Create Area

Create PARA-compliant area notes for ongoing life responsibilities through collaborative dialogue.

Core Philosophy

From Tiago Forte's PARA Method:

•Area = Standard to maintain over time. Continuous, no end date.
•Areas map to roles you play in life (parent, homeowner, professional).
•Areas generate projects - they're the "why" behind your projects.
•Never "done" - you maintain standards, not complete tasks.

Critical Rules

•ALWAYS load existing areas first - Prevent duplicates
•Validate it's truly an area - If it has an end state, it's a project
•Areas have standards, not goals - "Maintain health" vs "Lose 10kg"
•Keep areas broad - 5-10 areas cover most of life
•Areas need routines - What recurring activities maintain this area?

Workflow Overview

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Phase 0: Load Existing Areas (prevent duplicates)
    ↓
Phase 1: Gather Intent
    ├── What responsibility/domain?
    └── Validate it's ongoing (no end date)
    ↓
Phase 2: Define Standards (optional but recommended)
    ├── What standards to maintain?
    └── What routines support this area?
    ↓
Phase 3: Confirm & Create

Phase 0: Load Existing Areas

ALWAYS fetch existing areas first:

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para_list_areas({ response_format: "json" })

Use this to:

•Prevent creating duplicate areas
•Suggest if similar area already exists
•Show user their current life structure

Phase 1: Gather Intent

1.1 Understand the Responsibility

If not provided in initial message, ask:

code

I'll help you create a new area. Areas are ongoing responsibilities - the
"departments" of your life that need continuous attention.

**What life responsibility or domain is this?**

Examples:
- 🏡 Home - Household maintenance and improvements
- 🏃 Health - Physical and mental wellness
- 💼 Career - Professional growth and work
- 👨‍👩‍👧 Family - Family relationships and care
- 💰 Finance - Money management and planning

1.2 Validate It's an Area (Not a Project)

Key test: Does it have an end state?

User Says	Type	Action
"Manage my health"	Area ✅	Continue
"Lose 10kg"	Project ❌	Suggest project instead
"Home maintenance"	Area ✅	Continue
"Renovate kitchen"	Project ❌	Suggest project instead
"Learn Spanish"	Ambiguous	Ask: ongoing skill or specific goal?

If user describes something with an end state:

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That sounds more like a **Project** (specific goal with end state) than an
**Area** (ongoing responsibility).

Would you like to:
1. **Create a project instead** - For "Lose 10kg" with a target date
2. **Reframe as an area** - "Health" is the area, weight loss is a project within it
3. **Continue as area** - If you see this as truly ongoing

1.3 Check for Duplicates

If similar area exists:

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I notice you already have [[🏡 Home]] as an area.

Is this new area:
1. **Different enough** to be separate? (tell me how)
2. **Should merge** into the existing area?
3. **A project** within that area instead?

Phase 2: Define Standards (Optional)

This phase helps create meaningful areas, but can be skipped for quick creation.

2.1 Standards to Maintain

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Areas are defined by the standards you want to maintain.

**What standards matter for this area?**

Examples for "Health":
- [ ] Exercise 3x per week
- [ ] Annual checkup completed
- [ ] Sleep 7+ hours most nights

(Type your standards, or "skip" to add later)

2.2 Supporting Routines

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**What routines help maintain this area?**

| Frequency | Example |
|-----------|---------|
| Daily | Morning walk, medication |
| Weekly | Meal prep, gym sessions |
| Monthly | Budget review, date night |

(Type your routines, or "skip" to add later)

Phase 3: Confirm & Create

3.1 Present Proposal

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## Area Proposal

**Title:** 🌱 [Area Name]
**Type:** Ongoing responsibility
**Status:** active

### Standards to Maintain
- [ ] [Standard 1]
- [ ] [Standard 2]
- [ ] [Standard 3]
(or "To be defined" if skipped)

### Routines
- **Daily:** [routine or "—"]
- **Weekly:** [routine or "—"]
- **Monthly:** [routine or "—"]

---

**Ready to create?** (yes / tell me what to change)

3.2 Discover Template Metadata

Before creating, query the area template for its current structure:

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para_template_fields({ template: "area", response_format: "json" })

Extract from response:

•validArgs → which args to pass (e.g., status field name)
•creation_meta.dest → destination folder
•creation_meta.sections → body section headings
•creation_meta.titlePrefix → emoji prefix (auto-applied)

3.3 Create Area Note

Use discovered values from Step 3.2 (creation_meta.dest for dest, creation_meta.sections for section headings, validArgs for field names):

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para_create({
  template: "area",
  title: "[Area name without emoji - template adds prefix]",
  dest: "<discovered-dest>",
  args: {
    "<discovered-status-field>": "active"
  },
  content: {
    "<discovered-description-section>": "[What this area encompasses]",
    "<discovered-standards-section>": "[Checklist from Phase 2.1]",
    "<discovered-routines-section>": "[Routines from Phase 2.2]"
  },
  response_format: "json"
})

3.4 Confirm Creation

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Created: 🌱 [Area Name].md → [discovered-dest]

This area is now ready to:
- Track projects that serve this responsibility
- Hold resources related to this domain
- Guide your weekly reviews

Would you like to:
1. **Create a project** within this area
2. **Add more standards** to maintain
3. **Done** - Area is ready

Error Handling

Error	Recovery
Duplicate area name	Suggest merge or differentiate
Sounds like a project	Offer to create project instead
Too narrow scope	Suggest broader area name
Area creation fails	Show error, preserve user input

Example Interaction

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User: /para-obsidian:create-area

AI: I'll help you create a new area. Let me check your existing areas first.

    Your current areas:
    - 🎹 Movie Love
    - 🏠 Property
    - 🏡 Home
    - 🐶 Pet - Muffin
    - 📝 Note Taking
    - 🔧 Dotfiles
    - 🤖 AI Practice

    What life responsibility or domain do you want to track?

User: I want to manage my career development and professional growth

AI: Great! "Career" is a classic area - ongoing professional responsibility.

    What standards do you want to maintain? Examples:
    - [ ] Stay current with industry trends
    - [ ] Attend 2+ conferences per year
    - [ ] Maintain professional network

    (Type yours, or "skip" to add later)

User: skip for now

AI: No problem. Any routines that support your career?
    - Daily: Learning time?
    - Weekly: Networking?
    - Monthly: Skill review?

    (Type yours, or "skip")

User: Weekly learning - 2 hours on Fridays

AI: ## Area Proposal

    **Title:** 🌱 Career
    **Type:** Ongoing responsibility
    **Status:** active

    ### Standards to Maintain
    - To be defined

    ### Routines
    - **Weekly:** 2 hours learning on Fridays

    ---

    **Ready to create?** (yes / tell me what to change)

User: yes

AI: Created: 🌱 Career.md → 02 Areas

    Would you like to create a project within this area?

Area Examples (Reference)

Common areas that cover most of life:

Area	Covers
🏡 Home	Household, maintenance, improvements
🏃 Health	Physical, mental, medical
💼 Career	Work, professional development
💰 Finance	Budget, investments, taxes
👨‍👩‍👧 Family	Relationships, parenting, care
🎓 Learning	Education, skills, growth
🎨 Hobbies	Creative pursuits, recreation
🤝 Social	Friendships, community, networking

Guideline: Most people need 5-10 areas. More than 15 suggests over-categorization.

Completion Signal

After creating the area, emit a structured completion signal so the brain orchestrator can parse the outcome:

•Success: SKILL_RESULT:{"status":"ok","skill":"create-area","summary":"Created area: [name]"}
•Redirected to project: SKILL_RESULT:{"status":"ok","skill":"create-area","summary":"Redirected to create-project"}
•Cancelled: SKILL_RESULT:{"status":"ok","skill":"create-area","summary":"Cancelled by user"}
•Error: SKILL_RESULT:{"status":"error","skill":"create-area","error":"[error description]"}