filing

• "Where should this file go?"
• Weekly review (filing portion)
• Moving files between zones
• Deciding Projects vs Areas vs Resources

• Pattern reflection (use todoist-gtd)
• Todoist organization (use todoist-gtd)
• Code/repo organization (different rules apply)

You can't file what you haven't processed.

Moving files without reading them isn't filing — it's relocating the problem. Proper filing means:

1. Processing — Read content, extract what matters (actions, waiting-fors, calendar items)
2. Organizing — Move to the right location with the right name

If you skip processing, actions get lost, waiting-fors vanish, and meeting notes become information graves.

The test: Before moving a file, can you answer: "What's in this and does anything need to happen?"

Location: ~/Library/CloudStorage/GoogleDrive-*/My Drive/Work

To find exact path: ls -d ~/Library/CloudStorage/GoogleDrive-*/My\ Drive/Work

```

Work/

├── Projects/ # Active outcome folders

├── Areas/ # Ongoing responsibilities

├── Resources/ # Reference material (Larder, GTD Resources)

├── Archive/ # Completed/dormant

└── Meeting Notes/ # By year (2015-2025)

```

Projects/

Active work with defined end states. Folders named: {Area} - {Outcome statement}

Examples:

• Industry Influencing - Marketing Week Articles
• Product Development - Launched new dashboard...

When complete: Move to Archive/

Areas/

Ongoing responsibilities (no completion date):

• Budget and Finance
• Cross-Broadcaster Measurement
• Desired Outcomes Planning
• Industry Advisory Roles
• Industry Influencing
• Internal Stakeholders
• Managing Myself
• Processes and Systems
• Team Development

Resources/

Reference material that supports work:

• Larder/ - 100+ research PDFs
• GTD Resources (Common)/ - GTD reference docs

Archive/

Completed projects and dormant materials. Preserves history.

Meeting Notes/

Organized by year:

```

Meeting Notes/

├── 2024/

└── 2025/

└── 2025-12-11 Alex Maguire (Netflix) - EMEA measurement landscape.md

```

Naming: {date} {Person/Topic} - {Brief description}.md

| Category | Definition | Completion |

|----------|------------|------------|

| Projects | Active work with end state | Finite - move to Archive when done |

| Areas | Ongoing responsibilities | Infinite - never "done" |

| Resources | Reference material | Supports work, isn't the work |

| Archive | Inactive items | Superseded or completed |

Key distinction: Areas ≠ Projects. "Team Development" is an Area (infinite). "Hire data scientist" is a Project (finite).

Strict PARA has 4 equal categories (Projects, Areas, Resources, Archive).

This structure adds:

• Meeting Notes/ - Chronological organization by year (not in PARA)
• Areas are predefined (not emergent as in strict PARA)

Core PARA principle remains: Projects complete, Areas don't.

Why the additions: Meeting notes benefit from chronological access. Areas reflect actual work responsibilities.

Nine locations where clutter accumulates:

1. Local Downloads

Path: ~/Downloads

Typical contents: PDFs, screenshots, installers, random files from web.

Action: File to Work/ or delete.

2. iCloud Downloads

Path: ~/Library/Mobile Documents/com~apple~CloudDocs/Downloads

Typical contents: Screenshots (iOS sync), files from iOS apps.

Action: File to Work/ or delete. Check for screenshots that should go to projects.

3. iA Writer Strays

Path: ~/Library/Mobile Documents/27N4MQEA55~pro~writer/Documents

Structure:

```

Documents/

└── Diary/ # Structured diary entries (leave alone)

└── [stray files] # Waifs outside Diary folder

```

Action: Anything outside Diary/ is a stray. File or delete.

4. Desktop (iCloud-synced)

Path: ~/Desktop

iCloud Desktop & Documents sync enabled. Files may be cloud-only (evicted from local storage).

Typical contents: Screenshots, drag-dropped files, temporary staging.

Action: File to Work/ or delete. Most Desktop items are transient.

iCloud voodoo: Files can appear as stubs (cloud-only, download on access). When bulk processing, may trigger downloads. The .localized file is system-managed - leave it.

5. Work Folder Root

Path: ~/Library/CloudStorage/GoogleDrive-*/My Drive/Work

Should only contain CLAUDE.md (project instructions) - nothing else belongs at root level.

Typical contents: Stray files that missed proper subfolder, CLAUDE.md.

Action: CLAUDE.md stays. Everything else gets filed into Projects/, Areas/, Resources/, or Archive/.

6. My Drive Root (Inbox)

Path: ~/Library/CloudStorage/GoogleDrive-*/My Drive

True inbox per PARA. Where doc.new creates files, where shared docs land, where quick-captured items accumulate.

Typical contents: New Google Docs, shared files, unsorted captures.

Action: Triage into Work/ subfolders or delete. This is the primary inbox to keep clear.

7. My Drive Temp (Claude Staging)

Path: ~/Library/CloudStorage/GoogleDrive-*/My Drive/Temp

Nominated temp folder for Claude operations — file uploads, MCP staging, transient outputs.

Typical contents: PDFs uploaded for analysis, intermediate files, staged outputs.

Action: Delete everything. If something needs keeping, it should have been filed properly after the session that created it. This folder should be empty between sessions.

8. Work Inbox (iCloud)

Path: ~/Library/Mobile Documents/com~apple~CloudDocs/Work Inbox/

Quick capture landing zone from iOS Shortcuts. Subfolders organize by type:

```

Work Inbox/

├── Voice Transcripts/ ← Whisper output from JPR recordings

├── Meeting Notes/ ← iOS Shortcut meeting captures

└── Quick Notes/ ← General quick capture

```

Naming: YYYY-MM-DD [HH-MM] Title.md

Action per subfolder:

| Subfolder | Triage |

|-----------|--------|

| Voice Transcripts/ | Review, extract actions, file to Meeting Notes/ or delete |

| Meeting Notes/ | Copy to Google Drive Meeting Notes/{year}/, keep original |

| Quick Notes/ | File to PARA, extract to Todoist, or delete |

9. JPR Voice Recordings

Path: ~/Library/Mobile Documents/iCloud~com~openplanetsoftware~just-press-record/Documents/

Just Press Record voice memos (m4a/mp3). Organized by date: YYYY-MM-DD/HH-MM-SS.m4a

Action:

1. Transcribe with ~/.claude/scripts/transcribe-jpr.sh --new
2. Review transcript in Work Inbox/Voice Transcripts/
3. Audio moves to Processed/ subfolder automatically

File organization chaos often symptoms deeper behavioral patterns. Surface these signals during weekly review:

| Signal | Pattern | Response |

|--------|---------|----------|

| Downloads >100 files OR >2 weeks neglect | Execution-Without-Reflection | "This backlog suggests rushing through tasks without processing. Want to check patterns?" |

| Multiple "temporary" folders >1 month old | Scope Creep | "These temp folders suggest projects expanding beyond original scope." |

Coordination pattern: Filing is Phase 1 of weekly review. After tidying, todoist-gtd skill handles pattern reflection (Phase 3).

Don't skip the pattern check just because you tidied the files.

Processing means reading and extracting — not just moving.

Processing Checklist (Meeting Notes)

Before filing ANY meeting note:

• [ ] Read the content — Don't just look at the title
• [ ] Extract actions (mine) — Concrete next steps I need to take
• [ ] Extract waiting-fors — NAME: What they owe me format
• [ ] Note calendar items — Dates to add to calendar
• [ ] Quality check: empty? — Delete (with confirmation)
• [ ] Quality check: misnamed? — Rename to match content
• [ ] THEN move to destination

Mandatory extraction: Cannot file meeting notes until actions are extracted. This is not optional.

Processing Other File Types

| File Type | Processing Required |

|-----------|---------------------|

| Meeting notes | Full checklist above |

| Quick notes | Check for actions, then file or delete |

| Voice transcripts | Read transcript, extract actions, then file or delete |

| PDFs/docs | Understand content for proper filing location |

| Screenshots | Determine project context, file or delete |

When processing multiple meeting notes with actions:

1. Extract to Temp File

Create structured sections:

```markdown

NAME: What they owe me

Quick actions for me to do

Date - Event to add

```

2. Open for Review

```bash

open -a "Sublime Text" /tmp/meeting-actions.md

```

3. Tell User

"Edit, save, let me know when ready"

User fixes:

• Names (Susie → Susan)
• Stale/irrelevant items (delete)
• Vague actions (clarify)

4. After Save

Read file, add to Todoist via todoist-gtd skill.

Why this works:

• User sees all actions at once
• Catches errors before they hit Todoist
• Disambiguation happens in familiar editor
• Claude processes clean, user-approved list

At weekly review start, check beyond the 9 zones.

Standing Docs (Always Check)

Prompt first: "Any changes to this standing docs list? (Add/remove as your meetings evolve)"

| Doc | ID |

|-----|-----|

| MIT: Start the Week | 19NqCEPMSOdIdouFqVaHZVA-GyJmkmPjLGyNknTJpU3M |

| Client Reference | 1owM77DjcTwHjrTfHs9zEfQfNyeFfmtheokBGvkPD8II |

| Supplier Reference | 1b2vaWpGx-fUj48vuQ0KmIirDu5loodC7F4j3XGV4_DU |

| Notes – WEEKLY senior team catch up | 1B5X-MrSzldgFElppNlk4s_PDgpIJ0H5Sul74uqQnTs8 |

| TVA/MP/ITV Status | 1tCuph3QWiObYImjb-7nfPPI2Q-D2RjAtou-dceHa45c |

Calendar-Linked Docs

Prompt: "What recurring meetings had sessions this week? Any have running docs I should check?"

(Future: mise calendar integration to auto-discover — see mise-en-space backlog)

"Where does this go?"

| If it's... | Put it in... |

|------------|--------------|

| Active project artifact | Projects/{relevant project}/ |

| Meeting notes | Meeting Notes/{year}/ |

| Reference PDF/doc | Resources/Larder/ or relevant Resources subfolder |

| Completed project | Archive/ |

| Ongoing area doc | Areas/{relevant area}/ |

| Screenshot for project | Projects/{project}/ or delete |

| Random download | Delete or file if valuable |

Path: ~/Documents/Personal/

Personal documents with PARA structure (no numbering, aligned with Work folder):

```

Personal/

├── Projects/ # Active personal projects

├── Areas/ # Ongoing personal responsibilities (e.g., Ash)

├── Archive/ # Completed/dormant

└── CLAUDE.md # Project instructions

```

Note: No Resources folder - personal "resources" live in Areas as active things.

Action: Personal admin docs (scanned letters, etc.) go to appropriate Area.

Detection: ls "$GDRIVE/Shared drives/"

Team shared content lives in Shared Drives (not personal My Drive):

```

Team Shared Drive/

├── Team Reference/ # Team-specific reference material

├── Shared Reference/ # Cross-team reference material

└── External Reference/ # External/industry reference

```

Action: Team reference materials (shared tools, analytics) go here, not personal Drive.

Zone Check (Do This First)

At session start, explicitly check ALL zones - don't skip any:

```bash

GDRIVE=$(ls -d ~/Library/CloudStorage/GoogleDrive-* 2>/dev/null | head -1)

echo "=== 1. Downloads ===" && ls ~/Downloads | head -5

echo "=== 2. iCloud Downloads ===" && ls ~/Library/Mobile\ Documents/com~apple~CloudDocs/Downloads 2>/dev/null | head -5

echo "=== 3. iA Writer ===" && ls ~/Library/Mobile\ Documents/27N4MQEA55~pro~writer/Documents 2>/dev/null | grep -v Diary | head -5

echo "=== 4. Desktop ===" && ls ~/Desktop 2>/dev/null | head -5

echo "=== 5. Work root ===" && ls "$GDRIVE/My Drive/Work" 2>/dev/null | grep -v "^CLAUDE.md$" | head -5

echo "=== 6. My Drive root ===" && find "$GDRIVE/My Drive" -maxdepth 1 -type f ! -name ".DS_Store" 2>/dev/null | head -5

echo "=== 7. My Drive Temp ===" && ls "$GDRIVE/My Drive/Temp" 2>/dev/null | head -5

echo "=== 8. Work Inbox ===" && find ~/Library/Mobile\ Documents/com~apple~CloudDocs/Work\ Inbox -type f ! -name ".DS_Store" 2>/dev/null | head -5

echo "=== 9. JPR Voice ===" && find ~/Library/Mobile\ Documents/iCloud~com~openplanetsoftware~just-press-record/Documents -name ".m4a" -o -name ".mp3" 2>/dev/null | grep -v "/Processed/" | head -5

```

Report which zones have content before starting. Don't skip zones that look empty - verify each one.

Per-File Process (5 Steps)

When triaging files, follow this 5-step process:

1. Process - Read content, extract what matters

- For meeting notes: extract actions, waiting-fors, calendar items (see Processing section)

- For other files: understand content for proper filing

- Use Sublime Loop for batch processing multiple notes

- For text files: Claude reads directly

- For binary/GUI files: open -a "Sublime Text" file.md or open file.pdf

- Office files in Google Drive (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx): These open in native apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), not browser. To open in Google Docs instead, fetch the Drive URL via mise and open that:

```bash

# Don't do this (opens in Word):

open "My Drive/document.docx"

# Do this instead (opens in browser):

# 1. Get file ID via mise search

# 2. open "https://docs.google.com/document/d/FILE_ID"

```

Or flag to user: "These .docx files will open in Word — want Drive URLs instead?"

1. Rename - Adjust filename to match actual content

- Generic names like "Untitled" or "Copy of..." need proper names

- Use descriptive names: Simon McCarthy - Pricing Power Proposal

1. Split - If multiple topics in one file, separate them

- Open in GUI for user review

- Create new files for distinct topics

1. Capture - Outstanding actions → Todoist

- Before adding: Search for existing/completed tasks to avoid duplicates

- Use todoist-gtd skill (invoke with Skill(todoist-gtd)) for Todoist operations

- Link description to filed document

1. File - Move to correct location (or delete)

- See "Filing Decisions" section for where things go

- After filing Meeting Notes: Extract to memory for searchability

```bash

# Re-scan to pick up the filed document

cd ~/Repos/claude-mem && uv run mem scan --source local_md

# Extract entities from the filed document

SOURCE_ID="local_md:$(basename "$DEST_PATH")"

cd ~/Repos/claude-mem && uv run mem extract "$SOURCE_ID" 2>/dev/null || true

```

The test: "Will I search for this to USE it, or just to REMEMBER it?"

| Answer | Location | Examples |

|--------|----------|----------|

| USE it | Resources/ | Methodology docs, templates, how-to guides |

| REMEMBER it | Archive/ | Completed project artifacts, old meeting notes |

Reference = I'll need this again to do work

• Research PDFs that inform decisions
• Templates I reuse
• Product specs, methodology docs

Archive = This was a thing, now it's done

• Completed project artifacts
• Superseded versions
• Historical records

External doc → Google Doc → Project folder

When filing a document that needs to live in a Project:

1. Read content (use docx skill for Word docs)
2. Create Project folder if needed: {Area} - {Outcome statement}
3. Convert to Google Doc: mcp__mise__create
4. Delete original file
5. Update any Todoist task that references it with new link

Todoist task linking

When a filed document relates to a Todoist task, use the todoist-gtd skill to search and link. Canonical document location should be in Todoist task description.

Note: Weekly review is a three-phase workflow orchestrated by todoist-gtd skill:

1. Filing (this skill) — Clear cleanup zones
2. Outcomes Review (todoist-gtd) — Check outcome health
3. Pattern Reflection (todoist-gtd) — Freedom score, pattern interrupts

During weekly review, check all 9 cleanup zones:

1. ~/Downloads - File or delete
2. iCloud Downloads - File or delete
3. iA Writer strays - File or delete
4. ~/Desktop - File or delete (mind iCloud stubs)
5. Work/ root - Only CLAUDE.md should remain
6. My Drive root - Triage into Work/ or delete
7. My Drive Temp - Delete everything (Claude staging folder)
8. Work Inbox - Triage subfolders (Voice Transcripts, Meeting Notes, Quick Notes)
9. JPR Voice - Transcribe new recordings, review transcripts

| Pattern | Problem | Fix |

|---------|---------|-----|

| File without reading | Actions lost | Mandatory processing first |

| Bulk move meeting notes | Waiting-fors vanish | Use Sublime Loop, extract first |

| Skip running docs | Miss recurring meeting actions | Check standing docs + calendar prompt |

| Skip zones during weekly review | Clutter accumulates | Check ALL 9 zones explicitly |

| Keep "just in case" | Folders bloat | Delete liberally, most things don't need keeping |

| File without renaming | Untitled docs pile up | Rename to content-descriptive name first |

| Skip Todoist search before adding | Duplicate tasks | Always search for existing task first |

File promptly, delete liberally. Most downloads don't need keeping. Screenshots are usually transient. When in doubt, delete.

Projects complete, Areas don't. If you're wondering "is this done?", it's probably a Project. If you're wondering "is this still my responsibility?", it's an Area.

Development tools live in ~/Repos/ with prefix conventions:

| Prefix | Contains | Example |

|--------|----------|---------|

| claude-suite | Core session skills | session-opening, beads, filing |

| skill-* | Specialized skills | skill-itv-styling |

| mcp-* | MCP servers | mcp-workspace |

| infra-* | Infrastructure | infra-openwrt |

| claude-* | Claude experiments | claude-memory |

Skills: Symlinked to ~/.claude/skills/. Core skills in claude-suite/skills/, specialized skills in individual repos, skills with tooling co-located with their infrastructure.