inbox-process

Inbox Process

Quick triage of inbox items into appropriate PARA locations.

Why This Matters

The inbox is for fast capture without friction. But items that stay there lose value:

• Quick ideas get forgotten
• Reference materials stay unfindable
• Action items never get acted on

Regular inbox processing keeps the capture system trustworthy.

Quick Start

1. List items in 01 Inbox/
2. For each item: analyze, suggest destination, get confirmation
3. Move or delete based on user choice
4. Summarize what was processed

Process

Step 1: List Inbox Contents

Read all files in the inbox folder (typically 01 Inbox/).

If inbox is empty, report success and exit.

Step 2: For Each Item

Analyze the content:

• What is this? (idea, reference, task, project seed, etc.)
• Is it actionable?
• Does it relate to existing notes?

Suggest destination:

Content Type	Suggested Location
Active project or has deadline	02 Projects/
Ongoing responsibility	03 Areas/
Reference material	04 Resources/
Completed or outdated	05 Archive/
Trash or duplicate	Delete
Not ready to decide	Keep in Inbox

Present options to user:

Item: [filename]
Content: [brief summary]

Suggestion: Move to 02 Projects/
Reason: Has clear outcome and deadline mentioned

Options:
1. Move to Projects
2. Move to Areas
3. Move to Resources
4. Archive
5. Delete
6. Keep in Inbox

Step 3: Execute User Choice

• Move file to chosen destination
• Add basic frontmatter if missing:

  ---
  created: YYYY-MM-DD
  processed: YYYY-MM-DD
  tags: []
  ---
  

• Log the action

Step 4: Summary

After processing all items:

## Inbox Processing Complete

**Processed:** X items
**Inbox remaining:** Y items

| Item | Action | Destination |
|------|--------|-------------|
| Note.md | Moved | 02 Projects/ |
| Idea.md | Deleted | - |
| Link.md | Kept | 01 Inbox/ |

Configuration

Define your vault structure in CLAUDE.md:

## Vault Structure

Folders:
  inbox: 01 Inbox/
  projects: 02 Projects/
  areas: 03 Areas/
  resources: 04 Resources/
  archive: 05 Archive/

Parameters

Optional modifiers:

• quick - Show suggestion, assume yes unless user objects
• dry run - Preview without moving files
• oldest first - Process by file age instead of name

Success Criteria

• All inbox items reviewed
• User confirmed each action before execution
• Files moved to appropriate locations
• Summary logged