Thoughts

6 thoughts of type "observation" about "project management" in the last 90 days
4/1/2026

[Notion Sync] Project: "Devin Kelsey - Snake and Samurai Sleeve with Hikae" — Status: Ongoing. Definition: Snake and Samurai sleeve with hikae. Client: Devin Kelsey. Created: 2026-03-11T21:23:00.000Z. Source: Notion Projects database.

People: Devin Kelsey

Claude.ai memory export: Active Project — Claude Code cross-device workflow Configured between laptop and always-on Mac mini, using iCloud-synced project folders, Cowork/dispatch, and HANDOFF.md files for session continuity.

Open Brain Session 9 retro: Massive build session. Went from 4 MCP tools to 16 in one session. Built all three extensions (Client Context, Content Pipeline, Business Operations) plus cross-extension intelligence (full_context tool + digest v2). Built and deployed Next.js dashboard to Railway (6 pages, dark theme, password auth). Key learnings: (1) Next.js Supabase client must use lazy init, not module-scope, or Railway builds fail without env vars. (2) Railway CLI is more reliable than Railway MCP for project creation. (3) sed find-replace misses multiline method chains, always check end-of-line patterns separately. (4) Supabase free tier Realtime quota spike was from Dashboard Table Editor tabs, not application code. (5) brain-digest extension context is wrapped in try/catch so empty extension tables never block delivery. Session touched 4 migrations, 12 new tools, 1 full web app, 1 digest upgrade.

The relationship between Dave's Second Brain and Open Brain: Second Brain is the structured project manager (Slack to Notion, handles tasks/projects/clients/payments). Open Brain is the semantic memory layer underneath it (Supabase pgvector, fuzzy long-term memory). Dave built Open Brain because he was self-censoring his Slack captures, not wanting to clutter Notion with half-baked ideas and fleeting observations. Open Brain catches everything Second Brain doesn't, and any AI agent can search and write to it across platforms and sessions.

People: Dave

As of March 2026, Dave Tedder uses Notion Business for project management, CRM, and knowledge base. His workspace follows a PARA-influenced structure with Eisenhower matrix prioritization. Key page: TATTOO HQ. Known issue: the workspace contains several generations of the same database schema from iterative builds, so always confirm which database set is active before making changes.

People: Dave Tedder

Dave Tedder uses an ROI-first decision framework for every project and tool decision: (1) Will it make money? (2) Will it save time? (3) What's the implementation cost? (4) What's the payoff timeline? He expects concrete estimates, not vague language. His priority triage: "Do now" if it makes money this week or saves 1+ hours immediately, "Schedule" if clear ROI but needs setup, "Delegate/automate" if repetitive or low-skill, "Kill it" if no clear ROI or maintenance exceeds benefit.

People: Dave Tedder