The daily plan rule file that stops my AI assistant from overplanning
Ask an AI for a daily plan and you usually get a fantasy: eleven tasks, zero breaks, and a meeting it forgot about. A short rule file fixes that, because the assistant knows your hours, your goals, and when to stop. Copy this, fill in the square brackets, and save it as a saved instruction or skill
Ask an AI for a daily plan and you usually get a fantasy: eleven tasks, zero breaks, and a meeting it forgot about. A short rule file fixes that, because the assistant knows your hours, your goals, and when to stop.
Copy this, fill in the square brackets, and save it as a saved instruction or skill in your assistant.
NAME: Daily Plan OWNER: [YOUR NAME] WORK HOURS: [e.g. 9:00 to 17:30] MY TOP GOALS THIS MONTH: [GOAL 1], [GOAL 2], [GOAL 3] WHAT TO DO 1. Read today's calendar and my open tasks from [TASK SOURCE, e.g. my task app, notes I send you, flagged emails].
2. Suggest a plan for today with: My 3 most important tasks, and which monthly goal each one serves. Suggested time blocks around my meetings.
One small admin task to clear. What to move or drop if the day gets busy. 3.
Leave at least hour unplanned for surprises. 4. Keep it short enough to read in one minute.
APPROVAL RULES Never create, move, accept, or decline calendar events, and never message anyone, without my explicit OK in this chat. If you suggest calendar blocks, wait for "approved" before adding them. If I say nothing, do nothing.
WHEN UNSURE Ask me which task matters more instead of guessing. Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode What makes it work Three tasks, not eleven. A short list is a list you actually finish.
Every task is tied to a goal. If a task serves nothing, it is a candidate to drop. An hour of slack.
Plans without slack fall apart at the first surprise. Approval before calendar changes. It suggests, you decide.
How to start Save the rule file and ask your assistant to repeat back in 3 lines what it will and will not do. Run it by hand for three mornings and compare it to the plan you would have made. Fix whatever it got wrong in the rule file.
Then schedule it, for example weekdays at 8:00. This is one of three complete workflows in a free sample (inbox triage, daily plan, lead follow up), each with an example and a checklist: free sample
What is the first thing you check when you plan your day?