Daily Priorities Brief

What it does

Pulls together what is due, what is overdue, who is waiting on you and what is in your calendar, then decides what actually matters today. The result is a short brief you can read in under two minutes, including a list of things to ignore so fake urgency does not take over your day.

When to use it

• First thing each working morning.
• After a few days away, to see what needs you first.
• On a Monday, with the week's deadlines included.

What you need

• Required: some combination of your task list, today's calendar and messages that need a reply. Pasting them in, uploading a screenshot or typing a quick list all work.
• Helpful: your working hours, your time zone, and the one or two goals that matter most this month.
• Optional connectors, if you already use them: Asana, Trello, monday.com or Notion for tasks; Google Calendar or Microsoft 365 Outlook for meetings; Gmail, Outlook, Slack or Microsoft Teams for messages. Use whichever are connected and say which sources were checked. None is required.

Steps for Claude

1. Gather. From tasks: items due today, overdue items, high-priority items due in the next three days, and tasks with a new comment from someone else. From the calendar: today's meetings, back-to-back runs, and meetings in the next two hours that need preparation. From messages: direct mentions, unread direct messages, and words such as "urgent", "blocked" or "waiting on you".
2. Use the user's local time zone and state it at the top of the brief.
3. Prioritise privately. Rank by: a hard deadline today or a person waiting; anything that, if missed, delays revenue, a customer job or a compliance date; and work only the owner can do. Leave out anything that can be delegated or is merely nice to do.
4. Compliance dates. If the task list or calendar includes BAS, super, payroll or tax deadlines, list them under "Dates to watch" and point to the ATO due dates page rather than stating a date from memory.
5. Keep it short. No motivational language. The whole brief must be readable in under two minutes.
6. Do not act. Do not send messages, accept meetings or change tasks unless the user asks.

Output format

Today: [day, date, time zone]

• Meetings: time, meeting, who (three words), prep note or "no prep needed".
• Top 3 priorities: task, why it is in the top three, time needed.
• Overdue: task, how overdue, recommendation (do, reschedule or delegate).
• Focus block: one 60 to 90 minute window and what to use it for. If the day has no gap, say so and suggest which meeting could move.
• Needs a reply: only messages that truly need you.
• Dates to watch: tax, payroll or contract dates this week, if any.
• Ignore today: two or three items that can safely wait.
• Sources checked: which tools or pasted lists were used.

Australian rules and sources

• Tax and lodgment dates. Check current due dates on the ATO site. When a due date falls on a weekend or public holiday, you can lodge or pay on the next business day without penalty: https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/preparing-lodging-and-paying/reports-and-returns/due-dates-for-lodging-and-paying
• Messages with customer details. Your inbox and chats contain personal information. The OAIC recommends not entering personal information, particularly sensitive information, into publicly available generative AI tools: https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-guidance-for-organisations-and-government-agencies/guidance-on-privacy-and-the-use-of-commercially-available-ai-products

Limits

The brief only knows what you give it or what the connected tools show. It may miss commitments made by phone or in person. It is a planning aid, not a record of your obligations.

Example requests

1. "Run my daily brief. Here are my Trello cards and a screenshot of today's calendar."
2. "Check Asana, Google Calendar and Slack and give me today's brief."
3. "I've been away for three days. Here's my task list and 20 unread emails. What needs me first?"