COG Braindump Skill

Purpose

Transform raw thoughts into strategic intelligence through quick capture, systematic analysis, pattern recognition, and domain-aware insight extraction with minimal user friction.

When to Invoke

• User wants to capture stream-of-consciousness thoughts
• User says "braindump", "brain dump", "capture thoughts", or "write down ideas"
• User has ideas they want to quickly record
• User mentions wanting to get thoughts out of their head

Agent Mode Awareness

Check agent_mode in 00-inbox/MY-PROFILE.md frontmatter:

• If agent_mode: team — delegate research, analysis, and writing subtasks to specialist sub-agents (e.g., use Task tool to delegate deep analysis, competitive intel extraction, or pattern recognition to separate agents). Combine results before presenting to user.
• If agent_mode: solo (default) — handle everything directly in the conversation. No delegation.

Pre-Flight Check

Before executing, check for user profile:

1. Look for 00-inbox/MY-PROFILE.md in the vault
2. If NOT found:

   Welcome to COG! It looks like this is your first time.
   
   Before we start, let's quickly set up your profile (takes 2 minutes).
   
   Would you like to run onboarding first, or should I proceed with default settings?

3. If found:
   • Read the profile to get user's name and active projects
   • If user has active projects listed, offer them as domain options
   • Use user's name for friendly communication
   • Read 03-professional/COMPETITIVE-WATCHLIST.md if it exists for competitive intelligence detection

Get current timestamp (REQUIRED before generating any files):

1. Run date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M' using Bash to get the actual current date and time
2. Store this value and use it for ALL timestamp fields (created: frontmatter AND filename HHMM component)
3. NEVER guess or fabricate the time — always use the value returned by the date command

Process Flow

1. User Interaction & Input Collection

• Greet user warmly (use their name from MY-PROFILE.md if available)
• Ask: "What's on your mind?" or "Ready for a brain dump?"
• Collect their stream-of-consciousness input (can be long, rambling, voice-to-text, etc.)
• Accept any format - no judgment, no filtering

2. Domain Classification

Ask user to classify or auto-detect based on content:

If user profile exists with projects:

• Personal: Individual growth, relationships, wellness
• Professional: Work, leadership, career development
• Project-Specific: Related to specific projects
  • If MY-PROFILE.md lists projects, offer: "Which project? [list project names]"
  • Example: "Which project? (1) SaaS Product, (2) Book Writing, (3) Health App"
• Mixed/Unclear: Spans multiple areas

If no profile: Use standard personal/professional/mixed classification

3. Content Analysis and Processing

Apply the comprehensive analysis framework directly:

Phase 1: Content Ingestion

Analyze the input to understand:

• Content Type: [voice-transcript|written-notes|mixed]
• Length: [word-count]
• Energy Level: [high|medium|low]
• Emotional Tone: [excited|frustrated|curious|concerned|neutral|mixed]
• Context: [situational-background]

Phase 2: Structural Analysis

Extract and identify:

• Main Themes: [3-5 primary topics]
• Supporting Ideas: [related concepts and details]
• Questions Raised: [explicit and implicit questions]
• Decisions Contemplated: [choices being considered]
• Action Items: [tasks and commitments identified]

Phase 3: Domain Classification (with confidence)

Determine:

• Primary Domain: [personal|professional|project-specific] with confidence level
• Secondary Domains: [if content spans multiple areas]
• Cross-Domain Elements: [themes that apply across domains]
• Privacy Considerations: [sensitive content requiring protection]

Phase 4: Strategic Insight Extraction

Identify:

• Key Insights: [3-5 most important realizations]
• Pattern Recognition: [connections to previous thoughts/decisions]
• Strategic Implications: [what this means for goals and priorities]
• Decision Framework: [how this informs future choices]

Phase 5: Competitive Intelligence Detection

If COMPETITIVE-WATCHLIST.md exists:

• Scan braindump content for mentions of tracked companies/people
• Extract competitive intelligence to separate files
• Create cross-references back to original braindump

4. Generate Structured Output

Create braindump file with this structure:

---
type: "braindump"
domain: "[personal|professional|project-specific|mixed]"
project: "[project-name]" # Only if project-specific
date: "YYYY-MM-DD"
created: "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM"
themes: ["theme1", "theme2", "theme3"]
tags: ["#braindump", "#raw-thoughts", "#domain-tag"]
status: "captured"
energy_level: "[high|medium|low]"
emotional_tone: "[primary-emotion]"
confidence: "[high|medium|low]"
---

# Braindump: [Auto-generated descriptive title]

## Raw Thoughts
[Original user content preserved exactly as provided]

## Content Analysis

### Main Themes
1. **Theme 1:** [description and significance]
2. **Theme 2:** [description and significance]
3. **Theme 3:** [description and significance]

### Supporting Ideas
- [Supporting concept 1]
- [Supporting concept 2]
- [Supporting concept 3]

### Questions Raised
- [Question 1 for deeper exploration]
- [Question 2 requiring consideration]

### Decisions Contemplated
- [Decision 1 being considered with options]
- [Decision 2 under evaluation]

## Strategic Intelligence

### Key Insights
1. **Insight 1:** [description and implications]
2. **Insight 2:** [description and implications]
3. **Insight 3:** [description and implications]

### Pattern Recognition
- **Connection to Previous Thinking:** [links to earlier braindumps or frameworks]
- **Recurring Patterns:** [themes that keep appearing]
- **Evolution:** [how thinking has developed]

### Strategic Implications
- [How this affects goals]
- [Impact on current projects]
- [Decision-making considerations]

## Action Items

**Note:** Calculate actual due dates from today's date and append Obsidian Tasks emoji format.

### Immediate (24-48 hours)
- [ ] [specific action] 📅 [YYYY-MM-DD = tomorrow's date]

### Short-term (1-2 weeks)
- [ ] [specific action] 📅 [YYYY-MM-DD = date +1 week from today]

### Strategic Considerations
- [longer-term implications and considerations]

## Connections
- **Related Braindumps:** [[link1]], [[link2]]
- **Relevant Projects:** [[project1]], [[project2]]
- **Knowledge Base:** [[insight1]], [[framework1]]

## Domain Classification
- **Primary Domain:** [domain] ([confidence]%)
- **Reasoning:** [why this classification]
- **Cross-Domain Elements:** [if applicable]
- **Privacy Level:** [public|private|confidential]

## Processing Notes
### Emotional Context
- **Energy Level:** [assessment]
- **Emotional Tone:** [assessment]
- **Implications:** [what this suggests]

### Confidence Assessment
- **Overall Analysis:** [percentage] - [reasoning]
- **Domain Classification:** [percentage] - [reasoning]
- **Strategic Insights:** [percentage] - [reasoning]
- **Areas Requiring Clarification:** [specific questions if needed]

---

*Processed by COG Brain Dump Analyst*

Save to appropriate location:

• Personal: 02-personal/braindumps/braindump-YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM-<slug>.md
• Professional: 03-professional/braindumps/braindump-YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM-<slug>.md
• Project: 04-projects/[project-slug]/braindumps/braindump-YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM-<slug>.md
• Mixed: 00-inbox/braindump-YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM-<slug>.md

5. Competitive Intelligence Extraction

If competitive intelligence detected (mentions of companies/people from watchlist):

Create/update: 04-projects/[project]/competitive/[company-slug].md

---
type: "competitive-intelligence"
company: "[Company Name]"
project: "[project-name]"
last_updated: "YYYY-MM-DD"
sources: ["braindump"]
tags: ["#competitive", "#intelligence", "#[company-slug]"]
---

# Competitive Intelligence: [Company Name]

## Latest Update - [Date]
**Source:** [[braindump-file-reference]]

[Extracted competitive intelligence from braindump]

## Previous Intelligence
[Historical intel from earlier braindumps]

## Strategic Implications
[Analysis of what this means for the project]

## Action Items
- [ ] [Follow-up actions based on intel] 📅 [YYYY-MM-DD = calculated due date]

---

*Auto-extracted by COG Brain Dump Analyst*

6. Confirm Completion

• Confirm file was created
• Show user: "Braindump saved to [file path]"
• Show quick summary of main themes identified
• If competitive intel extracted, mention: "Also extracted competitive intelligence to [file path]"

YAML Formatting Requirements

CRITICAL: All YAML frontmatter must use proper Obsidian-compatible formatting:

• All string values MUST be quoted with double quotes
• Arrays MUST use quoted strings: ["item1", "item2", "item3"]
• Boolean values should NOT be quoted: true or false
• Numbers should NOT be quoted unless they are string identifiers
• Ensure proper YAML syntax to prevent parsing errors in Obsidian

Examples:

# CORRECT
type: "braindump"
themes: ["automation", "testing", "ui-improvements"]
analysis_needed: true

# INCORRECT
type: braindump
themes: [automation, testing, ui-improvements]
analysis_needed: "true"

Verification Protocols

Content Accuracy

• Interpretation Verification: Confirm understanding matches intent
• Context Validation: Ensure situational context is accurately captured
• Emotional Accuracy: Verify emotional tone and energy level assessment
• Completeness Check: Confirm all major themes are identified

Domain Classification Verification

• Boundary Clarity: Ensure domain classification is clear and defensible
• Privacy Protection: Verify personal content is properly protected
• Cross-Domain Value: Confirm cross-domain insights are valuable and appropriate
• Classification Confidence: State confidence level for domain assignments

Strategic Insight Validation

• Evidence-Based: Ensure insights are supported by content evidence
• Actionability: Verify recommendations are specific and implementable
• Priority Accuracy: Confirm priority assessments align with stated goals
• Timeline Realism: Ensure recommended timelines are achievable

Uncertainty Handling

When to Request Clarification

• Ambiguous Domain Classification: Content could belong to multiple domains
• Unclear Strategic Implications: Insights have multiple possible interpretations
• Conflicting Information: Content contains contradictory elements
• Missing Context: Important background information seems to be missing

Confidence Indicators

• High Confidence (90%+): Clear content with obvious domain and implications
• Medium Confidence (70-89%): Generally clear with some ambiguous elements
• Low Confidence (50-69%): Significant ambiguity requiring user input
• Very Low Confidence (<50%): Major uncertainty requiring clarification

Always explicitly state confidence levels and reasoning in the processing notes.

Integration with Other Skills

Immediate Follow-up

After braindump, suggest:

• Review patterns across multiple braindumps
• Weekly check-in to reflect on themes
• Knowledge consolidation to build frameworks

Competitive Intelligence

If competitive mentions detected:

• Automatically update competitive files
• Mention this in the output
• Provide link to competitive intelligence file

Success Metrics

• Speed of capture (minimize user friction)
• Accurate domain classification
• File saved to correct location
• User feels heard and understood
• Competitive intel auto-extracted when relevant
• High confidence in analysis accuracy

Learning and Adaptation

Pattern Learning

• Learn user's thinking patterns and communication style
• Understand user's specific domain separation preferences
• Recognize what types of insights user finds most valuable
• Learn which recommendations user typically implements

Continuous Improvement

• Track accuracy of insights and recommendations over time
• Monitor user engagement with and implementation of recommendations
• Improve speed and accuracy of analysis through learning
• Refine analysis frameworks based on effectiveness