AGENTS/skills/brainstorming/references/obsidian-workflow.md

Brainstorm Obsidian Workflow

This document describes how to create and use brainstorm notes in Obsidian.

Quick Create

Create a brainstorm note in Obsidian markdown format:

File: ~/CODEX/03-resources/brainstorms/YYYY-MM-DD-[topic].md

---
date: 2026-01-27
created: 2026-01-27T18:30:00Z
type: brainstorm
framework: pros-cons
status: draft
tags: #brainstorm #pros-cons
---

# NixOS Course Launch Strategy

## Context
Want to launch NixOS course for developers who want to learn Nix

## Outcome
Build long-term audience/community around NixOS expertise

## Constraints
- 2-4 weeks preparation time
- Solo creator (no team yet)
- Limited budget for marketing

## Options Explored

### Option A: Early Access Beta
- **Approach**: Release course to 10-20 people first, gather feedback, then full launch
- **Pros**: Validates content, builds testimonials, catches bugs early
- **Cons**: Slower to revenue, requires managing beta users
- **Best if**: Quality is critical and you have patient audience

### Option B: Free Preview + Upsell
- **Approach**: Release first module free, full course for paid
- **Pros**: Low barrier to entry, demonstrates value, builds email list
- **Cons**: Lower conversion rate, can feel "bait-and-switchy"
- **Best if**: Content quality is obvious from preview

### Option C: Full Launch with Community
- **Approach**: Launch full course immediately with Discord/Community for support
- **Pros**: Immediate revenue, maximum reach, community built-in
- **Cons**: No validation, bugs in production, overwhelmed support
- **Best if**: Content is well-tested and you have support capacity

## Decision
**Early Access Beta** - Build anticipation while validating content

## Rationale
Quality and community trust matter more than speed. A beta launch lets me:
1. Catch errors before they damage reputation
2. Build testimonials that drive full launch
3. Gather feedback to improve the product
4. Create a community of early adopters who become evangelists

## Next Steps
1. Create landing page with beta signup
2. Build email list from signups
3. Create course outline and first modules
4. Select 10-20 beta users from community
5. Set up feedback collection system (notion/obsidian)
6. Launch beta (target: Feb 15)
7. Collect feedback for 2 weeks
8. Finalize content based on feedback
9. Full launch (target: March 1)

Note Structure

Frontmatter Field	Purpose	Values
date	Date created	YYYY-MM-DD
created	Timestamp	ISO 8601
type	Note type	brainstorm
framework	Framework used	none, pros-cons, swot, 5-whys, how-now-wow, starbursting, constraint-mapping
status	Progress status	draft, final, archived
tags	Categorization	Always include #brainstorm, add framework tag

Framework Tags

Framework	Tag	When to Use
None	#none	Conversational exploration without structure
Pros/Cons	#pros-cons	Binary decision (A or B, yes or no)
SWOT	#swot	Strategic assessment of situation
5 Whys	#5-whys	Finding root cause of problem
How-Now-Wow	#how-now-wow	Prioritizing many ideas by impact/effort
Starbursting	#starbursting	Comprehensive exploration (6 questions)
Constraint Mapping	#constraint-mapping	Understanding boundaries and constraints

Status Values

Status	Description	When to Use
draft	Initial capture, work in progress	Start with this, update as you work
final	Decision made, brainstorm complete	When you've reached clarity
archived	No longer relevant or superseded	Historical reference only

Template Setup

For a better editing experience, create a template in Obsidian:

1. Open Obsidian → ~/CODEX vault
2. Create folder: _chiron/templates/ if not exists
3. Create template file: brainstorm-note.md with:
   • Frontmatter with placeholder values
   • Markdown structure matching the sections above
   • Empty sections ready to fill in
4. Set up Obsidian Templates plugin (optional) to use this template

Obsidian Template:

---
date: {{date}}
created: {{timestamp}}
type: brainstorm
framework: {{framework}}
status: draft
tags: #brainstorm #{{framework}}
---

# {{topic}}

## Context

## Outcome

## Constraints

## Options Explored

### Option A: {{option_a_name}}
- **Approach**:
- **Pros**:
- **Cons**:
- **Best if**:

### Option B: {{option_b_name}}
- **Approach**:
- **Pros**:
- **Cons**:
- **Best if**:

## Decision

## Rationale

## Next Steps
1.
2.
3.

Linking to Other Notes

After creating a brainstorm, link it to related notes using WikiLinks:

## Related Projects
- [[Launch NixOS Flakes Course]]
- [[Q2 Training Program]]

## Related Tasks
- [[Tasks]]

Searching Brainstorms

Find brainstorms by topic, framework, or status using Obsidian search:

Obsidian search:

• Topic: path:03-resources/brainstorms "NixOS"
• Framework: #pros-cons path:03-resources/brainstorms
• Status: #draft path:03-resources/brainstorms

Dataview query (if using plugin):

TABLE date, topic, framework, status
FROM "03-resources/brainstorms"
WHERE type = "brainstorm"
SORT date DESC

Best Practices

1. Create brainstorms for any significant decision - Capture reasoning while fresh
2. Mark as Final when complete - Helps with search and review
3. Link to related notes - Creates context web via WikiLinks
4. Use frameworks selectively - Not every brainstorm needs structure
5. Review periodically - Brainstorms can inform future decisions
6. Keep structure consistent - Same sections make reviews easier
7. Use tags for filtering - Framework and status tags are essential

Integration with Other Skills

From brainstorming	To skill	Handoff trigger
Project decision	plan-writing	"Create a project plan for this"
Task identified	task-management	"Add this to my tasks"
Work project	basecamp	"Set this up in Basecamp"

All handoffs can reference the Obsidian brainstorm note via WikiLinks or file paths.