gh-nathanvale-side-quest-marketplace-plugins-para-brain/skills/second-brain/reference/templater-templates.md

Templater-Compatible PARA Templates

All para-brain templates use Templater syntax for dynamic content generation in Obsidian.

Prerequisites

1. Install Templater plugin in Obsidian
2. Configure template folder path: Settings → Templater → Template folder location → 06_Metadata/Templates
3. Enable templates on file creation: Settings → Templater → Trigger Templater on new file creation

Template Syntax Reference

Date Functions

<% tp.date.now("YYYY-MM-DD") %>           # Current date: 2025-11-26
<% tp.date.now("dddd, MMMM D, YYYY") %>   # Long format: Tuesday, November 26, 2025
<% tp.date.now("YYYY-MM-DD", -1) %>       # Yesterday
<% tp.date.now("YYYY-MM-DD", 1) %>        # Tomorrow
<% tp.date.now("YYYY-[W]ww") %>           # Week number: 2025-W48

User Input Prompts

<% tp.system.prompt("Title") %>                    # Simple prompt
<% tp.system.prompt("Priority (low/medium/high)", "medium") %>  # With default
<% tp.system.prompt("Source URL (optional)", "") %>             # Optional field

Available Templates

Core PARA Templates

1. Project Template (project.md)

Purpose: Time-bound goals with end dates

Prompts:

• Project title
• Target completion date (YYYY-MM-DD)
• Area (parent area this project belongs to)

Use for:

• Client work with deadlines
• Personal projects (e.g., "Learn TypeScript", "Plan vacation")
• Any goal that can be "finished"

Example: Create "Build portfolio site" with target date 2025-12-15

---

2. Area Template (area.md)

Purpose: Ongoing responsibilities without end dates

Prompts:

• Area title

Use for:

• Career/professional development
• Health & fitness
• Parenting (e.g., "Levi & Parenting")
• Household maintenance
• Relationships

Example: Create "Health & Fitness" area to track ongoing wellness

---

3. Resource Template (resource.md)

Purpose: Reference material and learnings

Prompts:

• Resource title
• Source type (book/article/video/course/podcast/etc.)
• Source URL (optional)
• Author (optional)
• Primary area (required - links resource to an area)
• Main topic (for tagging)

Frontmatter:

areas:
  - "[[Primary Area]]"    # Required - at least one area
  - "[[Secondary Area]]"  # Optional - add more as needed
reviewed: 2025-11-26      # For review tracking

Features:

• Area linkage - Resources link to one or more areas (required)
• Progressive summarization layers (4 levels)
• Connection mapping to other notes
• Action items extraction
• Review date tracking

Use for:

• Book notes
• Course materials
• Technical documentation
• Articles worth saving

Querying resources by area:

TABLE source, author
FROM "03_Resources"
WHERE contains(areas, this.file.link)

Example: Create resource from conference talk, link to "Software Development" and "Learning" areas

---

4. Capture Template (capture.md)

Purpose: Zero-friction inbox capture

Prompts:

• Title (what is this?)
• Content (the raw capture)
• Captured from (thought/article/conversation/email/meeting)
• Resonance (inspiring/useful/personal/surprising)
• Urgency (high/medium/low)

Timestamps: Includes HH:mm for precise capture time

Use for:

• Quick thoughts
• Voice memo transcriptions
• Email excerpts
• Meeting notes to process later

Example: Capture idea from conversation, tag as "inspiring", process within 48h

---

Workflow Templates

5. Daily Note Template (daily.md)

Purpose: Daily planning and reflection

Auto-fills:

• Today's date in title and frontmatter
• Day of week header (e.g., "Tuesday, November 26, 2025")
• Links to yesterday and tomorrow's notes

Sections:

• Morning: Focus, priorities, energy/mood
• Daily Log: Captures, meetings, progress, blockers
• Evening: Wins, improvements, gratitude, tomorrow's setup
• Links: Related notes, active projects, areas maintained

Use for:

• Morning intention setting
• Throughout-day capture
• Evening reflection
• Weekly review reference

Example: Auto-created each morning when opening Obsidian

---

6. Weekly Review Template (weekly-review.md)

Purpose: GTD-style weekly planning ritual

Auto-fills:

• Week number (e.g., "2025-W48")
• Week date range
• Next review date (+7 days)

Phases:

1. Clear the Mind - Brain dump, inbox status
2. Review Calendar - Past and upcoming week
3. Review Projects - Active project status, stale projects
4. Review Areas - Check-in on ongoing responsibilities
5. Review Goals - Wins, challenges, lessons
6. Express - Ideas ready to create, patterns noticed
7. Plan Next Week - Top 3 priorities, focus projects

Includes: Dataview query for active projects

Use for:

• End of week reflection
• Planning next week's priorities
• Identifying stale projects
• Capturing emerging patterns

Example: Run every Friday afternoon to close the week

---

Task Management Templates

7. Task Template (task.md)

Purpose: Granular task tracking with dependencies

Prompts:

• Task title
• Task type (task/reminder/habit/chore)
• Due date (YYYY-MM-DD)
• Priority (low/medium/high/urgent) - defaults to "medium"
• Effort (small/medium/large) - defaults to "medium"
• Project (optional)
• Area (optional)

Fields:

• Status: not-started, in-progress, blocked, done, cancelled
• Dependencies: Depends on, blocks, dependency type
• Success criteria checklist

Special sections by type:

• Tasks: Effort estimate, next action
• Reminders: Alert time, recurrence
• Habits: Frequency, streak, best time
• Chores: Seasonal, approximate duration

Use for:

• Project breakdown (large → small tasks)
• Recurring habits (gym 3x/week)
• Seasonal chores (clean gutters)
• Time-sensitive reminders

Example: Create "Review PR #123" task, medium priority, blocks "Deploy v2.0"

---

Travel/Event Templates

8. Booking Template (booking.md)

Purpose: Track reservations and confirmations

Prompts:

• Booking title
• Booking type (accommodation/flight/activity/transport/dining)
• Project (parent trip/event)
• Booking date (YYYY-MM-DD)

Fields:

• Booking reference number
• Provider details
• Cost and payment status
• Cancellation deadline
• Contact information (phone, email, website)

Use for:

• Travel accommodations
• Restaurant reservations
• Activity bookings
• Transport tickets

Example: Create booking for "Cradle Mountain Lodge" with confirmation number

---

9. Checklist Template (checklist.md)

Purpose: Reusable checklists for recurring workflows

Prompts:

• Checklist title
• Checklist type (packing/groceries/snacks/tasks)
• Project (parent project)

Features:

• Multiple categorized sections
• Timeline with milestone dates (2 weeks before, 1 week before, day before, day of)
• Dependency tracking

Use for:

• Packing lists for trips
• Grocery shopping lists
• Pre-departure checklists
• Event preparation

Example: Create "Hiking Gear Checklist" for Tasmania trip

---

10. Itinerary Day Template (itinerary-day.md)

Purpose: Detailed daily travel plans

Prompts:

• Day title (e.g., "Day 1 - Cradle Mountain")
• Project (parent trip)
• Trip date (YYYY-MM-DD)
• Day number (1, 2, 3...)

Sections:

• Overview: Location, accommodation, energy level
• Time blocks: Morning, afternoon, evening
• Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner with booking status
• Transport: Driving times, logistics
• What to bring: Day-specific items
• Bookings: Links to relevant booking notes
• Navigation: Previous day | Project | Next day

Use for:

• Multi-day trips
• Conference schedules
• Event itineraries

Example: Create "Day 3 - Strahan" with Gordon River Cruise booking linked

---

11. Trip Research Template (trip-research.md)

Purpose: Research notes for travel planning

Prompts:

• Research title (e.g., "Hiking Boots Research")
• Research type (activities/dining/hike/gear/transport)
• Project (parent trip)

Sections:

• Options comparison (multiple options with cost, pros/cons)
• Practical information (timing, getting there, what to bring)
• Sources (where info came from)
• Decision (what was chosen, link to booking)

Use for:

• Activity research
• Restaurant options
• Gear comparisons
• Route planning

Example: Research "Best hikes in Cradle Mountain" with difficulty ratings

---

Template Usage Patterns

New Project Workflow

1. Create project note from project.md
   • Set title and target date
   • Link to parent area
2. Break down into tasks using task.md
   • Set dependencies
   • Estimate effort
3. Create weekly review entry to track progress
4. Archive to 04_Archive/YYYY/ when complete

Travel Planning Workflow

1. Create project note for trip
2. Research activities/dining using trip-research.md
3. Book reservations, create booking.md for each
4. Create day-by-day itinerary with itinerary-day.md
5. Build checklists (packing, groceries) with checklist.md
6. Link everything back to project note

Daily Capture & Processing

1. Morning: Open daily.md auto-created note
   • Set top 3 priorities
   • Check #urgent items
2. Throughout day: Quick captures to 00_Inbox/
   • Use capture.md if structured
   • Or just create plain note for processing later
3. Evening: Reflect in daily note
   • What went well?
   • Link to projects touched
4. Weekly: Process inbox using PARA decision tree

Best Practices

Templater Tips

1. Set default folder: Configure Templater to auto-create daily notes in 00_Inbox/
2. Hotkeys: Assign keyboard shortcuts for frequent templates (e.g., ⌘+D for daily note)
3. Template testing: Test changes in a separate note before updating main templates

Frontmatter Consistency

All templates include standard frontmatter:

• title: Note title
• created: Creation date (YYYY-MM-DD)
• type: Template type (project/area/resource/etc.)
• tags: Array of relevant tags

Linking Strategy

• Projects → Link to parent Area (single area: field)
• Tasks → Link to parent Project and/or Area (single area: field)
• Resources → Link to related Areas (required areas: array - can have multiple)
• Daily notes → Link to Projects touched and Areas maintained

Dataview Queries

Several templates include embedded Dataview queries:

• Area template: Shows all projects in this area
• Weekly review: Lists active projects sorted by due date

Requires Dataview plugin to be installed.

Customization

Adding New Templates

1. Create new .md file in 06_Metadata/Templates/
2. Use Templater syntax for dynamic content
3. Include standard frontmatter
4. Add reference to this document

Modifying Existing Templates

1. Edit template file directly
2. Test with new note creation
3. Existing notes remain unchanged (templates are blueprints)
4. Update this reference document if changing prompts

Template Snippets

Common patterns for custom templates:

# File creation date
created: <% tp.date.now("YYYY-MM-DD") %>

# Title with prompt
title: "<% tp.system.prompt("Title") %>"

# Optional field with default
priority: <% tp.system.prompt("Priority", "medium") %>

# Calculated date (7 days from now)
due_date: <% tp.date.now("YYYY-MM-DD", 7) %>

# Current file title
# <% tp.file.title %>

# Link to another note
related: [[<% tp.system.prompt("Related note") %>]]

Troubleshooting

Template not working

1. Check Templater plugin is installed and enabled
2. Verify template folder path in settings
3. Ensure template file has .md extension
4. Look for syntax errors in template code

Prompts not appearing

1. Check Templater is set to run on new file creation
2. Verify you're creating from template (not just new note)
3. Try manual template insertion: Cmd+P → "Templater: Open Insert Template modal"

Dates showing as code

1. Templater syntax should be <% %> not {{ }}
2. Check date format string matches moment.js patterns
3. Ensure no typos in function names (tp.date.now not tp.date.new)

Further Reading

• Templater Documentation
• PARA Method
• CODE Method
• Obsidian Best Practices