Tiny Prompts, Big Wins: Copy-Paste Blocks for the Calendar + Inbox Agent (Dry-Run)
This is the companion post to today’s episode of Data & AI with Mukundan. Chatbots reply; agents execute. Below are the exact prompts I used on the show—copy them into ChatGPT and run a safe DRY-RUN to reclaim hours this week.
What you’ll get in 10 minutes:
Two 90-minute deep-work blocks, one 45-minute admin sweep, and a 30-minute workout—planned around your real week—plus an inbox triage that labels messages and drafts five concise replies (≤100 words, one next step each). Nothing is created or sent without you saying “yes.”
How to use this post
Open a new ChatGPT chat.
Paste the Calendar Proposal — Doc Style block, review the plan, and approve or adjust.
Paste the Approval Checklist and answer yes/no.
Paste the Inbox Coach — Triage + Drafts with 10–15 real subjects/snippets.
If the first pass needs tweaks, paste the Feedback Loop block.
If tools flake, paste the Tool-Failure Fallback block.
To sanity-check yourself, paste the Success Metric Check block.
All times/defaults are America/Los_Angeles (PT). Adjust dates/times as needed.
1) Calendar Proposal — Doc Style (DRY-RUN)
You are Calendar Coach. Do a DRY-RUN proposal only. Do NOT create events.
Timezone: America/Los_Angeles (PT).
Goal: Two 90-minute deep-work blocks, one 45-minute admin block, and one 30-minute workout this week.
Constraints:
• Keep deep work in the morning; avoid >3h back-to-back.
• Respect my 2 PM agent check-ins, 4:00–4:50 PM Focus Hour, and interviews.
• Finish everything by 5:00 PM.
• Ask for explicit approval before any changes.
Proposed blocks:
• Tue Sep 16, 2025 — 9:30–11:00 AM — Deep Work: Q3 Deck push (notes: outline → slides → speaker notes).
• Thu Sep 18, 2025 — 9:30–11:00 AM — Deep Work: Job application draft (notes: tailor bullets + summary).
• Tue Sep 16, 2025 — 2:45–3:30 PM — Admin Sweep: email + scheduling + small decisions.
• Wed Sep 17, 2025 — 12:30–1:00 PM — Workout / Reset Walk (notes: quick energy reset).
Output:
1) A 3-sentence summary of why these placements avoid conflicts.
2) A yes/no Approval Checklist for all four blocks.
3) If any conflict is detected, switch to a doc-style proposal and highlight the exact collision.
2) Calendar Proposal — JSON (for devs & tinkerers)
{
"proposed_blocks": [
{
"title": "Deep Work — Q3 Deck push",
"start_local": "2025-09-16T09:30-07:00",
"end_local": "2025-09-16T11:00-07:00",
"notes": "DND on Slack; outline → slides → notes.",
"approval_required": true
},
{
"title": "Deep Work — Job application draft",
"start_local": "2025-09-18T09:30-07:00",
"end_local": "2025-09-18T11:00-07:00",
"notes": "Tailor resume bullets + role-specific summary.",
"approval_required": true
},
{
"title": "Admin Sweep — email & scheduling",
"start_local": "2025-09-16T14:45-07:00",
"end_local": "2025-09-16T15:30-07:00",
"notes": "Post-lunch batch; ends before 4:00–4:50 PM Focus Hour.",
"approval_required": true
},
{
"title": "Workout / Reset Walk",
"start_local": "2025-09-17T12:30-07:00",
"end_local": "2025-09-17T13:00-07:00",
"notes": "Midday energy reset; avoids interviews.",
"approval_required": true
}
],
"log": [],
"metrics_target": {
"deep_work_blocks": 2,
"admin_block_minutes": 45,
"unclassified_emails_max": 15,
"draft_replies_target": 5
}
}
3) Approval Checklist — yes/no (copy, paste, answer)
Approval Checklist
1) Approve Tue 9:30–11:00 AM Deep Work (Q3 Deck)?
2) Approve Thu 9:30–11:00 AM Deep Work (Job application)?
3) Approve Tue 2:45–3:30 PM Admin Sweep?
4) Approve Wed 12:30–1:00 PM Workout / Reset Walk?
5) If approved, convert to tentative calendar holds (no invites, no emails)?
4) Inbox Coach — Triage + Drafts (paste with 10–15 subjects/snippets)
You are Inbox Coach. Classify each email as reply, delegate, archive, or read_later.
Rules:
• Draft replies for the top 5 “reply” items only; ≤100 words each; include exactly one clear next step.
• If confidence < 0.7 on any item, label read_later and explain why in one sentence.
• Return a 2-column table (Subject → Intent), then the 5 drafts.
Emails to triage (paste 10–15):
1) CFO — “Q3 deck feedback by Thursday?” — “Near-final slides by EOD Wed?”
2) Producer — “Podcast guest bio for Friday” — “Review + add two questions?”
3) Recruiter — “Intro call this week?” — “15 minutes to chat about Senior DS role?”
4) Amazon — “Your order has shipped” — “Arriving Wednesday.”
5) Martech Weekly — “AI tools roundup” — “Best reads this week.”
6) PM — “Bug in dashboard: metric mismatch” — “Conversion off by 2% vs dbt output.”
7) Ops — “Invoice #7842 due Sept 20” — “Confirm payment timing.”
8) Teammate — “Move our 1:1?” — “Shift Friday’s 1:1 earlier?”
9) Events — “Webinar: Agents 101” — “Next Tuesday invite.”
10) Designer — “Social draft for podcast” — “Need your 2-line blurb.”
11) Security — “Data access request: approve?” — “Pending ticket needs OK.”
12) Office — “Team lunch RSVP” — “Please confirm by Wednesday.”
5) Feedback Loop — Quick Revision (use after first result)
Revision request:
1) Keep deep work in mornings; admin after lunch; end by 5 PM.
2) Move any block that conflicts with existing meetings.
3) Keep all email drafts ≤100 words with exactly one next step.
4) If confidence < 0.7, mark read_later and explain why in one sentence.
Return updated plan + a 3-bullet change log.
6) Tool-Failure Fallback — Calendar API Down
Assume the Calendar API is down. Produce a doc-style schedule proposal (titles, start–end, one-sentence reason per block) and ask for approval. Do NOT attempt to create or modify events.
7) Success Metric Check — Sanity Pass
Check against targets: two 90-min deep-work blocks, one 45-min admin block, ≤15 unclassified emails, and five high-quality drafts. If any target is missed, propose one concrete fix.
3-Minute Quick Start (my recommended order)
Paste Calendar Proposal — Doc Style → skim the 3-sentence rationale → approve or adjust.
Paste Approval Checklist → answer yes/no → (optional) convert to tentative holds.
Paste Inbox Coach with 10–15 subjects/snippets → scan the table → read the five drafts.
If anything looks off, paste Feedback Loop and rerun.
Pro tip: keep everything drafts-only until you trust the workflow. Add autopilot later, and only for low-risk actions.
What “good” looks like (for reference)
Two morning deep-work blocks (e.g., Tue/Thu 9:30–11:00 AM).
One post-lunch admin sweep (e.g., Tue 2:45–3:30 PM).
A realistic 30-minute workout that doesn’t collide with meetings.
Inbox labeled into reply / delegate / archive / read_later, with five tight drafts (≤100 words, one next step).
Everything logged, nothing sent or created until you say “yes.”
Tell me how it went
If you ran this, hit reply and tell me your win: How many minutes did you get back? If you want my eyes on your prompts, paste your output and I’ll suggest one tweak.
P.S. If this helped, share it with a teammate who’s drowning in admin. That’s exactly who benefits first.