# Archive

Completed projects, old notes, and inactive items.

## Purpose

The archive keeps your workspace clean while preserving history.

Move items here when they're:
- **Completed** (projects that are done)
- **Inactive** (areas you're no longer maintaining)
- **Outdated** (resources that are no longer relevant)
- **Old** (daily notes from previous years)

## What to Archive

### Completed Projects
When a project is finished:
1. Add completion date and retrospective
2. Move from `projects/` to `archive/projects/`
3. Celebrate the completion!

### Inactive Areas
When an area is no longer relevant:
1. Note why it's being archived
2. Move from `areas/` to `archive/areas/`
3. Extract any learnings to keep

### Old Daily Notes
To keep `daily/` manageable:
1. At year-end, move previous year to archive
2. Or keep 6-12 months in daily, rest in archive
3. Choose what works for you

### Outdated Resources
When a resource is no longer useful:
1. Consider if it should be updated instead
2. If truly outdated, move to `archive/resources/`
3. Delete if truly not worth keeping

## Organization

### Suggested Structure
```
archive/
├── projects/
│   ├── 2025/
│   │   ├── q1-planning.md
│   │   └── product-launch.md
│   └── 2024/
│       └── ...
├── areas/
│   └── inactive-hobby.md
├── daily/
│   ├── 2024/
│   │   ├── 01/
│   │   ├── 02/
│   │   └── ...
│   └── 2023/
│       └── ...
└── resources/
    └── outdated-guide.md
```

### By Date
Organize archived projects by:
- Year completed
- Quarter completed
- Month completed

Choose what makes sense for your volume.

## When to Archive

### Projects
✅ Archive when:
- Project is complete
- Project is cancelled
- Project is indefinitely on hold

❌ Don't archive if:
- Project is just temporarily paused
- You might resume in next 3 months

### Areas
✅ Archive when:
- Area is no longer part of your life
- You've been inactive for 6+ months
- Priorities have permanently shifted

❌ Don't archive if:
- Just temporarily neglected
- Still important but not urgent

### Daily Notes
✅ Archive when:
- More than 6-12 months old
- `daily/` folder feels cluttered
- Want to focus on recent notes

❌ Keep in daily if:
- You frequently reference them
- Less than 6 months old

## Archive Workflow

### For Completed Projects
1. Open the project note
2. Add completion date
3. Fill in retrospective (what worked, what didn't)
4. Extract key learnings to relevant areas
5. Move to `archive/projects/YYYY/`
6. Celebrate! 🎉

### For Old Daily Notes
**End of Year:**
1. Create `archive/daily/YYYY/` folder
2. Move previous year's notes
3. Keep current year in `daily/`

**Or Continuous:**
1. When note is 6+ months old
2. Move to `archive/daily/YYYY/MM/`
3. Keep workspace focused on recent

### For Inactive Areas
1. Add final update with status
2. Note why you're archiving
3. Extract any lasting insights
4. Move to `archive/areas/`
5. Link from related notes if needed

## Searching Archives

### How to Find Archived Items
- Use your editor's search (Obsidian, VS Code, etc.)
- Search across all folders including archive
- Use tags if you've been tagging notes
- Check archive when looking for past projects

### Keep Archives Searchable
- Don't compress or export to other formats
- Keep as markdown for easy searching
- Maintain folder structure
- Use clear, descriptive names

## Maintenance

### Annual Review
Once per year:
- Review archived projects
- Delete anything truly not worth keeping
- Organize any messy archive folders
- Reflect on patterns across completed projects

### Don't Over-Archive
- Archive is not a dump - it's organized history
- Delete things that truly don't matter
- Be selective about what to preserve
- Focus on learnings, not every detail

## Tips

### Archive with Pride
- Completed projects = accomplishments
- Archive is your track record
- Review occasionally for motivation
- See how far you've come

### Learn from Archives
Review old projects to:
- See patterns in what works
- Identify recurring obstacles
- Celebrate growth and progress
- Apply learnings to current work

### Keep Working Space Clean
- Archive regularly (monthly or quarterly)
- Don't let completed items clutter active space
- Move things promptly when done
- Working folders = current focus only

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**Remember:** Archive is not failure - it's progress. Everything in archive represents something you did, completed, or moved past. That's worth preserving!

