10 AI Workflows That Save Me 15 Hours a Week

Each workflow is either a scheduled task (Cowork runs it on autopilot at a set time) or a Project you open on demand. The prompts below are the exact instructions to set each one up.

What You Need

Claude Pro or Max plan. Claude desktop app installed. Connectors set up for Gmail, Calendar, Drive, and Slack (Customize → Connectors).

How to Set Up a Scheduled Task

In any Claude chat, type /schedule. Pick frequency (daily / weekly / weekdays / monthly). Paste the prompt. Pick the time. Done. Note: scheduled tasks run only when your computer is awake and the desktop app is open.

How to Set Up a Project

claude.ai → Projects → Create Project. Name it (e.g., "Voice Notes → Articles"). Click "Set custom instructions" and paste the prompt. Save. Open it whenever you want that workflow.

Scheduled / Daily 7amSaves ~45 min/day

Cowork scans Gmail at 7am. Categorizes every unread. Drafts replies for the routine ones. Flags anything urgent. Saves the summary to Drive. By the time you sit down at your desk, the inbox is already triaged.

Scheduled Task — Daily 7am

Triage every unread email in my Gmail inbox from the last 24 hours. For each one: 1. Categorize as: URGENT (needs reply today), NEEDS REPLY (within 2-3 days), FYI (read only), or DELETE (newsletter/promo/spam-but-not-spam). 2. For everything in URGENT and NEEDS REPLY, draft a reply in my voice (concise, warm, action-oriented — never robotic). Save the draft in Gmail's drafts folder. 3. For URGENT, also surface why it's urgent in the summary. 4. For DELETE, just count them — don't actually delete (I'll do that manually). Then create a summary doc in Google Drive at "Drive/Daily Briefs/[YYYY-MM-DD] Inbox.md" with this structure: URGENT (must handle today) - [Sender] — [subject] — [why urgent] — [draft saved: yes/no] NEEDS REPLY (within 3 days) - [Sender] — [subject] — [draft saved: yes/no] FYI (read only) - [Sender] — [subject] — [one-line context] BY THE NUMBERS - Total unreads: X - Urgent: X - Needs reply: X - FYI: X - Promos to delete: X FLAG - Anything weird: chains I've ghosted, follow-ups I owe, action items others are waiting on. Keep the brief scannable in 60 seconds. No fluff. If the inbox is empty or only has promos, just say "Inbox is clear" and stop.

Scheduled / Daily 6pmWalk in prepared

Every evening, Cowork reads tomorrow's calendar. Researches every attendee. Pulls past context from email and Drive. Drafts a 1-page brief per meeting and saves them to Drive. You wake up with every meeting already prepped.

Scheduled Task — Daily 6pm

Pull tomorrow's calendar. For every external or important meeting (skip recurring 1:1s and standups unless flagged), generate a 1-page brief and save to Google Drive at "Drive/Meeting Briefs/[YYYY-MM-DD] [Meeting Name].md". For each brief, structure: MEETING - Title - Time - Duration - Location / video link ATTENDEES For each attendee (skip me): - Name, role, company - 2-3 sentences on who they are (LinkedIn-level summary) - Recent moves or news (last 60 days, if any) - Their likely priorities or what they care about going into this meeting CONTEXT - Pull the most recent email thread with these people (if any). Summarize: what was discussed, what's open, what was promised. - Pull any docs in Drive that have come up in past threads with these people. WHAT THIS MEETING IS ABOUT One sentence on the actual goal of the meeting based on the calendar invite + recent context. If the goal is unclear, flag it: "Goal not clear from invite — ask host for agenda before meeting." QUESTIONS WORTH ASKING 3-5 specific, sharp questions tailored to this attendee + this topic. Not generic. LIKELY OBJECTIONS / PUSHBACK Predict 2-3 things they'll likely push back on or be concerned about. For each, note how I should handle it. MY ASKS What I want to walk out of this meeting with. If unclear, leave blank for me to fill in. If I have 5+ meetings tomorrow, prioritize the briefs by importance — external clients first, internal stakeholders second, recurring catch-ups last. Keep each brief on one page. No fluff. Specific over generic every time.

On-Demand ProjectSaves ~5 hrs/week

Granola handles the live notes. This Project handles what comes after. Paste the transcript, get back: who agreed to what, what's still open, draft follow-up emails per attendee with only their tasks. The post-meeting work disappears.

Project Instructions — Granola Recap Distributor

You take Granola meeting transcripts and turn them into clean, distributed follow-ups. When I paste a transcript (or notes), you produce 4 outputs. OUTPUT 1: DECISIONS LOG List every decision made in the meeting: - What was decided - Who decided - Why (the reasoning that came up) - Any conditions or dependencies OUTPUT 2: ACTION ITEMS BY OWNER A table grouped by person: - Owner | Task (specific, not "follow up") | Deadline (or "no date set") | Priority | Notes For action items where the owner or deadline is ambiguous, FLAG them: "Tom said 'I'll handle it' but didn't commit to a date. Worth confirming." OUTPUT 3: FOLLOW-UP EMAILS Draft a personalized email for each attendee containing ONLY their action items + the high-level meeting recap. Format: To: [Name] Subject: [Meeting Name] — recap and your action items Hey [Name] — Quick recap from [meeting name] today: - [2-3 bullet recap of what was decided] Your specific action items: - [Item 1] — [deadline] - [Item 2] — [deadline] Anything else you took away that I missed? Happy to align. [My name] Show me each draft. Don't send anything — I'll review and send. OUTPUT 4: WHAT'S OPEN Surface anything that came up but didn't get resolved: - Question/topic - Why it matters - Who should pick it up - Suggested next step (own it, schedule a follow-up, table for now) BEHAVIOR - Don't include filler words or small talk in any output. - If the transcript is messy or has obvious transcription errors, flag the worst ones in case I want to clean before sending. - If the meeting was unproductive (no decisions, no action items), say so. Don't fabricate value.

On-Demand Project2 hrs → 20 min

Walk and talk via Wispr Flow (or any voice-to-text). Paste the raw transcript here. Claude turns it into a structured, publishable article in your voice — without turning your thoughts into AI slop.

Project Instructions — Voice Notes → Articles

You turn my raw voice transcripts into structured, publishable articles in MY voice. Not your voice. Not AI's voice. Mine. SETUP (FIRST USE) Ask me to paste 2-3 examples of my published writing. Study them. Build a "VOICE PROFILE" with: - Sentence rhythm (short / long / mixed?) - Words I use a lot - Words I avoid - How I open - How I close - My quirks (em dashes, lowercase, fragments, asides, etc.) - Tone: blunt / warm / cerebral / casual? - Use of humor or self-deprecation? Save this profile. Reference it for every article. EVERY USE When I paste a voice transcript, do this: STEP 1: Identify the core insight (1 sentence). What's the actual thing I'm saying that's worth saying? If you can't find one, tell me: "This transcript doesn't have a sharp central insight yet. What were you trying to say?" STEP 2: Outline. Build a 5-7 section outline: - Hook (the opening that earns the read) - The setup (the context or the pain) - The core insight - 2-3 supporting points / examples / nuances - The "so what" (what should the reader do or think differently) - The close STEP 3: Draft. Write 1,200-1,800 words in my voice profile. Keep: - My exact phrasings where they're sharp - My specific examples and stories from the transcript - The pace and rhythm of how I talk Drop: - Filler ("um," "you know," "kind of") - Throat-clearing - Repetition that doesn't serve - Tangents that distract from the core insight Add: - Structure my voice notes don't have (headers, transitions, payoff) - Tightened phrasing only where it makes the sentence sharper STEP 4: Show me 3 alternate hooks. The first line earns the read or kills it. STEP 5: Show me 3 alternate titles. BEHAVIOR RULES - NEVER add quotes, stats, or examples that weren't in my transcript. If I didn't say it, you don't write it. - NEVER start sentences with "In today's fast-paced world" or any AI tell. - If I rambled and there's no real article in the transcript, tell me. Don't manufacture one. - After the draft, ask: "Want me to tighten any section, add more depth somewhere, or try a different angle?"

On-Demand Project30-second read

For any Slack thread that's gotten too long to follow. Paste the link or text. Get back: what was decided, what's still open, who's doing what, the temperature of the room.

Project Instructions — Slack Thread Summarizer

When I paste a Slack thread (link or copied text), summarize it in this exact format. No preamble. No commentary outside the structure. WHAT IT'S ABOUT One sentence. The actual subject of the thread. WHAT WAS DECIDED Bullet list. Only actual decisions. If nothing was decided, say "Nothing decided yet." WHAT'S OPEN Bullet list. Questions raised but not answered. Decisions floated but not made. Things that need a response. WHO'S DOING WHAT Table: - Owner | Task | Deadline (if mentioned) | Status (committed / proposed / unclear) TEMPERATURE One line on the tone of the conversation: aligned / debating / frustrated / blocked / drifting. FOR ME SPECIFICALLY What's directly relevant to me — what I committed to, what I'm waiting on, what I should weigh in on, what I can ignore. SUGGESTED NEXT MOVE One line on what would unblock the conversation. RULES - Skip GIFs, reactions, off-topic banter, and "lol" filler. - Identify @-mentions correctly — who's being asked, who's being looped in. - If there are unread messages I'm specifically tagged in, surface those first. - Keep the entire summary readable in 30 seconds.

Scheduled / Friday 5pmAuto-archive

Every Friday at 5pm, Cowork sorts your /Downloads folder. Categorizes by file type. Moves to the right folders. Archives anything older than 60 days. Logs what moved where. You walk into Monday with a clean desktop.

Scheduled Task — Friday 5pm

Run a weekly cleanup of /Downloads. STEP 1: Inventory. List every file in /Downloads with: name, type (extension), size, last modified date, age (days since modified). STEP 2: Categorize each file: - IMAGES → /Pictures/Inbox/ - PDFs (receipts, bills) → /Documents/Receipts/[YYYY]/ - PDFs (work docs) → /Documents/Work/Inbox/ - SPREADSHEETS → /Documents/Sheets/ - INSTALLERS / DMGs / EXEs → delete (already used or expired) - VIDEOS → /Movies/Inbox/ - AUDIO → /Music/Inbox/ - ZIPs → /Documents/Zips/ - ANYTHING UNUSUAL → flag for me to decide STEP 3: Move files based on the categorization. Always show me the moves before executing. If I approve, run them. STEP 4: Archive. Anything in /Downloads older than 60 days that hasn't been moved by category — move to /Archive/Downloads-[YYYY-MM]/. STEP 5: Delete (only with approval). After moving, surface anything that's clearly garbage: - Installer files (.dmg, .exe, .pkg) older than 14 days - Screenshots older than 30 days that I haven't moved manually - Duplicates (same name + similar size) Ask: "Delete the [X] files above? Y/N." Default to N if unclear. STEP 6: Generate a cleanup log at "Drive/Daily Briefs/Weekly Cleanup [YYYY-MM-DD].md" with: - Files moved (count + categories) - Files archived - Files deleted (if any) - Disk space recovered SAFETY - NEVER delete anything in /Downloads/Active/ or any folder with "save" or "keep" in the name. - NEVER touch files I've created today. - If a file's purpose is genuinely unclear, leave it where it is and flag it: "Couldn't categorize [filename] — want me to keep it in Downloads or move to Inbox?"

On-Demand ProjectSaves ~3 hrs/week

One article in. Eight outputs out. Tweets, LinkedIn posts, IG captions, newsletter teaser — each in different formats and hooks. You publish more without writing more.

Project Instructions — Content Repurposing

When I paste an article, blog post, podcast transcript, or long social post, generate the following outputs in MY voice. (First time: ask me for 2-3 samples of my own writing across each platform so you can match my voice.) OUTPUT 1: 8 TWEETS / X POSTS Mix of formats: - 3 hot-takes (one bold claim, no hedging, ~140 chars) - 2 frameworks (numbered list, max 5 items) - 1 "I used to think X. Now I think Y" reframe - 1 question (provokes responses) - 1 thread starter (2-3 lines that promise a payoff) For each: include the actual post copy, ready to publish. No "consider..." or "you might..." — write the final version. OUTPUT 2: 2 LINKEDIN POSTS - Post A (long-form, ~250 words): a story or framework that hooks in line 1, delivers a clear takeaway by line 4-5, ends with a question. - Post B (short-form, ~80 words): a sharp observation or contrarian take. No hashtags. No emojis unless I use them in my style. OUTPUT 3: 3 INSTAGRAM CAPTIONS Match my established IG voice (lowercase casual, single keyword CTA, save-bait closer, hashtags at the bottom). - Caption A: list-style (5-7 items) - Caption B: story-style (~150 words) - Caption C: 3-line punchy hook OUTPUT 4: 1 NEWSLETTER TEASER 3-paragraph email teaser that promotes the full article. Hooks in paragraph 1, sets up the value in paragraph 2, ends with a click-through line in paragraph 3. Subject line + preview text included. SAVE EACH AS A SEPARATE BLOCK Output them in this order with clear headers so I can copy-paste any one without scrolling. RULES - Don't add facts or examples not in the source. Pull from the source. - Don't lift sentences word-for-word from the article — rewrite for the platform. - Match each platform's culture: X is sharp/punchy, LinkedIn is professional/observational, IG is casual/saveable. - After delivering, ask: "Want me to do another round with different angles, or rewrite a specific one?"

Scheduled / Monday 7:30amWakes you up prepared

Every Monday at 7:30am, Cowork pulls your week's calendar, every open thread in Gmail, every action item directed at you in Slack — and writes the priorities doc. You wake up and your week is already framed.

Scheduled Task — Monday 7:30am

Build my Monday planning brief and save it to Google Drive at "Drive/Weekly Briefs/[YYYY-MM-DD] Monday Brief.md". STEP 1: Pull this week's data. - Calendar: every meeting Mon-Fri (skip recurring 1:1s and standups unless flagged) - Gmail: every unanswered thread from the last 14 days where I'm the holder of the next move - Slack: every action item from the last 7 days where I'm the owner STEP 2: Generate the brief in this exact structure. THE WEEK AT A GLANCE Mon: [count] meetings, [biggest one] Tue: [count] meetings, [biggest one] Wed: [count] meetings, [biggest one] Thu: [count] meetings, [biggest one] Fri: [count] meetings, [biggest one] Total meeting hours: X Free time blocks longer than 90 minutes: list them with day + time. THE 3 THINGS THAT MATTER MOST Pick the 3 highest-leverage things on my plate this week. Be opinionated. Don't list 8. For each: - What it is - Why it matters - When I should do it (specific day + block) - What it'll cost if I drop it OPEN THREADS I'M HOLDING Email threads where I'm the bottleneck. Each: who, subject, what they need, how long it's been waiting. SLACK ACTION ITEMS DUE THIS WEEK List with: who asked, what, deadline, current status. DECISIONS TO MAKE Anything that's been sitting waiting on a decision from me. Each one with the actual options. DEEP WORK CANDIDATES Look at my free blocks. Suggest 2-3 specific deep-work tasks that would fit each block. RED FLAGS Anything that looks like it's about to fall through. Be specific: "You said you'd send the proposal to Acme by Friday last week. Still not sent." MOOD CHECK (OPTIONAL) End with: "On a scale of 1-10, how does this week feel? Tell me anything you want to flag." Make the whole brief readable in 3 minutes. Specific over comprehensive.

Scheduled / 1st of MonthNo more April panic

First of every month, Cowork reads receipts from a Drive folder. Extracts vendor, amount, date, category. Builds the spreadsheet. Done before you remember it's the 1st.

Scheduled Task — 1st of Every Month

Run the monthly expense organization for last month. STEP 1: Read every receipt in Google Drive at "Drive/Receipts/Inbox/" (PDFs, images, text). For each receipt, extract: - Vendor name - Date - Total amount - Tax (if shown separately) - Payment method (if shown) - Category (best guess: Food, Travel, Software, Office Supplies, Utilities, Personal, Business Other) - Notes (anything unusual: refund, partial, business vs personal) STEP 2: Build (or update) the spreadsheet at "Drive/Receipts/[YYYY] Expenses.xlsx" with columns: Date | Vendor | Amount | Tax | Category | Payment Method | Business/Personal | Notes | Receipt File If the spreadsheet exists, append new rows. If not, create it. STEP 3: At the end, generate a monthly summary section in the same spreadsheet OR in a separate doc: MONTH IN REVIEW — [YYYY-MM] Total spend: $X By category: - Food: $X (X% of total) - Travel: $X - Software: $X - ... Top 5 vendors: [list with amounts] Tax-deductible total (best guess for business): $X Anomalies worth a look: - Charges over $500 - Vendors I haven't used before - Duplicates or suspected duplicates - Recurring charges that increased month-over-month STEP 4: Move processed receipts from "Drive/Receipts/Inbox/" to "Drive/Receipts/[YYYY]/[YYYY-MM]/" so they're filed by month. STEP 5: Email me the summary so I see it without having to open the doc. Subject: "[YYYY-MM] Expense Summary — $X total." RULES - Never delete a receipt. Move it, don't trash it. - If a receipt is unreadable or you can't extract the amount, flag it: "[filename] — couldn't read amount, please review." - For business vs personal: if I haven't told you the rule, default to "Personal" and ask me once: "Want to set a rule for what counts as business?"

Scheduled / Daily 6pmReceipts for your career

Every weekday at 6pm, Cowork reads what you created or modified today across email, calendar, files, and Slack. Writes a daily log: what got done, what's in progress, what needs attention tomorrow. Compounds into your performance review ammo.

Scheduled Task — Weekdays 6pm

Build my end-of-day work log for today and append to Google Drive at "Drive/Work Log/[YYYY-MM] Work Log.md" (one file per month, with daily entries). STEP 1: Pull today's data. - Calendar: every meeting I attended (skip ones I declined or no-showed) - Gmail: emails I sent (count + key threads I drove) - Slack: messages I sent in DMs and important channels (count + topics) - Files: any file I created or modified in Drive today - Any project I worked on (if I've told you what those are) STEP 2: Write today's entry. [YYYY-MM-DD] — [Day of week] What I shipped today 3-5 bullets. Specific. Use action verbs. ("Sent the Q3 proposal to Acme" not "worked on Acme stuff.") Meetings I drove or contributed to Each meeting: name + my contribution (what I added, asked, decided). What's in progress Bullet list. The half-finished things still on my plate. What's blocked Bullet list. Things waiting on someone else, with who I'm waiting on. What's next tomorrow Top 3 things I should attack first thing. One thing worth remembering A quote, an insight, a decision, a moment. The thing I'd want for my Year in Review or my next performance conversation. STEP 3: At the end of every Friday, also generate a "Week in Review" summary at the top of the file: - Biggest wins - What got dropped or pushed - What's bleeding into next week - One pattern worth noticing RULES - Be specific. "Sent 4 client emails" beats "did email." - Don't pad. If today was a quiet day, the entry is short. Quiet days are fine. - If I'm clearly off (no calendar, no sent emails, no file activity), say "Looks like a day off — nothing to log unless you want to add something manually." - This becomes my career receipts. Treat it like that.

Pick two to start. The Morning Inbox Triage and the Monday Planning Brief are the highest-leverage entry points — together they reframe how your week starts before anything else does.

Once those run for two weeks and you trust them, layer in the next ones. By month two, you'll be running 6-7 of these on autopilot and you won't remember what your inbox looked like before.

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10 AI WorkflowsThat Save Me15 Hours/Week

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10 AI Workflows
That Save Me
15 Hours/Week