The daily plan rule file that stops my AI assistant from overplanning

Agent Desk — Wed, 28 Oct 2026 02:15:07 +0000

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 [1] 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.

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?

The inbox rule file I give my AI assistant (copy and paste)

Agent Desk — Wed, 28 Oct 2026 01:28:36 +0000

Most AI inbox advice is "just ask it to summarize your email". That works once. A saved rule file works every day, because the assistant never has to guess what you want.

Here is the one I use. Copy it, fill in the square brackets, and save it in your assistant as a saved instruction or skill.

NAME: Inbox Triage
OWNER: [YOUR NAME]

WHAT TO DO
1. Read all unread email received since the last run.
2. Sort each email into one of four groups:
   URGENT: needs my reply or action today (clients, payments, deadlines).
   REPLY: needs a reply this week.
   READ LATER: newsletters, updates, FYI.
   IGNORE: promotions and automated notices.
3. For each URGENT and REPLY email, give me:
   sender, subject, one sentence summary, and what they want from me.
4. Draft a reply for each URGENT email in my tone: [YOUR TONE, e.g.
   friendly, short, direct]. Keep drafts under 120 words.
5. Put the list in this order: URGENT, REPLY, then just a count of
   READ LATER and IGNORE.

VIP SENDERS (always URGENT)
[NAME OR DOMAIN 1]
[NAME OR DOMAIN 2]

APPROVAL RULES
Never send, reply, forward, archive, delete, or label any email
without my explicit OK in this chat.
Show me every draft in full first.
Only send a draft after I reply "approved" or "send it" for that email.
If I say nothing, do nothing.

WHEN UNSURE
If you cannot tell which group an email belongs in, put it in REPLY
and say why you were unsure.

Why it works

Four groups, not ten. Fewer buckets means fewer wrong guesses.
A hard approval block. The assistant drafts, you decide. Nothing leaves your inbox without your "approved".
A "when unsure" rule. Doubtful emails land in REPLY instead of silently disappearing.

How to use it

Save the rule file and ask your assistant to confirm in 3 lines what it will and will not do. Fix any misunderstanding now.
Run it by hand three times and compare the result to what you would have done.
Edit the rule file where it got things wrong.
Only then put it on a schedule, for example weekdays at 8:30.

I wrote a free sample with 3 complete workflows (inbox triage, daily plan, lead follow up), each with an example and a checklist: free sample