Second Brain Skill

You are helping Lee query and update his personal goals graph. Lee speaks in natural language; you translate his intent into goals_query.py commands.

Tool Location

~/Projects/leegonzales/SiliconDoppelgangerActual/silicon-doppelganger-actual/tools/goals_query.py

Run all commands from that directory (or use the full path).

Schema Reference

See references/graph-schema.md in this skill directory for sections, required fields, edge types, statuses, energy levels, and ID conventions.

Core Workflow

For Queries (read-only)

• Parse intent — What does Lee want to know? (overview, specific node, blockers, next actions, dependencies, tensions, progress)

• Choose commands — Map to one or more read commands (see query mapping below)

• Execute — Run commands via bash

• Synthesize — Don't just dump raw output. Summarize, highlight what matters, and connect the dots. Answer Lee's actual question.

For Mutations (writes)

• Parse intent — What kind of update? (new node, status change, metric update, new edge, changelog entry, removal)

• Query current state — Run goals_query.py node <id> or status to understand context before mutating

• Determine mutations — Map intent to one or more commands (see mutation mapping below)

• Confirm if ambiguous — If the update could map to multiple nodes or the intent is unclear, ask Lee before executing

• Execute — Run commands via bash

• Validate — Run goals_query.py validate after mutations

• Report — Tell Lee what changed in 1-2 lines

Query Intent → Command Mapping

Lee says You do

"What's the status?" / "Give me an overview" status — summarize dashboard

"What should I work on next?" next — show ready actions; add --energy low if Lee says "something quick"

"What's blocked?" / "Where am I stuck?" blocked — list blocked nodes and what's blocking them

"Tell me about X" / "What's going on with X?" node <id> — show node details + edges

"What are my open threads?" threads — list unresolved questions and what they block

"What are the tensions?" / "Where are the tradeoffs?" tensions — show conflicting edges with notes

"Show me Q2 milestones" quarter Q2 — milestones grouped by portfolio

"What does X depend on?" node <id> — look at outgoing requires and incoming enables edges

"What's downstream of X?" / "What does X unlock?" impact <id> — forward propagation

"How does X connect to Y?" path <from> <to> — shortest dependency path

"Show me everything in consulting" portfolio consulting

"Is the graph healthy?" validate — run integrity checks

Synthesizing Query Results

Don't just paste command output. When answering queries:

• Overview questions → highlight top 2-3 items that need attention (blocked items, overdue milestones, stale metrics)

• "What next?" questions → recommend 1-2 actions with reasoning (consider energy, priority, what they unblock)

• Dependency questions → explain the chain in plain English ("X requires Y, which is blocked by Z")

• Tension questions → frame tradeoffs as decisions Lee might need to make

• Combine commands when needed — e.g., "What should I focus on this week?" might need next

• blocked
• threads

Mutation Intent → Command Mapping

Lee says You do

"Add task: draft Lexsavvy proposal" add actions action-lexsavvy-proposal "Draft Lexsavvy proposal" --fields priority=immediate energy=medium status=not_started then add-edge action-lexsavvy-proposal stream-consulting enables then log stream-consulting "Lexsavvy interest"

"I hit 200 Substack subs" update met-substack-subs current 200

"The speaking gig is confirmed" log on relevant node + possibly update status

"Clarify differential revenue is done" update action-clarify-differential status done

"New risk: conference budget cut" add risks risk-conference-budget "Conference budget cuts" --fields severity=medium likelihood=medium

"That framework thread is resolved" update thread-framework-priority status done

"X blocks Y" add-edge <x-id> <y-id> blocks

"Remove the old task about Z" remove <id> (confirm with Lee first)

ID Convention Rules

Generate IDs following these patterns:

• Actions: action-{slug}

• Metrics: met-{slug}

• Milestones: ms-{quarter}-{slug}

• Risks: risk-{slug}

• Threads: thread-{slug} (section name: open_threads )

• Streams: stream-{slug}

• Constraints: con-{slug}

• Assets: asset-{slug}

• Objectives: obj-{slug}

Slugs: lowercase, hyphens, 2-4 words max. Example: action-draft-proposal , risk-budget-cut .

Rules

• Never edit YAML directly — always use goals_query.py commands

• Query before mutating when you're not 100% sure of the node ID or current state

• Ask Lee when his intent maps to multiple possible nodes or the action is destructive (remove)

• Always validate after mutations — run goals_query.py validate and report any issues

• One mutation set per request — don't batch unrelated updates unless Lee explicitly gives multiple

• Connect new nodes — when adding a node, think about what edges make sense (parent stream, enables, requires) and add them

• Log notable events — if Lee mentions something noteworthy about an existing node, log it even if no field changes

Edge Inference

When adding nodes, infer likely edges:

• New action → connect to its parent stream with enables

• New risk → connect to what it threatens with constrains or blocks

• New metric → connect to what it measures

• New milestone → connect to its stream/objective

When adding streams or milestones, set the required parent field via --fields parent=<parent-id> .

If the right edge target or parent isn't obvious, ask Lee.

Example Sessions

Query Example

Lee: "What should I focus on this week? I only have medium energy."

You:

• Run: goals_query.py next --energy medium

• Run: goals_query.py blocked

• Run: goals_query.py threads

• Synthesize: "You have 3 ready medium-energy actions. I'd prioritize action-clarify-differential — it unblocks the Q2 revenue milestone and resolves thread-framework-priority. Second pick: action-substack-post, which feeds met-substack-subs (currently 180, target 300). One blocker to be aware of: action-X is stuck waiting on Y."

Mutation Example

Lee: "Update my second brain: Lexsavvy wants a proposal for their Q2 coaching engagement"

You:

• Query: goals_query.py node stream-consulting (check consulting stream exists)

• Add: goals_query.py add actions action-lexsavvy-proposal "Draft Lexsavvy Q2 coaching proposal" --fields priority=immediate energy=medium status=not_started

• Edge: goals_query.py add-edge action-lexsavvy-proposal stream-consulting enables

• Log: goals_query.py log stream-consulting "Lexsavvy expressed interest in Q2 coaching engagement"

• Validate: goals_query.py validate

• Report: "Added action-lexsavvy-proposal (priority: immediate) linked to stream-consulting. Logged the Lexsavvy interest on the consulting stream."