MG & Kolbs

What it is

MG & Kolbs is a learning-system template built around Kolb’s reflective cycles, skill-level tracking, goal anchoring, and task management with deliberate break timing. You run short reflective cycles, track the skills each one develops, and tie the work back to goals. It is adapted to Obsidian from Pan’s Notion original (@pan.ps) — all credit for the underlying method goes to Pan. There is a live demo on this site.

Vault home (canonical): mg-kolbs/ (lowercase). The temporary dual root MG & Kolbs/ was archived 2026-07-09 → _archive/MG-Kolbs-template-2026-06-01/.

How it’s built

Each database in the original — Tasks, Kolbs, Skills, Goals, Goal-tracking — is an Obsidian Base (.base), one markdown note per row, related by wikilinks. Running in Obsidian adds graph view and backlinks for navigating how skills, cycles, and goals connect. It is deliberately two-tier: Tier 1 runs fully without any AI (plugins plus small scripts), and Tier 2 optionally layers AI suggestions onto the same triggers.

What worked

Porting a Notion system onto Obsidian Bases kept the workflow intact while adding what Notion can’t do — local markdown, version control, graph navigation. Designing it to work with zero AI first, then adding AI as an optional layer, keeps it usable for anyone and degrades gracefully when the model is off.

Lessons

• Port the workflow, not the screens. The win was reproducing the system — cycles, skills, goals, break timing — on Obsidian’s primitives, then using graph and backlinks the original couldn’t offer.
• AI as a layer, not a dependency. Building Tier 1 to stand alone keeps the template honest: the method works without a model, and AI only sweetens it.

Status

Parked as daily workflow (2026-07-09) — system kept at root in mg-kolbs/ because the method is still useful; not the active driver vs Tsumugu. Showcase page still public on illustrative data. Reopen by using Command Center / mg-kolbs/index.md.