AGENTS/skills/chiron-core/references/para-guide.md

PARA Methodology Guide

What is PARA?

PARA is a productivity framework for organizing digital information:

• Projects - Short-term efforts with deadlines
• Areas - Long-term responsibilities (no deadline)
• Resources - Topics of interest (reference material)
• Archive - Inactive items (completed, cancelled, on hold)

Why PARA Works

Traditional problem: Information scattered across multiple systems with no clear organization.

PARA solution: Single organizing principle based on actionability and time horizon.

Detailed Definitions

Projects (01-projects/)

Definition: Short-term efforts that you're working on now with clear goals and deadlines.

Criteria for a project:

• Has a clear goal or outcome
• Has a deadline or target date
• Takes effort to complete (not a single task)
• Active - you're working on it now

Examples:

• "Launch new website" (deadline: March 15)
• "Complete Q1 budget review" (deadline: Feb 28)
• "Learn Python basics" (deadline: End of month)
• "Organize home office" (deadline: This weekend)

Project structure:

01-projects/[work|personal]/[project-name]/
├── _index.md          # Main project file (MOC)
├── meetings/          # Meeting notes
├── decisions/         # Decision records
└── notes/            # General notes

Project frontmatter:

---
status: active | on-hold | completed
deadline: YYYY-MM-DD
priority: critical | high | medium | low
tags: [work, personal]
---

Areas (02-areas/)

Definition: Ongoing responsibilities with no end date. These define your roles in life.

Criteria for an area:

• No deadline - ongoing indefinitely
• Represents a responsibility or role
• Requires regular attention
• Contains multiple projects over time

Examples:

• "Health" (ongoing, has projects: "Run marathon", "Eat better")
• "Finances" (ongoing, has projects: "Tax preparation", "Investment plan")
• "Professional Development" (ongoing, has projects: "Learn AI", "Get certification")
• "Home & Family" (ongoing, has projects: "Plan vacation", "Renovate kitchen")

Area structure:

02-areas/[work|personal]/
├── health.md
├── finances.md
├── professional-development.md
└── home.md

Area frontmatter:

---
review-frequency: weekly | biweekly | monthly
last_reviewed: YYYY-MM-DD
health: good | needs-attention | critical
---

Resources (03-resources/)

Definition: Topics or themes of ongoing interest. Material you reference repeatedly.

Criteria for a resource:

• Reference material, not actionable
• Topic-based organization
• Used across multiple projects/areas
• Has long-term value

Examples:

• "Python Programming" (referenced for multiple coding projects)
• "Productivity Systems" (used across work and personal)
• "Cooking Recipes" (referenced repeatedly)
• "Productivity Tools" (knowledge about tools)

Resource structure:

03-resources/
├── programming/
│   ├── python/
│   ├── nix/
│   └── typescript/
├── tools/
│   ├── obsidian.md
│   ├── n8n.md
│   └── nixos.md
├── productivity/
└── cooking/

Resource frontmatter:

---
type: reference | guide | documentation
tags: [programming, tools]
last_updated: YYYY-MM-DD
---

Archive (04-archive/)

Definition: Completed or inactive items. Moved here when no longer active.

When to archive:

• Projects completed
• Areas no longer relevant (life change)
• Resources outdated
• Items on hold indefinitely

Archive structure:

04-archive/
├── projects/
├── areas/
└── resources/

Decision Tree

When deciding where to put something:

Is it actionable?
├─ Yes → Has a deadline?
│  ├─ Yes → PROJECT (01-projects/)
│  └─ No → AREA (02-areas/)
└─ No → Is it reference material?
   ├─ Yes → RESOURCE (03-resources/)
   └─ No → Is it completed/inactive?
      ├─ Yes → ARCHIVE (04-archive/)
      └─ No → Consider if it's relevant at all

PARA in Action

Example: "Learn Python"

1. Starts as Resource in 03-resources/programming/python.md

   • "Interesting topic, want to learn eventually"

2. Becomes Area: 02-areas/personal/learning.md

   • "Learning is now an ongoing responsibility"

3. Creates Project: 01-projects/personal/learn-python-basics/

   • "Active goal: Learn Python basics by end of month"

4. Generates Tasks:

   • tasks/learning.md:

     - [ ] Complete Python tutorial #learning ⏫ 📅 2026-02-15
     - [ ] Build first project #learning 🔼 📅 2026-02-20
     

5. Archives when complete:

   • Project moves to 04-archive/projects/
   • Knowledge stays in Resource

PARA Maintenance

Weekly Review (Sunday evening)

Review Projects:

• Check deadlines and progress
• Mark completed projects
• Identify stalled projects
• Create new projects from areas

Review Areas:

• Check area health (all areas getting attention?)
• Identify areas needing projects
• Update area goals

Review Resources:

• Organize recent additions
• Archive outdated resources
• Identify gaps

Process Inbox:

• File items into appropriate PARA category
• Create projects if needed
• Archive or delete irrelevant items

Monthly Review (1st of month)

• Review all areas for health
• Identify quarterly goals
• Plan major projects
• Archive old completed items

Quarterly Review

• Big picture planning
• Area rebalancing
• Life goal alignment
• System optimization

Common Questions

Q: Can something be both a Project and a Resource?

A: Yes, at different times. Example: "Productivity" starts as a Resource (you're interested in it). When you decide to "Implement productivity system," it becomes a Project. After implementation, best practices become a Resource again.

Q: How do I handle recurring tasks?

A: If recurring task supports an Area, keep task in Area file and create Project instances when needed:

• Area: "Health" → "Annual physical" (recurring)
• Project: "Schedule 2026 physical" (one-time action with deadline)

Q: What about someday/maybe items?

A: Two approaches:

1. Keep in tasks/someday.md with low priority (🔽)
2. Archive and retrieve when relevant (PARA encourages active items only)

Q: Should I organize by work vs personal?

A: PARA organizes by actionability, not domain. However, within Projects/Areas/Resources, you can create subfolders:

• 01-projects/work/ and 01-projects/personal/
• 02-areas/work/ and 02-areas/personal/

PARA + Obsidian Implementation

Wiki-links: Use [[Project Name]] for connections

Tags: Use #work, #personal, #critical for filtering

Dataview queries: Create dashboard views:

LIST WHERE status = "active"
FROM "01-projects"
SORT deadline ASC

Templates: Use _chiron/templates/ for consistent structure

Tasks plugin: Track tasks within PARA structure

References

• Forté Labs - PARA Method
• Building a Second Brain
• Obsidian Tasks Plugin documentation
• Dataview Plugin documentation