Scratchpad

Working memory for thinking out loud.

The simplest skill. Just a place to write.

[!TIP] The PLAY surface. Not everything needs structure. Sometimes just write.

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What This Is

A file where you can:

• Think through problems
• Draft before committing
• Store intermediate results
• Keep notes that don't belong elsewhere

No structure required. Just write.

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When to Use

• Exploring an idea before formalizing
• Working through a multi-step calculation
• Drafting text before placing it
• Temporary storage during complex tasks

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Structure

scratchpad/
├── SCRATCHPAD.md    # Main scratch area
└── archive/         # Old scratches (optional)

That's it. Minimal by design.

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Philosophy

"The simplest tool is often the most useful."

Not everything needs structure. Sometimes you just need a place to write freely.

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Contents

File	Purpose
SKILL.md	Protocol documentation
scratch.md.tmpl	Scratchpad template

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The Intertwingularity

Scratchpad is the PLAY stage — think freely before structuring.

graph LR
    SP[📝 scratchpad] -->|PLAY stage| PLL[🎮📚🚀 play-learn-lift]
    SP -->|structures into| PL[🗂️ planning]
    SP -->|structures into| RN[📓 research-notebook]
    
    PLL -->|freeform in| SP

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Dovetails With

Sister Skills

Skill	Relationship
play-learn-lift/	Scratchpad IS the PLAY surface
planning/	When you need structure
research-notebook/	For organized investigation
session-log/	Scratchpad is NOT logged (ephemeral)

Protocol Symbols

Symbol	Link
PLAY-LEARN-LIFT	PROTOCOLS.yml
IMPROVISE	PROTOCOLS.yml — Write before structuring

Navigation

Direction	Destination
⬆️ Up	skills/
⬆️⬆️ Root	Project Root
🗂️ Sister	planning/
📓 Sister	research-notebook/