Track a topic in a running note
Have alfred_ pull updates on a topic, emails, meetings, contacts, and keep appending them to a single living note.
The prompt
Summarize any [TOPIC] activity from the last [TIME] and append to my [NOTE NAME] note.
Notes are alfred_’s long-term memory for content. This prompt is about keeping one alive, pull what’s new on a topic, summarize it, append it. Repeat as the project moves.
What alfred_ does
- Identifies the source, emails matching a topic, calendar events, meetings, contacts
- Summarizes new activity in your voice and chosen format
- Appends to the named note (creates the note if it doesn’t exist)
- Tells you what was added
The pattern in practice
You set up a note for a topic:
“Make a note called ‘2026 PMF’ tracking all 10 companies in our pilot, names, founders, current status, last interaction.”
Then you keep updating it as life happens:
“Last 10 days, summarize any activities that mentioned those 10 companies and append to my 2026 PMF note”
“Append today’s call with Cecil Park to the 2026 PMF note”
“Add anything from email this week about Raven Materials to the 2026 PMF note”
Over time the note becomes a complete, current digest of the project.
Make it recurring
For ongoing tracking, schedule it. See Run a recurring summary.
“Every day at 9am, summarize any activities that relate to those 10 PMF companies and append to my 2026 PMF note”
Source-pulling patterns
From email:
- “Anything from emails this week about [topic]”
- “Threads with [person] this month”
From calendar:
- “All my meetings about [topic] this week”
- “Today’s calls”
From specific people:
- “Anything from Cecil Park in the last 30 days”
From a single thread:
- “Summarize this thread and append to the Acme deal note”
Listing and editing notes
- “Show me the 2026 PMF note”
- “What’s in my Acme deal note?”
- “Rename ‘2026 PMF update’ to ‘2026 PMF’” (real user, works exactly as said)
- “Clear the 2026 PMF note and start fresh”
Notes vs. memory vs. tasks
- Notes: long-form content you’ll come back to (this entry)
- Memory: atomic facts alfred_ should know going forward, see Teach alfred_
- Tasks: things to do, see Add a task
Related
Variations
- Last 10 days, summarize any activities that mentioned those 10 companies and append to my 2026 PMF note
- Append a summary of this thread to the Acme deal note
- Update my Q3 strategy note with anything from email this week
- Add today's meeting summary to my Wilhelm note
Best for
Long-running deals, multi-month projects, fundraises, deal pipelines, anywhere you want a single source of truth that updates without you copy-pasting.