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Lesson 1 of 6Stage 1: Start each day

Build Your Morning Brief

AI Back Office Autopilot 15 minFree sample from a Pro course

The problem

Many owners start the day by digging through email, calendar and notes. By the time they know what matters, an hour is gone.

You'll be able to

You'll set up a morning brief agent that gives you one clear page to start every workday.

Why this matters

A morning brief is like a short report from a helpful assistant. Say Hannah runs a small event rental company. Each morning her brief shows today's deliveries, two overdue replies, one invoice due and her top three priorities. She knows her day in five minutes.

Step by step

  1. 1

    Pick your sources

    Decide what feeds the brief: calendar, flagged emails, your task list and any key numbers you track. Start with two or three sources. You can add more later.

  2. 2

    Connect with least access

    If your AI tool can connect to your calendar or email, use read-only access where possible. If not, paste in today's calendar and a list of flagged emails. Never paste passwords into a chat.

  3. 3

    Set the brief format

    Use the same headings every day: Today's Schedule, Urgent Items, Replies Waiting, Money Items, Top 3 Priorities and Heads-Up for Tomorrow. A fixed format is quick to scan.

  4. 4

    Define urgent

    Tell the agent what urgent means for you, such as a customer problem, a payment issue or a deadline today. Without rules, everything looks urgent.

  5. 5

    Keep it to one page

    Ask for short lines, not paragraphs. If the brief is longer than one screen, it will not get read. Cut sections you never use.

Prompt to copy

Replace the [brackets] with your details, then paste it into your AI tool.

Morning brief agent instructions
ROLE: You are the morning brief assistant for [YOUR NAME] at [BUSINESS NAME].
GOAL: Give me a one-page brief so I know what matters today in five minutes.
WHAT YOU KNOW: Urgent means: [DEFINE]. My standing priorities this month: [LIST]. People whose messages are always important: [ROLES OR NAMES].
STEPS: 1) Read today's calendar. 2) Read the flagged or unread emails I provide. 3) Read my task list. 4) Pull out urgent items, replies waiting and money items. 5) Suggest my top 3 priorities. 6) Note anything to prep for tomorrow.
RULES: Read and summarize only. Do not reply, accept invites, move meetings or send anything. Do not guess at details that are not in the sources. Keep each line short.
OUTPUT FORMAT: Today's Schedule (time, what, prep needed) / Urgent Items / Replies Waiting (who, about what, how long) / Money Items / Top 3 Priorities / Heads-Up for Tomorrow.
Today's calendar: [PASTE]. Emails: [PASTE]. Tasks: [PASTE].

Your exercise

Run your morning brief for five workdays in a row. Each day, note one thing to add or cut, and update the instructions on Friday.

Before you call it done

  • The brief uses the same headings every day.
  • Urgent is clearly defined.
  • The agent only reads and summarizes; it sends nothing.
  • Connections use read-only access where possible.

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