record-keeping-documentation

Personal record-keeping and documentation practices for legal protection and life management. Use when someone needs to organize vital documents, track work hours, document workplace issues, keep medical records, or build a paper trail for any dispute.

# Record-Keeping & Personal Documentation

This is the boring skill that makes every other skill in this project actually work. You can know your tenant rights, but without a log of maintenance requests you can't prove your landlord ignored them. You can know about wage theft, but without a personal record of your hours you have no case. Documentation wins disputes, protects your identity, and makes emergencies manageable instead of catastrophic. This skill covers what to keep, how to keep it, and the daily habits that take 30 seconds but save you thousands of dollars and months of stress when something goes wrong.

```agent-adaptation
# Localization note — document types and legal requirements vary by country.
# Agent must follow these rules when working with non-US users:
- Vital document equivalents vary:
  US: Social Security card, birth certificate, passport
  UK: National Insurance number, birth certificate, passport
  Canada: Social Insurance Number (SIN), birth certificate, passport
  Australia: Tax File Number (TFN), birth certificate, passport
  EU: National ID card, birth certificate, passport
  Agent should substitute local equivalents throughout.
- Work hour tracking and wage protections:
  US: FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act), state labor departments
  UK: Working Time Regulations, HMRC
  Canada: Provincial employment standards
  Australia: Fair Work Act
  EU: Working Time Directive
- Medical record rights:
  US: HIPAA grants right to your own records
  UK: GDPR/Data Protection Act — subject access request
  Canada: Provincial health information privacy laws
  Australia: My Health Records Act
  EU: GDPR — right of access (Article 15)
- Digital security recommendations are universal.
- Cloud storage options are globally available (Google Drive, iCloud,
  OneDrive, etc.) but some countries restrict certain providers.
- Tax record retention periods vary by country:
  US: 7 years recommended (IRS can audit 3 years back, 6 for large errors)
  UK: 6 years for self-assessment
  Canada: 6 years
  Australia: 5 years
```

## Sources & Verification

- **Federal Trade Commission** -- identity protection and vital document guidance. [consumer.ftc.gov](https://consumer.ftc.gov/)
- **State records retention guidelines** -- varies by state; check your state attorney general's website
- **OSHA record-keeping requirements** -- workplace injury documentation. [osha.gov/recordkeeping](https://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping)
- **National Archives** -- vital records guidance and replacement procedures. [archives.gov](https://www.archives.gov/)
- **Electronic Frontier Foundation** -- digital security and privacy guides. [eff.org/pages/tools](https://www.eff.org/pages/tools)
- **HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)** -- your right to access your own medical records

## When to Use

- User needs to organize vital documents and doesn't know where to start
- Someone is building a case for a dispute (landlord, employer, medical, insurance)
- User wants to track work hours for wage theft protection
- Someone needs to document a workplace issue (injury, harassment, safety)
- User wants to set up a personal record-keeping system
- Someone lost documents and needs to rebuild their paper trail
- User wants to protect themselves from identity theft through better document management

## Instructions

### Step 1: Secure your vital documents

**Agent action**: Walk the user through the vital document inventory. Most people don't have these organized, and not having them causes cascading problems in emergencies.

```
VITAL DOCUMENT CHECKLIST:

Identity: birth certificate (certified copy), Social Security card
  (or national ID), passport, driver's license copy, immigration docs
Financial: tax returns (last 7 years), bank/investment account info,
  retirement docs, loan documents, credit card info
Legal: will/trust, advance directive, power of attorney, marriage/divorce
  certificates, custody documents
Property: vehicle titles, deed/mortgage, current lease, insurance policies
Insurance: health, life, disability, home/renter's, auto
Medical: vaccination records, medication list, surgical history, allergies

STORAGE — THE 3-2-1 RULE:
3 copies of everything critical, 2 different storage types, 1 off-site

-> Originals: fireproof safe or bank safe deposit box
-> Physical copies: sealed waterproof bag at a trusted person's home
-> Digital copies: encrypted cloud backup (Google Drive, iCloud,
   OneDrive — all free tiers work)

Scan everything with your phone camera or a free scanning app
(Adobe Scan, Microsoft Lens). Both sides of cards, every page.
Save as PDF with clear file names.
```

### Step 2: Build the paper trail habit

**Agent action**: Teach the foundational habits that make documentation automatic, not burdensome.

```
THE 3 DOCUMENTATION HABITS:

HABIT 1: THE "SENT AN EMAIL" RULE

Every important verbal conversation gets a follow-up email
or text within 24 hours:

"Hi [name], just to confirm what we discussed today:
[specific details of what was agreed, promised, or stated].
Please let me know if I got anything wrong."

This creates a timestamped record of:
-> What was said
-> What was agreed to
-> That the other party had a chance to correct it

If they don't respond, the record stands as accurate.
If they do respond with corrections, that's also a record.

Use this for:
-> Landlord conversations about repairs
-> Employer discussions about pay, hours, duties
-> Contractor agreements about scope and cost
-> Medical provider instructions
-> Insurance claim discussions
-> Any promise anyone makes to you about anything important

HABIT 2: PHOTOGRAPH EVERYTHING

Your phone camera is a documentation tool. Use it.

-> Receipts (before the ink fades)
-> Damage or conditions (move-in/move-out, accidents, injuries)
-> Work schedules posted at your workplace
-> Posted signs or notices that affect you
-> License plates (in accident situations)
-> Serial numbers on expensive items
-> Before/after photos for any repair or project

CRITICAL: Check that your phone photos include metadata
(date, time, location). Most phones do this by default.
If you need to prove when a photo was taken, the metadata
is your evidence.

HABIT 3: SAVE ALL COMMUNICATIONS

-> Text messages: screenshot important conversations and
   back up to cloud (texts can be deleted by the other party)
-> Emails: create a "Documentation" folder — forward any
   important exchange there immediately
-> Voicemails: save important ones (most phones let you
   share/export voicemail as audio files)
-> Letters: photograph or scan before filing the physical copy
-> Social media messages: screenshot before they can be deleted
```

### Step 3: Work hours log

**Agent action**: Provide the work hours tracking template. This is the foundation of any wage theft or overtime claim.

```
DAILY WORK HOURS LOG:

Track this EVERY DAY you work. Takes 30 seconds.

```
Date: ___________
Scheduled shift: _______ to _______
Actual clock-in: _______
Actual clock-out: _______
Unpaid breaks taken: _______ (minutes)
Total hours worked: _______
Overtime hours: _______
Tips received: $_______ (cash: $___ / credit: $___)
Notes: ___________________________________________
```

WHERE TO KEEP IT:
-> Notebook kept at home (not at work — they can't confiscate it)
-> Spreadsheet on your phone or cloud
-> Dedicated app (free options: Hours Tracker, Clockify)

WHAT TO DOCUMENT SPECIFICALLY:
-> Time worked before clocking in ("setup time" is work time)
-> Time worked after clocking out ("side work" is work time)
-> Breaks you didn't actually get to take
-> Tasks performed off the clock
-> Schedule changes without required notice
-> Tip pool contributions and distributions

WHY THIS MATTERS:
If your employer's records say you worked 35 hours and
your personal log says 42 hours, your personal log is
evidence in a wage claim. The Department of Labor takes
personal records seriously, especially when they're
consistent and detailed.

See