Weekly Review

Weekly maintenance that keeps your vault healthy and your system working.

Why This Matters

Without maintenance, entropy wins:

• Inbox items pile up, never processed
• Daily notes become inconsistent
• Projects drift without status updates
• The system stops being useful

With weekly review:

• Everything gets filed properly
• Daily notes stay searchable
• Projects stay on track
• The compound effect continues

Configuration

Define your vault structure in CLAUDE.md:

## Vault Structure

Layout: numbered-para  # Options: para, numbered-para, zettelkasten, johnny-decimal, custom

Folders:
  daily: 00 Daily/YYYY/          # Daily notes pattern
  inbox: 01 Inbox/               # Capture location
  projects: 02 Projects/         # Active projects
  areas: 03 Areas/               # Ongoing responsibilities
  resources: 04 Resources/       # Reference materials
  archive: 05 Archive/           # Completed/inactive

Areas:  # Your responsibility areas (customize)
  - Work
  - Personal
  - Learning

Quick Start

1. Start the review, log to daily note
2. Process inbox items (tag, add frontmatter, file)
3. Clean up recent daily notes (fix frontmatter, add links)
4. Generate summary report

Part A: Inbox Processing

Process

For each file in inbox:

Step 1: Analyze content

• Read the file
• Understand purpose and topic

Step 2: Determine destination

Signal	Destination
Has deadline, specific outcome	Projects
Ongoing responsibility	Areas
Reference material	Resources
Completed, outdated	Archive
Early idea, not ready	Projects/_Incubation (or equivalent)

Step 3: Add frontmatter

---
created: YYYY-MM-DD
updated: YYYY-MM-DD
tags: [appropriate, tags]
status: active | draft | complete
---

Step 4: Move file

Move to appropriate location based on vault structure.

Step 5: Log action

Record what was moved where.

Part B: Energy Audit

Why This Matters

Weekly reviews often focus on what got done but miss how it felt. Tracking energy patterns reveals:

• Which types of work energize you
• What consistently drains you
• Patterns you can adjust

Process

Step 1: Scan the week's notes

Look for signals in daily notes:

• Mentions of feeling good/bad about work
• Tasks that took longer than expected
• Work that flowed easily
• Resistance or procrastination patterns

Step 2: Categorize energy impact

Gave Energy	Drained Energy
[List items]	[List items]

Step 3: Identify connections discovered

During the week, what unexpected links emerged?

• Notes that should reference each other
• Concepts that connect across projects
• Patterns across different work streams

Step 4: Determine adjustments

Based on energy patterns:

• What to do more of
• What to delegate/automate/eliminate
• Schedule changes to match energy

Part C: Daily Notes Cleanup

Process

For each daily note from past 7 days:

Step 1: Verify frontmatter

Required:

---
date: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM
tags: [Daily]
---

Step 2: Fix issues

• Add missing date field
• Add missing tags
• Correct any formatting issues

Step 3: Add links

Scan for mentions that could become wiki links:

• Project names → [[Project Name]]
• Tool references → [[Tool]] if doc exists
• Concept mentions → [[Concept]] if doc exists

Only link to targets that exist in vault.

Step 4: Standardize structure

• Ensure consistent section headers
• Add "Files Created" section if files were created

Confirmation Protocol

Before making changes, show the plan:

Inbox Processing Plan:

1. Move "Product Spec.md"
   → 02 Projects/_Incubation/
   Tags: idea, product

2. Move "Research Notes.md"
   → 04 Resources/
   Tags: research, reference

Apply all? (Y/n/review each)

Daily Notes Cleanup Plan:

1. 20260101.md
   - Add frontmatter
   - Add link: [[Project Name]]

2. 20260102.md
   - Fix date format

Apply all? (Y/n/review each)

Output Format

## Weekly Review Summary

**Date:** [Today]
**Duration:** [X] minutes

### Inbox Processing

**Files Processed:** X
**Files Moved:** X

| File | Destination | Tags |
|------|-------------|------|
| [Name] | [Location] | [tags] |

### Energy Audit

**Gave Energy:**
- [Item that energized]
- [Item that energized]

**Drained Energy:**
- [Item that drained]
- [Item that drained]

**Adjustments:**
- [What to change]

### Connections Discovered

| Note A | ←→ | Note B | Why Significant |
|--------|-----|--------|-----------------|
| [[Note]] | | [[Note]] | [Reason] |

### Daily Notes Cleanup

**Notes Scanned:** X
**Notes Updated:** X

| Date | Changes |
|------|---------|
| [Date] | [What changed] |

### Statistics

- Total files touched: X
- Links added: X
- Frontmatter fixes: X
- Energy patterns identified: X

Workflow

1. Start review
   └── Log to daily note

2. Process Inbox
   ├── List all files
   ├── Classify each file
   ├── Propose destinations
   ├── Get confirmation
   └── Execute moves

3. Energy Audit
   ├── Scan week's daily notes
   ├── Identify energy patterns
   ├── Note connections discovered
   └── Propose adjustments

4. Clean Daily Notes
   ├── List recent notes
   ├── Check frontmatter
   ├── Find link opportunities
   ├── Get confirmation
   └── Execute fixes

5. Complete
   ├── Generate summary
   └── Log to daily note

Parameters

Optional modifiers:

• inbox only - Skip daily notes cleanup and energy audit
• daily notes only - Skip inbox processing
• energy only - Just run energy audit
• dry run - Preview without applying
• this month - Extend daily notes range

Success Criteria

• All inbox items processed or explicitly deferred
• Energy patterns identified and adjustments proposed
• Connections discovered documented
• Recent daily notes have valid frontmatter
• Links added where appropriate
• Summary logged to daily note
• User confirmed all changes before execution