Book 3 · Chapter 8: Systems That Run Themselves
This page grades a scheduled-task prompt against five must-haves, with CLAUDE.md starters and a scheduled-task prompt library.
This page assumes you've read the chapter. It hands you the tools, not the lessons.
Because you won't be there to course-correct, a scheduled-task prompt has to be more complete than usual. Paste yours and check it against the chapter's five elements.
Five-element check
5 of 5 look presentThis is a checklist with hints, not an oracle. It scans your text for signals; it can't tell whether what you wrote is any good. Every call is yours.
- What to check or pullLooks present
Be specific about data sources. "Check my calendar" is better than "look at my schedule."
Your call: Does the prompt name the exact source to read from (a calendar, a spreadsheet, a named file), not just the topic?
- What to produceLooks present
Define the output format. A summary? A list? A formatted report? How long should it be?
Your call: Is the output format and length spelled out, so it can't guess?
- Where to save itLooks present
File name pattern, folder location. If you don't specify, it ends up in a default location you'll have to hunt for.
Your call: Did you give a file name pattern and a folder, so you won't have to hunt for the result?
- What to do when things go wrongLooks present
Tell the system what to do when the internet is down, a connection fails, or data is missing, instead of producing nothing or producing garbage.
Your call: If a source is unavailable or the data is missing, have you said what to do instead?
- What "done well" looks likeLooks present
If you can describe what a good output looks like, do it. Those quality signals help Claude calibrate.
Your call: Have you described what a good result looks like, so it has something to aim for?
Every Friday at 4pm, generate my weekly content performance report: 1. Check my Buffer drafts and recent posts 2. Summarize this week's posting activity (what went out, what's queued) 3. Note which posts got the most engagement 4. Suggest three content ideas for next week based on what performed 5. Save as "Content-Report-[date].md" in my Marketing folder Keep it actionable. I want to spend 5 minutes reading this, not 20. If a connected service isn't responding, skip that section and note it. All five elements look present. Read it once more, then trust your judgment.
Copy either file, save it as CLAUDE.md in your project folder, and trim it to your own rules. The comment at the top lists what to leave out; delete it once you have.
- Freelance Business Context (CLAUDE.md)
<!-- What NOT to put here: Keep it short. Under 300 lines is ideal. Rules and context, not data. Don't paste entire documents or your company handbook. Don't put things that change frequently (a client list belongs in a spreadsheet). Don't put things Claude can figure out on its own. --> # Freelance Business Context A UX consultant working with 4-6 clients at a time. Business registered in the EU. All invoices in EUR. ## File Naming - Invoices: [Client]-Invoice-[Number]-[YYYY-MM-DD].pdf - Proposals: [Client]-Proposal-[Project Name].docx - Reports: [Client]-Report-[Month YYYY].md ## Communication Tone - Client emails: Professional but warm. First names. Short paragraphs. - Internal notes: Casual. Abbreviations fine. No formatting needed. ## Standard Rates - Strategy session: EUR 150/hr - Design review: EUR 120/hr - Full project: Quote per deliverable, not hourly ## Things To Never Do - Never share one client's information in another client's context - Never suggest rates below the stated minimums - Never generate an invoice without confirming the line items first - Global Preferences (CLAUDE.md)
<!-- What NOT to put here: Keep it short. Under 300 lines is ideal. Rules and context, not data. Don't paste entire documents or your company handbook. Don't put things that change frequently (a client list belongs in a spreadsheet). Don't put things Claude can figure out on its own. --> # Global Preferences ## Communication Style - Prefer direct answers over hedging - Skip caveats like "it depends": give the best answer first - Bullet points to think, prose in final outputs - Humor is welcome. Corporate tone is not. ## When Working With Files - Ask before creating new folders - Prefer .md for notes, .csv for data, .html for tools - Always suggest where to save something before saving it ## Scheduling - No meetings before 10:00 - Weekends are off-limits for work tasks - "End of day" means 18:00 local time
- Work: the Monday morning briefing
Every Monday at 7:30am, prepare my weekly briefing: 1. Check my calendar for this week's meetings and deadlines 2. Summarize what happened last week (completed tasks, sent emails) 3. Identify the three most important things for this week 4. Note any conflicts or double-bookings 5. Save as "Weekly-Brief-[date].md" in my Briefings folder Format: Keep it under one page. Use headers for each section. If calendar access fails, note that and produce what you can.
- Personal: the daily meal plan
Every morning at 6:30am, suggest today's meals: Consider: - My dietary preferences (from my standing instructions) - Check my calendar: if I have lunch meetings, skip the lunch suggestion - Prefer what's in season right now - Dinner should take 30 minutes or less on weekdays - Weekends can be more ambitious (up to 1 hour) Output: Three meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) with brief descriptions. Save to "Meal-Plan-[date].md" in my Kitchen folder. If any suggestion needs an unusual ingredient, note where to buy it.
- Side business: the weekly content report
Every Friday at 4pm, generate my weekly content performance report: 1. Check my Buffer drafts and recent posts 2. Summarize this week's posting activity (what went out, what's queued) 3. Note which posts got the most engagement 4. Suggest three content ideas for next week based on what performed 5. Save as "Content-Report-[date].md" in my Marketing folder Keep it actionable. I want to spend 5 minutes reading this, not 20. If a connected service isn't responding, skip that section and note it.