On “notes are all actions”: I think we’re using the word “action” differently. I don’t mean “notes should become todos”. I mean “notes should resolve into an explicit state”: either it becomes a commitment (calendar/todo), or it becomes reference with a clear home, or it gets discarded on purpose. Your system already does that digestion, which is why it works.

On your last question: the “smallest xyz that abc” phrasing isn’t a special framework or guru thing. It’s just a way to force a constraint so the answer becomes practical instead of aspirational. Did I use it here?