Daily Note

---
name: daily-note
description: Use when the user mentions a daily note, asks to add a task to today's daily todos, or reads or writes any file under ~/Notes/Daily Notes/. Covers location, section structure, and what each section is used for.
---

# Daily Note

**REQUIRED:** Invoke the `ls-notes:note` skill first. Vault structure, conventions, icons, templates, and obsidian CLI guidance there all apply to daily notes.

## Location

`Daily Notes/YYYY/YYYY-MM/YYYY-MM-DD - Daily Note.md` (e.g., `Daily Notes/2026/2026-05/2026-05-09 - Daily Note.md`).

For reading or appending to today's note, use `obsidian daily:read`, `obsidian daily:append`, and `obsidian daily:prepend` — these resolve today's date automatically.

## Ensure Today's Note Exists

When this skill is invoked, run `obsidian daily:read`. It returns today's note content and creates the file from the daily-note template as a side effect if it does not already exist. Idempotent — running it twice does not produce a duplicate.

Skip this step only if the user is asking about a past or future daily note rather than today's.

**Precondition:** Obsidian must be running. CLI commands dispatch to the running app via IPC; with no app open, they hang. Check via `pgrep -fl 'Obsidian.app/Contents/MacOS/Obsidian'` and ask the user to launch Obsidian if needed.

## Task Item Formatting

When adding or reviewing tasks in the daily note, follow these link conventions:

- **Inline links:** Embed links directly in the item text by linking the relevant noun or phrase. Never use a standalone `([link](url))` tag — the link should flow naturally with the sentence. For example: `- [ ] Update my [Providing Context doc](https://...) based on the comments` not `- [ ] Update my Providing Context doc ([link](https://...)) based on comments`.
- **Slack threads:** If a task has an associated Slack thread, append `([thread](url))` at the end of the item. For example: `- [ ] Draft the vibe code policy ([thread](https://example.slack.com/archives/...))`.

If you notice existing items that don't follow these conventions, proactively suggest corrections.

## Sections

The daily note is filled in from `Templates/Periodic/Daily Note.md`. Each note has the following top-level sections, in order:

- **Tasks:** Checklist of things to do today, broken into:
  - **Personal:** Personal tasks for the day.
  - **Work** (weekdays only)**:** Work tasks for the day.
  - **Chores** (Sundays only)**:** Recurring weekly chores.
  - **Quarterly** (first Sunday of the quarter)**:** Recurring quarterly chores.
- **Morning:** Morning journaling, broken into:
  - **Gratitude:** Three things the user is grateful for.
  - **Better Day:** Three things that would make today great.
  - **Daily Affirmation:** A short, encouraging affirmation for the day, written as prose.
- **Evening:** Evening reflection, broken into:
  - **Highlights of the Day:** Notable moments from the day.
- **Journal:** Free-form journal prose for the day.
- **Thoughts:** Stray observations and ideas captured during the day.