Homework for Life

Obsidian plugin for low-friction daily story-capture, inspired by Matthew Dicks' Homework for Life method: every day, write down the moment(s) that made the day what it was. The plugin appends them to a single monthly markdown file — no dashboards, no streaks, no analytics. The method works because of the writing and the later re-reading; the plugin just removes friction from the writing.

Features

• One ribbon click / command / URI → modal → done. Multi-line textarea, one moment per line.
• Multiple captures per day are merged into the same day's row/heading; multiple moments at once are split by line.
• Two output formats, switchable per vault:
  • Table (closest to Dicks' original spreadsheet) — | [[2026-04-28]] | moment a<br>moment b |
  • Headings + bullets — ## [[2026-04-28]] followed by - moment a etc.
• Date is always a [[YYYY-MM-DD]] wikilink, so it auto-resolves to the matching daily note if you use one.
• Format-aware: existing files keep their format even if you change the global setting; only new files use the current setting.
• Mobile-friendly via the URI scheme obsidian://hfl-capture — pair with iOS Shortcuts or Android Tasker for a daily reminder that drops you straight into the modal.

Install

This plugin is currently in submission review for the official Obsidian Community Plugin Store. Until then:

1. Download manifest.json, main.js, and styles.css from the latest release
2. Copy them into <vault>/.obsidian/plugins/homework-for-life/
3. Enable in Obsidian → Settings → Community plugins

Build from source

npm install
npm run build

Outputs dist/main.js, dist/manifest.json, dist/styles.css.

The install:prod script writes directly to a hard-coded vault path — for personal dev use only; edit package.json first.

Settings

Setting	Default	What it does
Folder	HfL	Where the monthly files are stored
Filename pattern	YYYY-MM	Tokens: YYYY, MM, Q (quarter). Use YYYY-Q for quarterly files.
Append position	top	Whether new days appear at the top or bottom of the file
Output format	table	table or headings for new files
Multi-moment style	br	Table-only: <br> separator, or <br>• with bullet markers

Reminder setup (recommended)

Plugins can't push reliable mobile notifications. Use OS-native reminders:

• iOS: Shortcuts app → Automation → Time of Day → Open URL obsidian://hfl-capture
• Android: Tasker / Automate → daily intent on the same URI
• Desktop: cron / systemd / Windows Task Scheduler → open URI

Tap the notification → modal opens → one sentence → done.

Out of scope

• Pattern recognition / clustering / theme detection — that belongs in a separate reflection tool, not the capture layer
• Streaks, gamification, statistics — counter to Dicks' philosophy
• Daily-note frontmatter integration — keeps the data fragmented and creates overhead when the plugin isn't actively used

License

MIT