samarv/notes-processor

Notes Processor Skill

Version: 1.0.0 Last Updated: January 27, 2026

Purpose

Systematically organize daily notes using the LNO framework to maintain strategic focus and ensure high-leverage work gets appropriate priority. This skill transforms ad-hoc note-taking into a strategic prioritization system that surfaces ROI-based work categorization.

Invocation

Trigger phrases:

• "add action items to notes.md"
• "update my notes"
• "process notes"
• "categorize these tasks"
• "organize my daily tasks"
• "sync action items from [brain]"

Usage:

Invoked by agents (brain-tracker, meeting-notes-router) or directly when user requests notes organization

Framework: LNO Prioritization

Core Philosophy

The Problem: Not all work is equal. PMs often treat all tasks as equally important, leading to strategic work being crowded out by tactical firefighting.

The Solution: Shreyas Doshi's LNO framework categorizes work by ROI potential:

• 🟢 Leverage (L): 10x-100x ROI potential

  • Strategic initiatives, experiments, research
  • Documentation systems, templates, automation
  • Work that compounds over time
  • Example: "Design experiment to test new onboarding flow"

• 🟡 Neutral (N): 1x ROI (equal effort to return)

  • Regular meetings, standard project work
  • Planning, coordination, reviews
  • Necessary but not amplifying
  • Example: "Weekly sync with engineering team"

• 🔴 Overhead (O): <1x ROI (necessary but low return)

  • Administrative work, required responses
  • Urgent fixes, firefighting
  • Work that must be done but doesn't move strategic goals
  • Example: "Respond to expense report request"

Why This Matters

Customer Value: By surfacing high-leverage work, PMs spend more time on initiatives that compound customer value rather than reacting to daily noise.

Trade-off: Requires discipline to categorize honestly. Accepting that not all work is strategic enables better resource allocation.

Outcome: Over time, ratio of L:N:O work shifts toward leverage, driving disproportionate impact.

Execution Protocol

Phase 1: UNDERSTAND - Read Current State

CRITICAL: Always read notes.md before modifying.

1. Read notes.md to understand current structure
2. Identify current date section (format: # Jan 27: or # Jan 27 (Completed):)
3. Check for:
   • Unformatted content at top of file
   • Processing Queue items
   • Incomplete tasks in previous date sections
   • Tasks missing LNO categorization

Phase 2: CATEGORIZE - Apply LNO Framework

For each task or note item:

Step 1: Identify Task Type

• Action item with clear deliverable?
• Meeting/coordination?
• Administrative/reactive work?
• Strategic/experimental work?

Step 2: Assess ROI Potential Ask: "If I complete this, what's the multiplier effect?"

• 10x return? → Leverage

• ~1x return? → Neutral
• <1x return but necessary? → Overhead

Step 3: Apply Classification Use keyword hints to guide categorization:

Leverage indicators: "strategic", "experiment", "optimize", "automate", "research", "design", "framework", "template" Neutral indicators: "meeting", "sync", "update", "coordinate", "plan", "review" Overhead indicators: "respond", "urgent", "required", "send message", "fix bug", "admin"

Step 4: Validate Against Framework

• Am I being honest about ROI or inflating importance?
• Would Shreyas Doshi agree with this categorization?
• Does this serve strategic outcomes or just feel busy?

Phase 3: STRUCTURE - Organize in notes.md

Current Date Section Format:

# Jan 27:

## 🟢 Leverage (L)
- [ ] **[L]** High-leverage task description *(Created: Jan 20)*

## 🟡 Neutral (N)
- [ ] **[N]** Standard task description *(Created: Jan 27)*

## 🔴 Overhead (O)
- [ ] **[O]** Administrative task description *(Created: Jan 27)*

Task Format Rules:

• Checkbox states:
  • [ ] for incomplete (not started)
  • [>] for in progress
  • [~] for blocked/waiting
  • [-] for cancelled/no longer needed
  • [X] or [x] for completed
• Label: **[L]**, **[N]**, or **[O]**
• Creation date: *(Created: [date])* in abbreviated format (e.g., "Jan 27")
• Completion date (when finished): *(Completed: [date])*
• Cancellation date (when cancelled): *(Cancelled: [date])* with brief reason

Phase 4: DATE TRANSITIONS - Carry Forward Logic

When creating new date section:

CRITICAL RULE: Only carry forward active incomplete tasks [ ] and blocked tasks [~]. Never carry forward completed [X], cancelled [-], or in-progress [>] tasks from previous days.

Carryforward Protocol:

For each task in previous date section:
  IF checkbox is [ ] (not started):
    IF has *(Created: [date])*:
      → Preserve *(Created: [date])* exactly as is
    ELSE:
      → Add *(Created: [previous-date])*
    → Copy to new date section
  ELSE IF checkbox is [~] (blocked/waiting):
    → Carry forward (still active, waiting on external factors)
    → Preserve creation date
  ELSE IF checkbox is [X] or [x] (completed):
    → Skip (done successfully, leave in original date section)
  ELSE IF checkbox is [-] (cancelled/no longer needed):
    → Skip (done by cancellation, leave in original date section)
  ELSE IF checkbox is [>] (in progress from yesterday):
    → Reset to [ ] and carry forward (new day, new start)
    → Preserve creation date

Why This Matters: Preserving creation dates shows task age, helping identify:

• Tasks lingering too long (need to be broken down or escalated)
• Patterns of what gets delayed
• True cycle time for work

Mark Previous Section Complete:

# Jan 26 (Completed):

Phase 5: ROUTE - Brain-Specific Content

When notes reference specific brains, route to brain CLAUDE.md:

Detection Keywords (examples, dynamically discover actual brains):

Routing Protocol:

1. Identify brain-specific content (meetings, decisions, insights)
2. Extract relevant notes
3. Append to brain's RunningNotes.md with date header
4. Log routing in notes.md "✅ Processed Notes" section

Why Route: Brains need context persistence. Daily notes are ephemeral; brain files are durable memory.

Phase 6: COMPLETION & CANCELLATION TRACKING

When task changes from incomplete to complete:

1. Change checkbox: [ ] → [X]
2. Add completion timestamp: *(Completed: Jan 27)*
3. Leave task in original date section (do NOT move)

Format:

- [X] **[L]** Completed task description *(Created: Jan 20)* *(Completed: Jan 27)*

When task becomes cancelled/no longer needed:

1. Change checkbox: [ ] → [-]
2. Add cancellation timestamp: *(Cancelled: Jan 27)*
3. Add brief reason inline or as sub-bullet
4. Leave task in original date section (do NOT move)

Format:

- [-] **[L]** Cancelled task description *(Created: Jan 20)* *(Cancelled: Jan 27)*
  - Reason: Superseded by new unified approach

Why Track Cancellations:

• Documents strategic pivots and evolution of thinking
• Shows what was considered but not pursued (learning)
• Explains why effort wasn't invested (useful for retrospectives)
• Transparency about changing priorities

Cancelled tasks behave like completed tasks: They stay in their original date section and do NOT carry forward to future dates.

Phase 7: METADATA UPDATE

Update "Last Updated" timestamp at bottom of notes.md:

---
**Last Updated**: 2026-01-27 14:30

Integration with Brain Tracker

When invoked by brain-tracker or meeting-notes-router:

Input: List of action items with context

Action Items:
- [Owner: Khushal] Follow up with design team on wireframes
- [Owner: Khushal] Draft experiment brief for onboarding test
- Context: From meeting about FCC Beta launch

Processing:

1. Categorize each using LNO framework
2. Add to current date section in notes.md
3. Preserve context (note source/meeting if relevant)
4. Apply proper formatting with creation date

Output: Confirmation of items added with LNO classification

Quality Gates

Before completing any notes processing:

• [ ] Read First: Did I read current notes.md state before modifying?
• [ ] LNO Categorization: Are all tasks properly categorized by ROI potential?
• [ ] Honest Assessment: Am I being truthful about leverage vs inflating importance?
• [ ] Carryforward Accuracy: Did I ONLY carry forward incomplete tasks?
• [ ] Creation Dates Preserved: Are original creation dates maintained on carried-forward tasks?
• [ ] Completion Timestamps: Are completion dates added to all finished tasks?
• [ ] Brain Routing: Did I route brain-specific content appropriately?
• [ ] Metadata Updated: Is the "Last Updated" timestamp current?
• [ ] Strategic Alignment: Does this organization serve the user's strategic priorities?

Integration with Shannon

This skill embodies Shannon's core philosophy:

Framework-Driven Thinking

• LNO framework provides systematic approach to prioritization
• Every task categorization is a trade-off decision
• Framework reveals patterns: too much overhead? Need more leverage work.

Shreyas Doshi Quality Standards

• Customer-centric logic: Leverage work directly serves customer value creation
• Explicit trade-offs: Accepting honest categorization over optimistic inflation
• Outcome-focused: LNO ratio shifts toward leverage drive real impact
• Framework application: Every task gets systematic ROI assessment

Quality Standards Reference

See .claude/rules/quality-gates.md for full Shannon quality gates.

First Principles

• Not all work is equal (fundamental truth)
• Time is finite resource requiring allocation strategy
• Strategic work gets crowded out without explicit prioritization
• Honest categorization enables better resource allocation

Success Criteria

This skill succeeds when:

1. ✅ All tasks in notes.md have clear LNO categorization
2. ✅ Categorization reflects honest ROI assessment, not wishful thinking
3. ✅ Date transitions preserve task history (creation dates maintained)
4. ✅ Completed tasks stay in original date sections with completion timestamps
5. ✅ Brain-specific content routed to appropriate CLAUDE.md files
6. ✅ User can scan notes.md and immediately see leverage vs overhead ratio
7. ✅ Over time, user's work shifts toward more leverage activities
8. ✅ Strategic work is visible and not buried in tactical noise

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

❌ False Leverage: Categorizing everything as [L] to feel productive

• Reality check: Most work is Neutral or Overhead. True Leverage is rare.

❌ Category Inflation: "This meeting is strategic" when it's coordination

• Fix: Be brutally honest. Coordination = Neutral, even if important.

❌ Carrying Forward Completed/Cancelled Tasks: Pollutes new date sections

• Fix: Completed [X] and cancelled [-] tasks stay in their original date forever.
• Both represent "done" - just in different ways (success vs obsolescence)

❌ Losing Task History: Updating creation dates when carrying forward

• Fix: Preserve original *(Created: [date])* to track task age.

❌ Skipping Categorization: Adding tasks without LNO labels

• Fix: Every task gets a category. No exceptions.

❌ Processing Without Reading: Modifying notes.md without understanding current state

• Fix: Always read first. Context matters.

Reference Materials

For detailed implementation rules, see:

• LNO Framework Deep Dive: .claude/reference/lno-framework.md (if exists)
• Notes Structure Rules: Original notes-processor agent for granular formatting rules
• Quality Framework: .claude/rules/quality-gates.md

Error Handling

Missing Date Section

If current date section doesn't exist:

• Create it with proper LNO structure
• Carry forward incomplete tasks from previous date
• Mark previous section as "(Completed)"

Ambiguous Categorization

If task ROI is unclear:

• Default to Neutral [N]
• Add note: "(Category uncertain - review)"
• User can recategorize later

Brain Routing Uncertainty

If brain mentioned but no matching folder found:

• List discovered brains
• Ask user which to route to, or skip routing

Invalid Task Format

If existing task lacks proper format:

• Apply format corrections
• Preserve task content
• Add missing elements (creation date, LNO label)

Continuous Improvement

Over time, this skill enables:

• Pattern recognition: Am I drowning in overhead?
• Strategic shifts: Consciously increase leverage work percentage
• Honest assessment: Seeing true work composition
• Prioritization: When overloaded, drop overhead first, protect leverage

This is the point: Notes organization isn't admin work. It's strategic resource allocation made visible.