Goals

Goals

Projects say what they are; a goal says what they are for. Manage goal notes in the user's Obsidian second brain and the goal: link that projects carry back to them. Use second-brain for shared vault conventions, project-tracking for project state, and task-tracking for action items.

Data Source

• Goal note: Goals/[Goal Name].md — named after the goal so [[Goal Name]] wikilinks resolve. Created with obsidian__note_create type="goal"; the path is derived, never hand-constructed.
• A project's goal: frontmatter field holds one quoted wikilink to the goal it serves. The goal note's own ## Projects section lists every project pointed at it — the two are kept in sync by one tool call, not two.

Goal Note Template

---
type: goal
status: active
created: YYYY-MM-DD
horizon: 2026-Q4
---

# [Goal Name]

## Why

## What done looks like

## Projects

- [[Project Name]]

## Log

### YYYY-MM-DD

- What happened

status is active, achieved, or dropped — your judgment; the tool does not enforce the enum. horizon is optional free text like 2026-Q4 or H1; omit it when the user gave no timeframe.

Workflow

Creating a goal

1. obsidian__note_create type="goal" name="Ship the Handheld". Pass a horizon when the user gave one: fields={"horizon":"2026-Q4"}.
2. Fill ## Why and ## What done looks like with obsidian__section_append note="Ship the Handheld" section="Why" content="…" — use the user's own words; do not invent a rationale or a definition of done they did not give.
3. If the user already named a project this goal covers, link it in the same turn (below).
4. If the note already exists, note_create returns created=false — add to the existing note instead of recreating it.

Linking a project to a goal

1. The goal note must exist first — create it above if it does not.
2. obsidian__note_set_field note="Example Project" field="goal" value="Ship the Handheld". This sets the project's goal: property to a quoted wikilink and lists the project under the goal's own ## Projects section in the same call — the edge is visible from both sides without a second write to remember.
3. If the goal note does not exist yet, the property is still set as an unresolved wikilink (the tool reports this) — create the goal note and re-run the call to pick up the back-link.
4. Repeat once per project when several projects serve one goal.

Marking a goal achieved or dropped

1. obsidian__note_set_field note="Ship the Handheld" field="status" value="achieved" (or value="dropped"). Only when the user says so explicitly — never infer this from a project finishing.
2. Record why with a dated entry: obsidian__log_append note="Ship the Handheld" section="Log" content="Marked achieved — shipped to the first 50 users".

"How is <goal> going"

1. obsidian__vault_read note="Ship the Handheld" for ## Why, ## What done looks like, and its ## Log.
2. obsidian__vault_list type="project" goal="Ship the Handheld" for every project linked to it.
3. Read each linked project for its status and most recent dated activity, then report project-by-project: name, status, and the latest dated evidence of movement. No dated evidence for a project is not "stalled" — say it looks quiet rather than guessing.

Relationship to Projects

• A project holds one goal: value at a time. Pointing it at a new goal overwrites the old value in frontmatter, but nothing here removes the old bullet from the previous goal's ## Projects section — mention that to the user if it would otherwise look stale.
• Do not create a goal for a single one-off task; a goal is for a purpose worth tracking across projects or across a stretch of time.
• Project state itself — status, decisions, blockers — stays in project-tracking. This skill only writes the goal note and its ## Log, plus the one note_set_field call that links a project to a goal.

Safety

• Do not invent a goal's rationale or its "done" definition — use the user's own words, or ask.
• Do not mark a goal achieved or dropped unless the user says so explicitly.
• Do not infer a goal is achieved just because every project linked to it is marked Done.