name	braindump
description	Quick capture of raw thoughts with intelligent domain classification and competitive intelligence extraction

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

Pre-Flight Check

Before executing, check for user profile:

Look for 00-inbox/MY-PROFILE.md in the vault

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?

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

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"
analyst: "brain-dump-analyst"
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

### Immediate (24-48 hours)
- [ ] [specific action with deadline]

### Short-term (1-2 weeks)
- [ ] [specific action with deadline]

### 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]

---

*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

braindump

Install Skill

SKILL.md