Lesson 02

The Brain Loop

Every problem you solve should make the next one faster. The brain folder is how.

You solved a hard problem last month. Today you hit something similar. But you can't remember exactly what you did, or why it worked. So you solve it from scratch. Again. The brain loop breaks that cycle.

What you're building today

A capture-and-recall workflow inside your strategy folder. By the end, you'll know how to drop raw thinking into your inbox, ask Claude to distill it into reusable knowledge, and reference it before solving new problems. The system gets smarter every time you use it.

Step 1: Understand the folders

Your strategy folder already has the structure from Lesson 01. Here's what each part does:

~/strategy/brain/
├── 00-inbox/        ← dump raw ideas, voice memos, rough notes
├── 10-knowledge/    ← distilled principles and patterns
│   ├── principles/  ← timeless truths ("leverage multiplies judgment")
│   ├── patterns/    ← recurring solutions ("always check the obvious first")
│   └── playbooks/   ← step-by-step procedures
└── 20-library/      ← reusable artifacts, templates, checklists

The inbox is messy on purpose. Knowledge is what survives the filter. The library is what you reuse.

Step 2: Capture something

Open Claude in your strategy folder and paste:

I just realized something about [topic]. Write it to brain/00-inbox/[slug].md
as a raw capture. Keep my exact words. Don't polish it.

That's /capture. One command, one file. The idea is on disk. It's not going to evaporate.

Step 3: Distill your inbox

After a few captures pile up, paste this:

Review everything in brain/00-inbox/. For each item, decide:
- Is this a principle (timeless truth)? → move to brain/10-knowledge/principles/
- Is this a pattern (recurring solution)? → move to brain/10-knowledge/patterns/
- Is this a reusable artifact? → move to brain/20-library/
- Is this noise? → delete it

Process each item. Show me what you're doing.

That's /distill. Claude reads across your captures, finds the signal, and organizes it. You approve each move.

Step 4: Reference before building

The key question before every piece of work: "Have I already solved something like this?"

Next time you start a project or hit a problem, paste this:

Before we start, check brain/10-knowledge/ for relevant:
- Principles that apply
- Patterns that match
- Playbooks to follow

That's /leverage. Claude searches your knowledge base before reinventing. If you captured a debugging pattern last month, it applies that pattern today. If not, you solve it fresh and capture it for next time.

Step 5: Weekly review

Once a week, paste this:

Review brain/00-inbox/ — process anything unprocessed.
Check brain/10-knowledge/ — anything outdated or redundant?
What patterns am I seeing across this week's captures?

That's /review. Five minutes. Keeps the system clean, surfaces themes you didn't notice, and prevents the inbox from becoming a junk drawer.

The loop

Capture raw thinking. Put it in the inbox.
Distill into principles, patterns, and playbooks. Move it to knowledge.
Reference before solving new problems. Use what you know.
Review weekly. Keep signal-to-noise high.
Repeat. Every cycle makes the system smarter.

This is where a folder becomes a second brain. Not because the folder is smart, but because Claude reads across everything in it and connects dots you missed. The more you capture, the more Claude has to work with. That's compounding.

Homework

This week, capture three things: one idea, one problem you solved, one decision you made. At the end of the week, run the distill prompt. See what survives the filter. That's your first real knowledge.