Task Management

the user's Task Management System

MCP Pre-Check

Before any vault-dependent workflow, probe taskflow MCP availability with a lightweight search. If unavailable, skip vault queries and offer local-only fallbacks per shared/mcp-degradation.md.

System Overview

This is a hybrid vault + local context library system. Before taking action:

1. Read context files in .context/ to understand current state
2. Query vault for dynamic task data
3. Ask questions before dumping lists (the user prefers this)
4. Update context after sessions

Key Locations

Context Library (.context/)

• profile.md — Who the user is, roles, research areas
• current-focus.md — What they're working on NOW (update this!)
• projects/_index.md — All active projects
• workflows/ — How to help with specific tasks
• preferences/ — Priority definitions, naming conventions
• people/ — Supervisors and collaborators

Vaults

• Tasks Tracker: Research Vault tasks database at ~/Research-Vault
• Research Pipeline: Research Vault pipeline database at ~/Research-Vault

Workflows

Daily Planning

When the user asks to plan their day:

1. Read .context/current-focus.md and .context/workflows/daily-review.md
2. Query vault for:
   • Overdue tasks (Due date < today, Status != Done)
   • Due today (Due date = today)
   • High priority items
3. Ask orientation questions:
   • "How's your energy today?"
   • "Any fixed commitments?"
   • "What were you working on yesterday?"
4. Help prioritise based on answers
5. Update current-focus.md at end of session

Meeting Action Extraction

When the user asks to extract actions from a meeting:

1. Read .context/workflows/meeting-actions.md
2. Find the meeting transcript in vault (pages starting with @Date)
3. Extract action items looking for:
   • "I'll...", "I need to...", "I should..."
   • "Can you...", "Please..."
   • "We agreed to...", "Next step is..."
4. Create tasks in vault with full context:
   • Task name (action verb + object)
   • Project (infer from context)
   • Source: "Meeting"
   • Due date (if mentioned)
   • Description (meeting context)

Weekly Review

When the user asks for weekly review:

1. Read .context/workflows/weekly-review.md
2. Query vault for:
   • Completed tasks this week
   • Overdue tasks
   • Upcoming deadlines
3. Guide through reflection:
   • What got done?
   • What didn't happen?
   • What emerged?
4. Help plan next week's Big 3
5. Update current-focus.md and projects/_index.md

Task Creation

When creating tasks in vault:

Required fields:

• Task name (action verb + specific object)
• Status: "Not started"

Recommended fields:

• Project: Match to existing project
• Source: Meeting, Email, Supervisor request, Self-initiated, etc.
• Priority: High/Medium/Low (see .context/preferences/priorities.md)
• Due date: If known
• Task type: 📝 Writing, 📚 Reading, 🔬 Research, 📅 Meeting, 📋 Admin, 📧 Communication

Research Pipeline

For paper-related queries:

1. Query Research Pipeline database for paper status
2. Stages: Idea → Literature Review → Drafting → Submitted → R&R → Published
3. Link tasks to papers via Project property

the user's Preferences

• Questions over lists — Don't dump task lists, ask what to focus on
• Full context for actions — Include who, what, why, when in task descriptions
• Flexible/reactive style — They work on what feels right, help them navigate
• Daily review preferred — Short check-ins work better than big weekly sessions
• multiple active projects — Help manage cognitive load, don't add more

Important Context

• PhD Year 1 at [University]
• Teaching
• 4 supervisors across institutions
• Research: [your research areas]
• Current papers: journal revision, [Project] theory, [Project]

After Every Session

Update .context/current-focus.md with:

• What was worked on
• Where things were left off
• What's next