/daily-journal

name: daily-journal
description: Draft, organize, or update development journal entries. Use when user requests daily journal generation, work review, standup preparation, or asks "what did I work on today/this week?"
argumentHint: "[--date YYYY-MM-DD] [--quick]"
userInvocable: true

Daily Journal

An interactive, conversational skill for creating meaningful daily journal entries. Conversation first, data second.

Table of Contents

1. [Philosophy](#philosophy) 2. [Flow Diagram](#flow-diagram) 3. [Time-Aware Interaction](#time-aware-interaction) 4. [The Conversation](#the-conversation) 5. [Using Data as Memory Aid](#using-data-as-memory-aid) 6. [Markdown Conventions](#markdown-conventions) 7. [Template Structure](#template-structure) 8. [CLI Reference](#cli-reference)

Philosophy

**Commits are not what matters.** They're often mechanical, LLM-generated, or busywork. A journal should capture:

• What you *actually* focused on
• How you *felt* about the work
• What's still open in your mind
• The human experience of the day

**Conversation first, data second.** Ask the user about their day. Use collected data (git, sessions) only as a *memory jogger* for days when they can't remember what they did.

**Context matters.** Weekends are different from workdays. Mornings are different from evenings. Hobby projects are valid. Tooling optimization is valid.

Flow Diagram

flowchart TD
    Start([/daily-journal]) --> CheckTime{What time is it?}

    CheckTime -->|Morning| MorningFlow
    CheckTime -->|Afternoon/Evening| EveningFlow

    subgraph MorningFlow[Morning: Planning Mode]
        M1[Read yesterday's entry] --> M2[Show yesterday's open questions]
        M2 --> M3{Ask: What's your focus today?}
        M3 --> M4{Ask: Any carryover from yesterday?}
        M4 --> M5[Create/update today's entry with intentions]
    end

    subgraph EveningFlow[Afternoon/Evening: Reflection Mode]
        E1{Ask: What did you work on?} --> E2{Ask: How did it go?}
        E2 --> E3{Ask: What's still open?}
        E3 --> E4[Offer data as memory aid]
        E4 --> E5{Anything else to add?}
        E5 --> E6[Synthesize journal from conversation]
    end

    subgraph DataAid[Data as Memory Aid]
        D1[Run collect_day_data.py] --> D2[Show: I see activity in X...]
        D2 --> D3{Worth mentioning?}
        D3 -->|Yes| D4[User describes in their words]
        D3 -->|No| D5[Skip]
    end

    E4 --> DataAid
    DataAid --> E5

    MorningFlow --> Save
    EveningFlow --> Save

    Save[Save to Obsidian] --> End([Done])

    style MorningFlow fill:#e8f4e8
    style EveningFlow fill:#e8e8f4
    style DataAid fill:#f4f4e8

Time-Aware Interaction

Check the current time before starting. Different times trigger different modes:

| Time | Mode | Primary Questions | |------|------|-------------------| | Before noon | **Planning** | What's your focus? Carryover from yesterday? | | Afternoon (12-5pm) | **Mid-day check** | How's the day going? Stuck on anything? | | Evening (after 5pm) | **Reflection** | What did you work on? How did it go? | | Weekend | **Lighter touch** | What did you tinker with? Any hobby wins? |

**How to check:**

# Get current time
date "+%H:%M %A"  # e.g., "14:32 Saturday"

Use this to: 1. Determine mode (morning/afternoon/evening) 2. Check if weekend (Saturday/Sunday) - add `weekend` tag, lighter expectations 3. Frame questions appropriately

The Conversation

Morning Mode (Planning)

1. Read yesterday's entry if it exists 2. Show yesterday's "Tomorrow's focus", "Open questions" 3. Ask:

• "What's your main focus for today?"
• "Any carryover from yesterday you want to tackle?"
• "Anything blocking you?"

4. Create entry with intentions (can be updated in evening)

Evening Mode (Reflection)

1. **Start with open questions** - don't assume anything from data:

• "What did you work on today?"
• "How did it go? What felt good or frustrating?"
• "Any wins? Any blockers?"
• "What's still on your mind?"

2. **Offer data as memory aid** (only after user has shared):

• "I see you also had activity in [project] - worth mentioning?"
• "Looks like you touched [files] - anything notable there?"
• User can say "no, that was just mechanical" and it gets skipped

3. **Ask about tomorrow**:

• "What's your focus for tomorrow?"
• "Any open questions to sleep on?"

Weekend Mode

• Lighter expectations, different framing
• "What did you tinker with today?"
• "Any hobby wins?"
• "Did you rest?" (rest is valid!)
• Add `weekend` tag automatically

Using Data as Memory Aid

The `collect_day_data.py` script is a **secondary tool**, not the primary input.

**When to use it:**

• User says "I can't remember what I did"
• After user has shared, to jog memory for forgotten items
• Never as the source of truth for what mattered

**How to present it:**

I see some activity that might jog your memory:
- 3 commits in my-project
- 45 sessions in data-pipeline
- Files touched in config skill

Any of these worth mentioning in your own words?

**Running the script:**

uv run ~/.claude/skills/daily-journal/scripts/collect_day_data.py [--date YYYY-MM-DD] [--skip-sessions]

Markdown Conventions

Clearly differentiate personal voice from LLM context using Obsidian-compatible markdown:

Personal Reflections (User's Voice)

Use blockquotes for the user's own words and feelings:

> Spent most of the morning yak-shaving on my dev tools again.
> It felt productive in the moment but I'm not sure it was the best use of time.
> The API debugging is getting frustrating - every fix reveals another issue.

Context/Background (LLM-Provided)

Use regular text or callouts for factual context:

> [!info] Context
> Continued from [[2026-01-23]] - API authentication debugging.
> Related to the data pipeline project.

Technical Notes (If Needed)

Use collapsible sections for technical detai