) |
| Express | 5.Express/ |
Share top 1% as outputs | Wisdom |
Key insight: CODE focuses on what to do; CETDE focuses on how to implement it in a PKM system.
Organize information by actionability, not by topic:
| Category | Directory | Definition | Key Attribute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Projects | 1.Projects/ |
Short-term efforts with outcomes & deadlines | Has a deadline |
| Areas | 2.Areas/ |
Ongoing responsibilities to maintain | No end date |
| Resources | 3.Resources/ |
Topics of interest for future reference | Not immediately actionable |
| Archives | 4.Archives/ |
Completed or inactive items | Preserved but dormant |
Decision tree: Actionable now + has deadline → Project. Actionable now + no deadline → Area. Not actionable + useful later → Resource. Not actionable + not useful → Archive.
Spatial (PARA): Projects → Areas → Resources → Archives
↕
Temporal (Notes): Daily → Weekly → Monthly → Quarterly → Yearly
- Daily notes: Focus on active project tasks
- Weekly notes: Review progress across projects
- Quarterly notes: Review area health, spawn new projects
- Yearly notes: Set vision, express achievements
| Directory | Purpose |
|---|---|
0.PeriodicNotes/ |
Time-based notes (daily/weekly/monthly/quarterly/yearly) |
1.Projects/ |
Active projects with deadlines |
2.Areas/ |
Ongoing responsibilities |
3.Resources/ |
Knowledge collections by topic |
4.Archives/ |
Completed or inactive items |
5.Express/ |
Outgoing knowledge outputs |
6.Attachments/ |
Supporting files and media |
7.Excalidraws/ |
Visual diagrams and frameworks |
8.Templates/ |
Reusable note templates |
9.Capture/ |
Temporary holding for new info |
0.PeriodicNotes/
└── {year}/
├── {year}.md # Yearly note
├── Daily/{MM}/{yyyy-MM-dd}.md
├── Weekly/{yyyy-Www}.md
├── Monthly/{yyyy-MM}.md
└── Quarterly/{yyyy-Qq}.md
Each PARA item has a README as metadata:
1.Projects/project-alpha/
└── project-alpha.README.md # project_name, status, due_date, queries
Tags are used only for topic aggregation (TaskListByTag / BulletListByTag / FileListByTag). Classification uses frontmatter properties.
Topic tags (in frontmatter + end of task lines):
- Format:
#work/project-alpha,#life/health,#candidate/jane-doe - Max 3 levels, lowercase, hyphens for multi-word
Properties (in frontmatter, NOT in tags field):
| Property | Values | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
para |
projects / areas / resources / archives |
PARA classification |
transfer |
connected / integrated / applied / internalized |
Transfer stage |
distillation |
layer2 / layer3 / layer4 / layer5 |
Distillation stage |
periodic_type |
daily / weekly / monthly / quarterly / yearly |
Note type |
Typed relationships using Dataview inline fields (placed in ## 🔗 Relations section):
- Based on: [based_on:: [[Source Note]]]
- Extends: [extends:: [[Related Concept]]]
- Applies to: [applies_to:: [[Active Project]]]6 core types: based_on, extends, applies_to, contradicts, depends_on, part_of
Transfer: connected = note has ≥3 typed relationships (auto-detectable).
Apply compression based on actual usage, NOT upfront:
| Layer | Action | Trigger |
|---|---|---|
| 1 — Raw | Keep as captured | Initial capture |
| 2 — Bold | Bold key passages (20-30%) | First time you use it |
| 3 — Highlight | Highlight best parts (5-10%) | Second time you use it |
| 4 — Summary | Write executive summary | Third time you use it |
| 5 — Express | Transform into output | Fourth time you use it |
- Capture in
9.Capture/or daily note — quick, no overthinking - Encode — add frontmatter (
para,tags), move to PARA folder - Transfer — add 3-7 typed relationships in
## 🔗 Relations - Distill — only when you actually use the information
- Express — share top 1% in
5.Express/
- [ ] Task description #project-tag 📅 2026-01-20- Create tasks in Daily Notes with project/area tags
- Tasks auto-aggregate via
TaskListByTagqueries in project READMEs - Central task hub:
TASK.md
- ALWAYS set the
paraproperty in note frontmatter - ALWAYS add topic tags matching the project/area README
- NEVER create tasks without topic tags (won't aggregate)
- ALWAYS add 3-7 typed relationships when transferring
- NEVER distill upfront — wait until you actually use the information
- NEVER commit sensitive information
Avoid: Over-classification, perfectionism, not archiving, premature distillation
- Building a Second Brain — Tiago Forte
- PARA Method — Tiago Forte
Capture first, organize later. Organize by actionability, not topic. Link generously, express selectively.