# Notes Catchup

> Weekly briefing — checks daily notes and project activity to surface what's been neglected, flag what needs attention, and give an opinionated heads-up on what might fall through the cracks. Use when starting the week, returning after time away, or when the user asks "what have I been working on" / "what needs attention" / "what have I neglected". Read-only unless the user asks otherwise.

- Skill: `wellcaffeinated/notes-catchup` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add wellcaffeinated/notes-catchup`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/wellcaffeinated/notes-catchup/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: wellcaffeinated (https://skillmd.com/u/wellcaffeinated)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/wellcaffeinated/notes-catchup

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# Notes — Catchup

A weekly briefing skill. The goal is not to summarise what's been active — it's to surface what's been neglected and prepare the user for the week ahead. Read-only unless the user asks otherwise.

## Before starting

**Invoke the `notebook:notes-workflow` skill before proceeding.** It verifies the vault connection, reads `VAULT.md` for conventions, and provides the CLI patterns this skill depends on. If it is not available, ask the user to install the `notebook` plugin.

## What this skill does

1. In parallel: query recent daily note activity, project state, and recent vault activity — see VAULT.md for how to access each
2. Read individual project, area, and daily notes in full for detail
3. Cross-reference: which projects appear in daily notes? Which don't?
4. Produce a briefing

## The briefing

Cover everything, but weight the presentation toward gaps. Structure:

- **Lagging projects** — projects with no recent daily note mentions and stale file modification times. Flag these specifically.
- **At risk this week** — deadlines approaching, or projects that haven't been touched but have a deadline set
- **Going quiet** — parts of the vault with no recent activity that might need a check-in
- **Active this week** — what has been worked on, briefly — this matters too and gives context for the gaps
- **Prepared for this week** — based on what's been active and what's coming, what should the user expect to work on

## The secretary standard

Be opinionated. Don't just list — say what matters. Active work is worth acknowledging but doesn't need elaboration — the user knows what they've been doing. Gaps and risks deserve the most attention and the plainest language. If a project hasn't been touched in two weeks, say so. If a deadline is close and there's been no activity, flag it as a risk. The user should finish reading the briefing with a clear sense of what they might have let slip, what's coming, and what deserves attention first.

## Handling ambiguity

If a project note is sparse or its current state is unclear, note that it needs a status check rather than guessing. Ask the user if they want to clarify the state of anything flagged.

## Read-only by default

Present the briefing and invite the user to act on any item. Do not move, edit, or create notes unless asked.