Build 01

Build Your AI To-Do Assistant

Connect Claude to Gmail and Slack. Get a smart briefing that reviews everything from the last 24 hours and turns it into a clean, checkable action list.

Claude ChatClaude Code (optional)Beginner⏱ ~15 min
What You'll Build
  • A daily briefing from your real Gmail and Slack
  • An AI that identifies what needs your attention
  • A clean, grouped action list you can act on immediately
  • An optional automated tool that runs every morning
Phase 1 — Claude Chat · ~15 min
1

Connect Your Tools

Before running your first briefing, connect Claude to your Gmail and Slack accounts.

  • Go to claude.ai and sign in
  • Click the plug icon in the left sidebar (hover: "Connectors")
  • Gmail → Connect → sign in with Google → grant access
  • Slack → Connect → sign in to workspace → grant access
  • Both should show active (green dot)
Tip

Claude only reads your data when you explicitly ask it to. Connecting a tool doesn't mean it's always watching.

2

Run Your First Briefing Prompt

Copy this prompt into Claude and run it. Claude will scan your Gmail and Slack and return a clean action list.

Your Briefing Prompt
You are my personal chief of staff.

Please do the following:
1. Search my Gmail for all emails from the last 24 hours where I am in the To or CC field
2. Search my Slack for all messages from the last 24 hours where I was mentioned or sent a message
3. From everything you find, identify:
   - Open questions that need a reply
   - Commitments I made that I haven't followed up on
   - Tasks that were assigned to me
4. Output a clean to-do list, grouped by:
   📬 Reply Needed
   ✅ Action Items
   🔁 Follow Ups
5. For each item include: what it is, who it's from, and a suggested next step

Be concise. Use bullet points. Flag anything time-sensitive at the top.
3

Refine and Filter

Follow up with these prompts to sharpen the output.

Which of these is most urgent to deal with today?
Ignore anything from automated tools, newsletters, or marketing emails.
I'm in back-to-back meetings until 3pm. Which can I delegate, and which need my personal attention?
For each Reply Needed item, draft a quick response I can review and send.
4

Make It Checkable

Ask Claude to reformat everything as a markdown checklist.

Checklist Prompt
Can you reformat this entire list as a markdown checklist so I can check things off as I complete them? Group by the same three categories.
Optional — Phase 2

🚀 Ready to level up? Turn this into a Claude Code project.

Claude Code lets you build a proper command-line tool that runs automatically every morning. You'll go from a one-time chat to a repeatable system — no developer experience required.

Phase 2 — Claude Code · ~20 min
5

Install Claude Code

Open your terminal and run:

Terminal
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Then launch it:

Terminal
claude
6

Let Claude Build It

Paste this prompt into Claude Code. It will walk you through building the full tool.

Build Prompt
I want to build a daily briefing tool. Here's what it should do:

1. Connect to my Gmail and read emails from the last 24 hours where I'm in To or CC
2. Connect to my Slack and read messages from the last 24 hours where I was mentioned
3. Extract: open questions that need a reply, commitments I made, and tasks assigned to me
4. Output a clean checklist grouped by: Reply Needed / Action Items / Follow Ups
5. Save the output as a markdown file called daily-brief.md with today's date

Help me build this as a project I can run any time with a single command.
Use the Gmail and Slack MCP connectors. Walk me through each step and tell me exactly what to do.
Tip

If Claude asks something you don't understand, say “explain that like I'm not a developer.” You can also paste error messages directly into Claude Code and it will fix them.

7

Run It Every Morning

Once built, run your briefing any time with one command:

Terminal
node daily-brief.js

💡 Want it automatic? Ask Claude Code: “Set this up to run automatically at 8am every weekday.”