HanLHo. - Fractional Architect & Software Product Engineer - writing

A skill to support TIL creation

2026-03-02T00:00:00+00:00

Skills are a great way to introduce capabilities in your agent flows. To support my "The Day I Learned" repository</a> and website</a>, I created a skill to extract learnings from coding and LLM sessions.</p>

The skill below is installed in my global agent settings (AGENTS.md</code>), and from each project I can call it to create a TIL in a dedicated project location.</p>

In my til project</a>, I also have a script</a> that collects these across all projects. This is usually where I do some reordering and rewriting, but this skill works well and removes friction when sharing short learning snippets. Instead of creating a markdown file manually in the correct format, this gives me a structured draft that I only need to rework. It is much easier to improve something than to start from a blank canvas.</p>

Full skill definition:</p>

---
</span>name: til-learning-partner
</span>description: Use when successful tool usage should be captured as a concise, utilitarian TIL note or Tilly is mentioned.
</span>---
</span>
</span># TIL Learning Partner
</span>
</span>## Overview
</span>
</span>Capture short, practical "Today I Learned" notes from successful outcomes.
</span>Each note is a standalone markdown file in </span>`docs/tils/`</span> with a slug-only filename.
</span>
</span>## Trigger Conditions
</span>- User asks to capture or write a TIL.
</span>- A command/tool outcome usage is successful and worth preserving.
</span>- User asks to summarize what worked into a reusable note.
</span>
</span>## Workflow
</span>1. Confirm the outcome is successful and concrete.
</span>2. Ask one lightweight prompt: </span>`Capture this as a TIL?`
</span>3. If user declines, do not write a file.
</span>4. If user confirms, extract one focused learning:
</span>   - Issue solved
</span>   - How it was solved
</span>   - Key command(s) learned
</span>   - Practical takeaway
</span>5. Generate a slug from the learning title and save to </span>`docs/tils/<slug>.md`</span>.
</span>6. If </span>`docs/tils/<slug>.md`</span> exists, use deterministic suffixes:
</span>   - </span>`<slug>-2.md`</span>, </span>`<slug>-3.md`</span>, and so on.
</span>
</span>## Output Contract
</span>- Path: </span>`docs/tils/<slug>.md`
</span>- Slug rules:
</span>  - Lowercase
</span>  - ASCII-safe
</span>  - Hyphen-separated words
</span>  - No date in filename or slug
</span>
</span>## TIL Template
</span>~~~~</span>markdown
</span># TIL: <specific issue solved>
</span>
</span>## Issue
</span><one concise problem statement>
</span>
</span>## Solution
</span><what worked and why>
</span>
</span>## Key commands
</span>\```bash
</span><command 1>
</span><command 2>
</span>\```
</span>
</span>## Takeaway
</span><how to apply this next time>
</span>
</span>_Created: YYYY-MM-DD_
</span>~~~~
</span>
</span>## Guardrails
</span>- Keep notes utilitarian, direct, and brief.
</span>- Cover one specific learning per file.
</span>- Avoid exploratory or uncertain phrasing.
</span>- Avoid blog-style storytelling and long introductions.
</span>- Do not invent commands or outcomes that were not observed.
</span></code></pre>



TIL rules to remember
2025-12-16T00:00:00+00:00
I have been writing "Today I Learned" posts (TILs</a>) for a few weeks now and I started writing them as a complement to long form blogging. But I found myself spending 45-60 minutes, sometimes longer, per TIL instead of 15-25. This defeated the purpose of quickly recording and internalizing learnings.</p>
So I went back to the source</a> and came up with these reminders to myself:</p>

Keep them short and focused.</strong> Target less than 250 words.</li>
Spend less than 25 minutes on writing.</strong> Ideally 15.

Write only about what is clearly figured out.</strong> Too much research while writing endangers the constraints.</li>
</ul>
</li>
Remember: a TIL is not</em> blogging.</strong></li>
Experiment with including more high-level technical learnings as well.</strong> So far most TILs have been tooling and LLM tips.
Also include architecture, design, testing, process.</li>
</ul>
TILs should be quick captures, not polished essays. The value is in consistency and volume, not perfection.</em></p>


Boost Your Thinking and Writing with Mini-Essays
2024-03-13T00:00:00+00:00
To become a better writer consistently writing is essential. Mini-essays provide a practical approach.</p>
Mini-essays are short pieces of writing that focus on a single idea or topic.</em></p>
Key properties of Mini-Essays</h2>


Length</strong>: Mini-essays are short, usually 100 to 300 words to avoid digression.</p>
</li>

Focus</strong>: Each mini-essay is restricted to a single concept or idea.</p>
</li>
</ol>
Benefits of Mini-Essays</h2>
Mini-essays can help you become a a skilled writer and better reader and deepen your understanding of topics.</p>
Mini-essays ...</p>


Identify gaps</strong> in your understanding, as writing demands precision.</p>
</li>

Build momentum</strong>: Mini-essays help to overcome the common hurdle of not knowing what to write about and procrastination.</p>
</li>

Build volume</strong>: Mini-essays serve as a tool for achieving writing volume through consistent, sustained effort.</p>
</li>

Build an Idea Bank</strong>: Mini-essays accumulate ideas, useful for future writing. (Especially with apps like Obsidian that support linking of notes.)</p>
</li>

Add novelty</strong>: Mini-essays allow exploring various topics in a short span of time.</p>
</li>
</ol>
How to write a Mini-Essay</h2>
Use the Feynman-method:</p>


Choose a topic to learn or explain</p>
</li>

Write as if teaching someone</p>
</li>

Identify and fill knowledge gaps and refer to the source material</p>
</li>

Re-write and streamline for clarity and brevity</p>
</li>
</ol>
Thank you for reading.</p>
PS: Inspired by Mini Essays: The Ultimate Learning Tool</a></p>

HanLHo. - Fractional Architect & Software Product Engineer - writing

A skill to support TIL creation

TIL rules to remember

Boost Your Thinking and Writing with Mini-Essays

Key properties of Mini-Essays</h2> Length</strong>: Mini-essays are short, usually 100 to 300 words to avoid digression.</p> </li>