The System Behind Linni
A deep system for getting organized and gaining calm.
Object7 is the structured model that Linni is built on. It is not simply a way to label your tasks. It is a complete information architecture — covering how you capture, classify, connect, plan, and act on everything that matters in your work and life.
The system has depth. It takes time to master. Linni is designed to guide you through it — starting with the basics and revealing more as your practice develops.
The Architecture
Three layers. Seven types.
Object7 organizes everything in three structural layers — Spaces, Sets, and Elements — each with a distinct role. Sets come in three types: Goals, Contexts, and Topics. Elements come in three types: Actions, Events, and Notes. Spaces stand alone at the top as the roles you step into and give your full attention.
The model is simple by design. It takes discipline to use it consistently. That discipline is what makes it powerful.
The Premise
Mutually exclusive. Collectively exhaustive.
That phrase sounds academic. But it solves a very practical problem.
Every item you create in Object7 fits exactly one type. There is no miscellaneous bucket. There is no "maybe it's both a task and a note." There is no wondering where something should go six months from now.
That clarity removes ambiguity. And ambiguity is where most systems begin to break down.
The Mental Model
Think in Venn diagrams.
Not in folders and hierarchies.
The Venn diagram is the right mental model for Object7. Spaces name the role you are currently in — the world you have stepped into. Sets are the circles that gather related Elements. Elements are the dots.
An Element may sit inside one circle, inside multiple circles, or outside all circles. Overlap is not an error — it is intentional. Object7 does not force every item into a single isolated location. It reflects how real life connects across roles, responsibilities, and ideas.
An Action called "Call Dave about budget" might belong to a Goal (Finish Q2 Budget), a Context (Dave), and a Topic (Finance) — all at the same time. That overlap tells both you and the AI why the work matters and where it connects.
Overlap does not create confusion. It creates clarity. Rather than storing information in isolation, Object7 forms a living network where each connection strengthens context and each overlap preserves meaning.
Space: Work
Goal
Finish Q2 Budget
Context
Dave
Topic
Finance
Call Dave about budget
Connected to all three Sets above
The same Action appears in Dave's Context list, the Q2 Budget Goal, and the Finance Topic — without being duplicated.
The Seven Objects
Each object has one purpose.
Learning to use these definitions correctly — and consistently — is the foundation of mastering Object7. The distinctions between types are precise by design.
A role you step into and give your full attention — Work, Home, Coaching a team, a Consulting engagement, a Church role. When you are in a Space, that is the world you are operating in, to the exclusion of everything else.
Spaces are defined by dedicated time and role, not just subject matter. They contain Sets and answer: which role am I in right now?
A desired outcome with a clear definition of completion. Goals require more than one step and sustained effort — but should be concrete and achievable over a reasonable period of time.
Not a vague aspiration. If it has no finish line, it is a Topic. If it can be done in one sitting, it is an Action.
A person, place, or tool that determines where and with whom work becomes relevant. Contexts answer: what can I do right now, here, with what I have?
Contexts describe situation, not time. They do not have deadlines. They can be deferred when a person is unavailable or a tool is offline.
An area of knowledge, interest, or ongoing concern. Topics hold information around a subject. They support learning, reference, and long-term development without requiring a finish line.
Topics are explored, not completed. They do not directly drive daily planning — they are where knowledge accumulates over time.
A task or step you intend to complete. An Action is atomic — completable in one sitting. It can be scheduled on the calendar, connected to Goals and Contexts, and marked done.
The basic unit of work in Object7. Small. Focused. Completable. If it requires multiple steps over time, it is a Goal.
Something that happens at a specific date or time. Events anchor information to time. They appear on the calendar and can be all-day, timed, recurring, or imported from device calendars.
Events occur. Actions are completed. The distinction matters: if the point is attendance or occurrence, it is an Event.
Information captured for reference, memory, or logging. Notes preserve knowledge — ideas, decisions, research, meeting records, observations — for later retrieval and connection.
Shorter Notes are often better. Smaller Notes connect more naturally, retrieve more cleanly, and fit the Object7 structure more precisely.
Capture
The capture habit.
Writing things down is essential to memory and provides context for events and information. That principle — central to decades of productivity thinking, from Covey's habits to GTD — is foundational to Object7.
Notes act as logs. A Note associated with a date becomes a record of what happened — a meeting summary, a decision made, an observation captured. Over time, these accumulate into a meaningful history of your work and thinking.
The System Log provides a chronological view across everything you have captured. Browse by date. Filter by type. Search multiple terms with AND logic. What you captured becomes findable — not just stored.
Note as Log
A Note associated with a date and time becomes a log entry. Record what happened in a meeting, what you decided, or what you observed. The log accumulates into a reliable record of work and decisions over time.
Smaller Notes
Smaller, focused Notes connect more naturally to Sets, retrieve more cleanly, and fit the Object7 structure better than long documents. Breaking information into focused pieces improves both clarity and long-term retrieval.
The System Log
Browse all major records by date. Filter by object type. Search across the entire system. Your history becomes an asset — a record of activity, decisions, and reference material that grows more valuable the longer you use it.
AI and Structure
Because your Notes, Actions, Goals, and Contexts are structured and connected, the AI assistant can reason over your system — not just search it. Structured relationships can be reasoned over; unstructured notes can only be searched.
Planning
Plan your work. Work your plan.
Capturing information is only half the discipline. The other half is deciding what to do with it. Object7 includes a structured planning model built on Goals, schedule, and deliberate next-step decisions.
The Calendar as Home Base
The Calendar is the primary starting point. Scheduled Actions, Events, and Notes appear in day and month views. Day view uses a 15-minute grid with duration bars. Month view shows daily markers for scanning future density.
Today's Actions
The Actions that need your attention today — filtered by the Space you have selected and whether they appear on the Calendar. This is your daily execution list: what is scheduled, what is due, and what you have committed to address in this role.
Next Action
Marking an Action as a next action within a Goal identifies the meaningful next move. A Goal with a scheduled next action is considered planned. Next actions also connect Goals and Contexts when relevant.
Pin and Flag
Pin raises an item or Set to the top of its list. Flag marks something as needing attention. Together with next actions, these lightweight signals express planning judgment without requiring new object types.
Planning Needed vs. Planned
Goals — and in some cases Contexts — surface in Planning Needed when their Actions, Events, or Notes and logs show they require attention. A Goal should move forward every day, at least in some small way. Planned means relevant activity is scheduled or logged for today.
Smaller, Clearer Goals
Object7 encourages short-term, concrete Goals with a clear definition of done. Vague aspirations — 'Get Healthy,' 'Learn Spanish' — belong as Topics. Goals are what you are actively working to finish right now.
The Depth
Structure you learn to use over time.
The core model is simple. The metadata and behavioral fields add depth that rewards consistent, disciplined use. Object7 is not a system you master in a day.
Status
Every item carries a status. Active items stay in normal workflows. Muted items are de-emphasized without being deleted. Filed items are preserved but removed from active focus. Complete means done.
Details
Details are metadata records attached to a Space, Set, or your profile. A Goal's success criteria, a Context's address or phone number, a Space's operating principles — stable supporting information that gives the AI richer context about your world.
Categories
Categories are descriptors that apply to relationships, not just items. The same contact might be a Vendor in a Work Space and a Store in a Home Space. Categories add flexible meaning without breaking the core Object7 model.
Recurring Work
Recurring Events repeat according to time. Recurring Actions require individual completion — each instance is completed separately while Set relationships are preserved across all instances. Repeating tasks behave like real tasks.
Item Conversion
Items can be converted between types — a Note to an Action, a Goal to a Topic, an Action to an Event. Capture fast, refine later. The system acknowledges that you may not know the correct type at the moment of capture.
Relationships at Scale
As your system grows, the relationships between objects become your most valuable asset. A well-connected system surfaces relevant work automatically, provides rich AI context, and makes weekly review and planning faster.
Mastery
Object7 takes time to master.
You do not need to learn everything before you start. You only need to recognize the types. Mastery comes from consistent use — returning to the structure, building the discipline, letting the connections accumulate.
Understanding the Types
Learn to recognize which of the seven object types fits each piece of information. No miscellaneous. No guessing. One clear type per item. This discipline alone reduces ambiguity across your entire system.
Building Relationships
Connect Elements to multiple Sets. A single Action can belong to a Goal, a Context, and a Topic at the same time. That overlap is not duplication — it reveals how your work connects across objectives, situations, and knowledge areas.
Planning Discipline
Use the Calendar as home base. Review Today's Actions each day. Work Planning Needed to keep Goals — and Contexts when relevant — moving forward. Mark a Next Action on each active Goal. The shift from capturing information to planning it is the central practice of Object7.
The Capture Habit
Record everything worth keeping. Notes become logs. Events become history. The System Log becomes a searchable, chronological record of how you worked and what you decided — an accumulating asset.
Metadata Mastery
Use status, pin, flag, and next actions with intention. Attach Details to Sets and Spaces. Use Categories to add relationship-level meaning. At this level, the system shapes how it prioritizes and surfaces your work.
Origins
Decades of practical use.
Object7 did not emerge overnight. It grew from paper-based productivity systems in the mid-1990s, through early mobile computing on Palm devices, through GTD and the capture habit, and through the increasing complexity of modern work — hundreds of emails daily, multiple parallel projects, contexts blurred by the smartphone.
By 2010 the structure had solidified and was being used as a primary organizing framework, adapted to whatever apps were available. By the early 2020s, the rise of large language models made that structure more valuable than ever.
Unstructured notes and tasks can be searched. Structured relationships can be reasoned over. That insight — that AI performs better when information is organized into meaningful, stable objects — is the foundation of Venn Labs AI.
Linni is the first practical expression of that thesis: a personal productivity system where Object7 structure comes first, and intelligence builds on top of it. The model is stable. You do not need to relearn it as the tools around it evolve — you deepen your understanding of it.