- Audience
- Cross-functional teams that need project context, clear responsibilities and reusable knowledge.
- Topics
- Agent collaboration boundaries, project documents, Skills and knowledge structure.
- Format
- Long-form course, workbench demonstration and three practical assignments.
Why a working method matters
AI can accelerate a first output. The harder part of long-term work is making materials, decisions, tasks and reviews understandable to the next participant. Codex is a project collaborator; Obsidian is a readable knowledge entry point. Both support human judgement rather than replace responsibility.
A shared vocabulary
| Term | Meaning | What it is not |
|---|---|---|
| Agent | A collaborator that reads context, performs bounded actions and reports results | Automatic access to every file and permission |
| Context | Goals, materials, constraints, acceptance checks and past decisions | Every file pasted into a conversation |
| Skill | Reusable operating guidance and boundaries | Permission to skip discovery |
| Workbench | A place connecting projects, tasks and knowledge | Another unstructured pile of files |
| Handoff | Status that enables someone else to continue | A one-line claim of completion |
What agents can and cannot own
Agents can organize materials, rewrite existing content, draft code or documents, run repeatable checks and execute scoped tasks. They should read the rules and explain their plan, boundaries and verification.
People remain responsible for whether the work is worthwhile, whether facts are sound, access and publication permissions, privacy and commercial sensitivity, and business fit. Conflicting goals, unclear sources, deletion or external sending require a pause for direction.
Plan—Execute—Review
1. Plan: make the task executable
Specify the goal, known materials, untouchable boundaries, deliverables and acceptance checks. Agree a short plan and the read/write scope. If unclear, start read-only.
Goal: organize existing course notes into an on-site guide.
Materials: confirmed public text only.
Boundary: no personal information or internal assets.
Delivery: structured Markdown and a change summary.
Check: headings, code, tables and narrow-screen readability.2. Execute: keep the work visible
Follow the plan and record important decisions. Where source material conflicts with the request, ask or mark the gap rather than inventing facts. Keep edits small and avoid unrelated refactoring.
3. Review: make it handover-ready
Check the objective, completeness, links, interactions, mobile reading and publication boundaries. State what remains unverified and what comes next.
Four documents for a long-term project
| Document | Purpose | Update point |
|---|---|---|
| README | What it is, how to start and verify | Setup and significant entry changes |
| AGENTS | Scope, commands and safety rules | Rule or collaboration changes |
| Architecture | Content, pages, data and decisions | Structural changes |
| Handoff | Current status, checks and next steps | Each stage or transfer |
Keep each document focused. They help a new collaborator understand the project; they do not replace evidence or store sensitive material.
Turn repeatable work into Skills
A Skill fits recurring tasks with stable inputs, outputs and boundaries. It should explain when to use it, prerequisites, steps, deliverables and stop conditions.
Try new Skills on small reversible tasks first. Design-material organization, project closure and link checks can be repeatable; strategic judgement and high-risk publication remain human decisions.
Obsidian as an entry point back to projects
Organize by information use:
00 Inbox: unassessed input.01 Sources: sources and context.02 Notes: reusable methods and knowledge.03 Topics: maintained themes.04 Outputs: courses, plans, pages and deliverables.
Record sources, dates, evidence status and boundaries. Project pages should reference only the materials needed, preserving separation between public output, client material and personal information.
A daily workbench rhythm
Start with one project: goal, current task, key documents, materials and latest handoff. New input goes into the Inbox; verified work moves into topics or outputs. The point is to make the starting place, current state and next handover clear.
Three assignments
Assignment 1: an agent task card
Choose a low-risk task. In no more than a page, state goal, materials, boundaries, deliverable and acceptance checks. Mark facts that must not be invented and actions requiring approval.
Assignment 2: a project handoff
Create minimal README, AGENTS, architecture and handoff documents. Could an unfamiliar collaborator return a week later and find the entry, boundaries, verified work and next step?
Assignment 3: a knowledge entry point
Connect at least three source-confirmed notes through a topic or project page. Explain their use, evidence status and what cannot enter public deliverables.
Completion check
You should be able to begin with a task card, manage the work through Plan—Execute—Review, hand over with the four documents, and retain readable, traceable knowledge for the next project.