Create a realistic daily planner from the information below. Do not add appointments, travel times, task details, or deadlines that I have not provided. Ask up to 3 clarifying questions only if a required input is missing; otherwise, make clearly labeled, conservative assumptions. Date and timezone: [DATE AND TIMEZONE] Fixed calendar commitments: [CALENDAR] Priority work and deadlines: [PRIORITIES] Available work hours, breaks, commute, and personal constraints: [TIME CONSTRAINTS] Energy pattern and planning preferences: [ENERGY AND PREFERENCES] First, identify which priorities must happen today, which can move, and any conflict between the calendar and the available time. Estimate focused-work blocks realistically: protect 10 to 15 minutes before meetings for preparation or transition when the schedule is dense, do not schedule uninterrupted deep work in fragments too short to be useful, and leave a buffer for unexpected work. Produce: 1. A chronological time-block calendar in a table with start/end time, activity, and intended outcome. 2. A short “must finish today” list limited to the work that fits. 3. A “move or delegate” list for lower-priority work that does not fit, with a suggested next date or owner only when supported by my input. 4. A 10-minute shutdown checklist: unfinished items, tomorrow’s first task, and calendar preparation. 5. A contingency version showing what to cut or move if one hour is lost. Put cognitively demanding work in the best energy window I gave you, batch shallow messages and admin work, and specify the first concrete action for each focus block. Do not fill every minute; preserve breaks and transition time. Before answering, check that no item overlaps another and that total planned work fits the available hours. Flag every deadline, duration, or dependency you had to assume.
Fill in
| Placeholder | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| [DATE AND TIMEZONE] | Enter the date you are planning and your timezone. | Tuesday, September 29, America/New_York |
| [CALENDAR] | Paste fixed meetings, appointments, travel, and other time-bound commitments with times. | 9:30–10:00 team stand-up; 12:00–12:45 lunch with client; 3:00–4:00 product review; 5:30 school pickup. |
| [PRIORITIES] | List tasks, their deadlines, estimated effort, and importance. | Finish Acme proposal by 4 PM, 90 minutes; review 12 candidate resumes by Wednesday, 60 minutes; reply to vendor, 15 minutes; submit expense report Friday, 25 minutes. |
| [TIME CONSTRAINTS] | State your working window, breaks, commute, caregiving, and other limits. | Available 8:30 AM–5:15 PM; 20-minute lunch buffer; need 15 minutes before school pickup; no work during meetings. |
| [ENERGY AND PREFERENCES] | Describe when you focus best and any planning rules you prefer. | Best writing before noon; avoid more than 90 minutes of deep work without a break; check email twice daily. |
How to use
- Paste your actual calendar blocks, including travel and personal commitments.
- List each task with a deadline and rough duration instead of a vague task name.
- Check that the plan reserves transitions and that the must-finish list is feasible.
- Follow up with: “Replan this after the 3 PM review ran 35 minutes late; keep the proposal deadline protected.”
Variations
Weekly calendar
Use this when you need to place work across a full week.
Build a weekly plan for [WEEK DATES] using my fixed commitments [CALENDAR], deliverables and deadlines [DELIVERABLES], and available hours [AVAILABILITY]. Produce a Monday-to-Friday table with focus blocks, preparation time, and protected recovery time. Put deadline-dependent work early enough for review, identify tasks that will not fit, and include a Friday closeout. Do not invent durations or commitments. Check for overlaps and flag capacity risks before answering.
Meeting-heavy day
Use this when meetings leave only small gaps for work.
Plan [DATE] around this meeting-heavy calendar: [CALENDAR]. My essential outcomes are [OUTCOMES], and my available nonmeeting time is [WORK WINDOW]. Create a plan that uses gaps under 25 minutes only for defined quick tasks, protects meeting preparation and follow-up, and identifies one item to defer. Output a time-block table plus a short meeting checklist. Do not assume open time. Check that every focus task has a usable block.
ADHD-friendly plan
Use this when task initiation and transitions are the main challenge.
Create an ADHD-friendly plan for [DATE] using my appointments [CALENDAR], tasks [TASKS], and constraints [CONSTRAINTS]. Break each work item into a first visible action that takes under five minutes, use short timed work blocks and explicit transition cues, and limit the day to three priority outcomes. Output a chronological schedule, a reset plan for falling behind, and a brief end-of-day routine. Do not invent deadlines. Check that the schedule includes breaks and no conflicting times.
Tips
- Treat travel, meal breaks, meeting preparation, and pickup windows as calendar commitments; otherwise the plan will be fiction.
- Give tasks a duration range when you are unsure, then plan against the high end for work with an external deadline.
- A daily plan should name an observable outcome, such as “send proposal draft,” rather than “work on proposal.”
- Keep one contingency rule, such as moving admin work before moving a client-facing deadline, so replanning is fast.
FAQ
Should I paste my whole calendar?
Paste the day’s fixed commitments and any nearby event that affects preparation, travel, or energy. You can omit private details and use labels such as “medical appointment.”
Can AI estimate task durations?
It can suggest ranges, but your own recent timing is more reliable. Ask it to label every estimate so you can replace it.
What if everything cannot fit?
A useful plan makes the tradeoff explicit. Have it defer, delegate, or renegotiate lower-priority work instead of creating an impossible schedule.