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Note Taking

@houfu/blog-alt-counsel
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Record discussions in the posts folder on an ongoing basis when requested to, or at the end of significant events, like brainstorming, generating a pitch etc

Install Skill

1Download skill
2Enable skills in Claude

Open claude.ai/settings/capabilities and find the "Skills" section

3Upload to Claude

Click "Upload skill" and select the downloaded ZIP file

Note: Please verify skill by going through its instructions before using it.

SKILL.md

name Note Taking
description Record discussions in the posts folder on an ongoing basis when requested to, or at the end of significant events, like brainstorming, generating a pitch etc

Note Taking

Overview

Maintain an audit trail of discussions, decisions, and progress for each blog post or newsletter. The discussion.md file serves two purposes:

  1. For Claude: Quick context to avoid repetition and maintain holistic view
  2. For User: Audit trail showing what Claude did, what decisions were made, and why

Core principle: Track attribution (what Claude did vs. what user decided) and outcomes (did it work?).

Announce at start: "I'm recording this discussion in discussion.md."

Success Criteria

The discussion record is complete when:

  1. Decision attribution is clear - Shows what Claude contributed vs. what user decided
  2. Cause and effect tracked - "Claude did X → User decided Y because Z"
  3. Outcomes documented - Did the decision work? What happened?
  4. Quick lookup enabled - Can find key decisions without reading full narrative
  5. Audit trail exists - Can trace back why any decision was made

File Structure

discussion.md follows this structure:

# Discussion Notes: [Project Name]

## AUDIT TRAIL: Key Decision Points

[Decision-by-decision record - see template below]

## WHAT CLAUDE DID (Contributions)

### Research
- [Bullet list of research performed]

### Writing
- [Bullet list of drafts, rewrites, sections created]

### Quality Control
- [Bullet list of audits, reviews, validations]

### Technical
- [Bullet list of scripts, tools, automation]

## WHAT WORKED / DIDN'T WORK

### Worked Well ✅
| What Claude Did | User Decision | Outcome |
|-----------------|---------------|---------|
| [action] | [decision] | [result] |

### Didn't Work ❌
| What Claude Did | Problem | Lesson |
|-----------------|---------|--------|
| [action] | [what failed] | [what to avoid] |

## SESSIONS (Chronological Detail)

[Full session-by-session narrative for context]

The Process

Step 1: Determine the Post Folder

  • If working on existing post: locate /posts/{post-short-title}/
  • If creating new post: folder created during pitch generation
  • If unsure: ask user which post this relates to

Step 2: Read Existing discussion.md

CRITICAL: Always read existing discussion.md before starting work.

When reading, extract:

  • What decisions have been made (don't re-debate)
  • What content is already covered (don't repeat)
  • What approaches failed (don't retry)
  • What Claude already contributed (build on it)

Step 3: Record the Session

Add session detail at bottom, then update top sections.

For Each Session: Add to Bottom

## Session X: [Short Title] (YYYY-MM-DD)

### Context
[Why this session happened, what triggered it]

### What Claude Did
- Research: [what research]
- Analysis: [what analysis]
- Writing: [what drafted/revised]
- Tools: [what tools/scripts created]

### User Decisions
- Decision 1: [what was decided and why]
- Decision 2: [what was decided and why]

### Outcomes
- ✅ What worked: [successes]
- ❌ What didn't: [failures]
- Files created/modified: [list]

### Next Steps
[What comes next]

For Major Decisions: Add to AUDIT TRAIL

Use this template for significant decisions:

### Decision: [Decision Title] (YYYY-MM-DD, Session X)

**Claude's Analysis:**
- [What research/analysis Claude performed]
- [What data/insights Claude provided]
- [What options Claude presented]

**Claude's Recommendation:**
[What Claude suggested and why]

**User Decision:**
[What the user actually decided]

**Rationale:**
[Why the user made this choice]

**Outcome:**
✅/❌ [What happened as a result]

Step 4: Update Top Sections

After adding session details, update:

  1. AUDIT TRAIL - Add major decisions with attribution
  2. WHAT CLAUDE DID - Add to contribution categories
  3. WHAT WORKED / DIDN'T WORK - Update outcome tables

Step 5: Save the Record

  • Append to /posts/{post-short-title}/discussion.md
  • Use Edit tool to update top sections
  • Don't replace existing content - build on it

When to Use This Skill

Always use after:

  • Brainstorming sessions
  • Generating or revising pitches
  • Significant research or feedback
  • Quality control reviews
  • Publishing to Ghost
  • Major milestones in writing process

Also use when:

  • User explicitly requests it
  • Making major decisions
  • Something fails or succeeds notably
  • End of a series or project

Recording Decisions: Best Practices

Good decision record:

### Decision: Use "150+ hours" not "600 hours" (2025-11-03)

**Claude's Analysis:**
- Git analysis: 79 commits across 36 days
- Found error: content is automated, not manually curated
- Revised estimate: 150-200 hours based on commit patterns

**Claude's Recommendation:**
Use "over 150 hours across several months"

**User Decision:**
Approved. Changed throughout Part 1.

**Rationale:**
More honest (admits uncertainty), shows AI's impact, still significant.

**Outcome:**
✅ More credible than 600-hour claim. Readers responded well.

Bad decision record:

We decided to use 150 hours instead of 600.

(Missing: what Claude did, why decision was made, what happened)

What Makes Good Audit Trail

Capture:

  • ✅ What Claude analyzed/researched
  • ✅ What Claude recommended
  • ✅ What user decided (might differ from recommendation!)
  • ✅ Why user made that choice
  • ✅ What happened as result

Avoid:

  • ❌ Narrative prose without attribution
  • ❌ Decisions without rationale
  • ❌ Recommendations without alternatives considered
  • ❌ Outcomes without assessment (worked or didn't?)

For Series Work

Additional tracking needed:

  1. What's been covered - Track to avoid repetition

    ## WHAT'S BEEN COVERED
### Part 1 established:
- Domain renewal decision
- Framework: assess, identify, clarify
- Zero users truth

### Part 2 established:
- Three-layer architecture
- Cost breakdown
- Time savings

  2. Series state - Track what's done/pending

    ## SERIES STATE
- Part 1: PUBLISHED (Nov 7)
- Part 2a: PUBLISHED (Nov 14)
- Part 2b: POSTPONED
- Part 3: PUBLISHED (Nov 22)

  3. Cross-series lessons - What worked across all parts

    ## SERIES LESSONS
- ✅ Research before writing (validated decisions)
- ✅ Multiple reviewer perspectives
- ❌ Treated parts as standalone (repeated context)
- ❌ Didn't read discussion.md first

Files in This Skill

  • SKILL.md (this file) - Main skill instructions
  • decision-template.md - Template for recording decisions
  • session-template.md - Template for recording sessions

Remember

For Claude:

  • Read discussion.md FIRST before any work
  • Extract what's covered to avoid repetition
  • Check what failed to avoid retrying

For User (audit trail):

  • Show what Claude did that led to decisions
  • Attribute clearly (Claude's work vs. User's choice)
  • Track outcomes (worked or didn't?)
  • Enable tracing: "Why did we decide X?" → full path visible

For both:

  • Decisions need context and rationale
  • Outcomes need assessment
  • Lessons learned feed improvement

The goal: Create an audit trail showing what Claude contributed, what decisions resulted, and whether they worked.