Create your first Map

A Map begins with one request. It might be a lecture PDF, a messy research question, a product brief, or a set of notes from a meeting. The important thing is that the request contains more work than a single answer can hold.

Start with the source

Begin by giving BaseHalf the material you want to organize. This can be a file, a short prompt, pasted notes, or a rough objective.

Write the request in plain language. For example:

Turn this lecture PDF into study spaces I can keep editing.

or:

Split this product brief into decisions, open questions, and follow-up work.

BaseHalf uses the request to create an initial Map. The first version does not need to be final. It only needs to reveal the parts of the work.

Describe the shape you want

The strongest first request tells BaseHalf how the material should be split.

Weak request:

Summarize this.

Better request:

Turn this into a Map with source notes, definitions, open questions, decisions, and follow-up tasks.

The second request gives the system a structure to build toward. It does not force the final answer. It simply names the kinds of Points that will be useful later.

If you are not sure what structure you need, start with the work type:

• For learning, ask for definitions, examples, weak areas, and practice tasks.
• For research, ask for sources, claims, uncertainty, and synthesis.
• For product work, ask for goals, assumptions, risks, decisions, and next actions.
• For operations, ask for checklists, incidents, handoffs, decisions, and review items.

Split by purpose

Useful Maps are made from pieces of context with different jobs. A source is not the same as a question. A decision is not the same as a task. A definition is not the same as an example.

When the work feels messy, split it by purpose:

• Source Points hold the original material or extracted evidence.
• Question Points hold the uncertainties that need thinking.
• Decision Points hold conclusions you want to preserve.
• Task Points hold follow-up actions.
• Review Points hold weak areas that need another pass.

This structure makes the Map easier to scan. It also gives AI clearer boundaries for what to edit.

Open the Point that needs depth

The Map is the overview. A Point is the working page.

When one Point needs more detail, open it. Expand the source, ask for alternatives, revise the wording, or turn a rough note into a decision. The surrounding Map stays intact, so you never lose the project structure while focusing on one part.

Good first Points are specific enough to open. Research notes is often too broad. Claims from interview notes is better. Tasks is vague. Launch checklist for onboarding flow is something you can work on.

If a Point needs two different kinds of attention, split it. A Point that contains a source passage, a decision, and a draft paragraph may be convenient at first, but it becomes harder to reuse later.

Keep the Map alive

A Map is not finished when the first answer appears. It becomes useful when you return to it.

After each round of work, ask:

• Which Point is now clear enough to preserve?
• Which Point needs another revision?
• Which new question appeared?
• Which context should be referenced by another Point?

The Map improves because the context remains editable. You are not starting over each time. You are compounding.

A good first Map has friction

A Map that feels too clean may be hiding the real work. Useful Maps often show unresolved areas: a weak concept, an unsupported claim, a decision that needs evidence, or a task that depends on another Point.

Do not remove those too early. The visible friction is part of the value. It tells you where to think next.