Personal Harness

Background

I was spending too much time context-switching between tools — notes in one app, tasks in another, bookmarks scattered everywhere. Information overload was real, and I kept losing track of what mattered.

I wanted a single, lightweight system that could capture thoughts, organize tasks, and surface relevant context when I needed it — without the overhead of maintaining yet another complex tool.

My Role

I designed and built the entire system from scratch. This included defining the Markdown-based format, writing the CLI tools for parsing and organizing, and iterating on the workflow based on daily usage.

Solution

Personal Harness uses plain Markdown files as the single source of truth. A set of scripts parses these files to generate task lists, project overviews, and contextual digests. The system is designed to work with any text editor and integrates with AI assistants for summarization and prioritization.

Key design decisions:

• Plain text first: No proprietary formats. Everything is readable and editable in any tool.
• Daily capture, weekly review: A structured rhythm for input and reflection.
• AI as an assistant, not a decision-maker: The system uses AI to summarize and suggest, but the user always has final control.

Reflection

Building this taught me that the best productivity system is the one you actually use. By keeping the format simple and the friction low, I’ve maintained this workflow for months — longer than any previous system.

The biggest surprise was how much clarity comes from forcing yourself to write things down in plain language. No tags, no categories, no complex metadata. Just clear text.