Daily Check-in

Runs a structured morning check-in that pulls from your calendar, email, and project files to produce a prioritized plan for the day. One prompt replaces 30 minutes of manual calendar-checking, email-scanning, and to-do-list reviewing.

Triggers

Use this skill when:

• User says "check in," "daily check-in," "morning check-in," or "what's on my plate"
• User says "plan my day," "what should I focus on today," or "daily brief"
• User says "run my morning routine," "start my day," or "what's today look like"
• User says "morning brief" or "what do I have going on"
• It's the start of a conversation on a weekday morning

Data Sources

This skill works best with connectors enabled. Go to Settings → Connectors and connect:

• Google Calendar — schedule awareness, meeting prep, conflict detection
• Gmail — email context, client communication, priority triage

If you don't have connectors set up, the skill still works — it will pull from whatever project files you have uploaded. For best results without connectors, upload:

• A screenshot or export of your calendar for the week
• Your current to-do list or task tracker
• Your goals document or OKRs

The more context you provide in your project files, the more specific your check-in will be. Connectors just automate what you'd otherwise paste in manually.

Rules

1. Always gather context first. Before writing any output, check:
   • Today's calendar events (and tomorrow's, for prep)
   • Recent emails (last 24 hours — 72 hours on Mondays)
   • The user's current goals or OKRs (from project files)
   • Any active projects or client work (from project files)
2. Revenue and impact first. Prioritize tasks that directly generate revenue or move important projects forward. Admin, organizing, and "build mode" tasks come last — not first.
3. Be specific, not generic. Don't say "work on client project." Say "Draft the Westmark proposal — they're expecting it by Wednesday and it's a $15K deal."
4. Flag prep needed. If there's a meeting tomorrow that needs preparation, say so today. Don't let someone walk into a call unprepared.
5. Keep it scannable. The whole check-in should take 2 minutes to read. If someone can't get the picture in a quick scan, it's too long.
6. Ask 1-2 targeted questions before finalizing the plan. Pick from:
   • "Anything urgent that came in overnight?"
   • "How's your energy today?" (adjust recommendations accordingly)
   • "Did you finish [specific item from yesterday]?"
   • "You have [meeting] tomorrow — do you need prep time blocked?"
7. Monday is different. On Mondays, expand the check-in to cover the full week: what's the #1 priority this week, what meetings need prep, what deadlines are coming.
8. Friday is different. On Fridays, add a quick retro: what got done this week, what didn't, what carries forward to Monday.

Output Format

[Day], [Date] — Daily Check-in

Start here: [The single most important thing to do first today — specific and actionable]

Today's Calendar

[Time] — [Event] — [Why it matters or what to prep] [Time] — [Event] — [Why it matters or what to prep]

Priority Tasks (impact order)

1. [Task] — [Why it matters + what "done" looks like]
2. [Task] — [Why it matters + what "done" looks like]
3. [Task] — [Why it matters + what "done" looks like]

Prep Needed (next 48 hours)

• [Meeting/deadline]: [What needs to be ready and by when]

Waiting On

• [Person]: [What you're waiting for + when to follow up if no response]

Action Items

• [Specific action — verb first]
• [Specific action — verb first]
• [Specific action — verb first]

Example Output

Here's what a completed daily check-in looks like in practice:

Wednesday, March 12 — Daily Check-in

Start here: Send the Greenline Landscaping proposal — they're expecting it today and it's a $12K deal.

Today's Calendar

9:00 AM — Team standup — Share proposal status, ask about equipment pricing 11:00 AM — Discovery call with Apex Roofing — New lead, needs prep (see below) 2:00 PM — Vendor demo: CRM migration tool — Low priority, can reschedule if needed

Priority Tasks (impact order)

1. Finalize and send Greenline proposal — $12K deal, client expecting it today. Done = proposal sent + follow-up call scheduled for Friday.
2. Prep for Apex Roofing discovery call — New lead from referral. Done = 5 questions written, company researched, talk ratio target set.
3. Invoice February retainer clients — $4,800 in receivables. Done = 3 invoices sent via QuickBooks.

Prep Needed (next 48 hours)

• Thursday client review (Meridian): Pull last month's analytics dashboard + draft talking points by end of day today.

Waiting On

• Jake (Greenline): Equipment cost breakdown — follow up tomorrow AM if no response.
• Sarah (accountant): Q4 tax docs — due Friday, ping if not received by Thursday.

Action Items

• Send Greenline proposal by 10 AM
• Research Apex Roofing before 11 AM call
• Send 3 February invoices
• Pull Meridian analytics for Thursday review

Monday Expansion

On Mondays, add these sections after the standard check-in:

This Week's #1 Priority

[One sentence: the single thing that matters most this week]

Week at a Glance

Not This Week

• [Things explicitly deprioritized — naming what you're NOT doing prevents drift]

Friday Expansion

On Fridays, add these sections after the standard check-in:

Week in Review

• Got done: [Key accomplishments — outcomes, not activities]
• Didn't get done: [What slipped and why — be honest]
• Carry forward: [What moves to next week's Monday plan]

Momentum Check: 🔥 / 😐 / 😰

[One sentence on how the week felt and where things are heading]

Customization Notes

To make this skill work for YOUR business, edit these things:

1. "Revenue first" framing — If your work isn't revenue-driven (you're in a corporate role, nonprofit, etc.), change "revenue" to whatever your north star metric is: project delivery, user growth, research milestones, etc.
2. Data sources — The skill references "project files" for goals and active work. Upload your actual goals document and project list to your Claude project. The more specific your files, the more specific your check-in. If you have Google Calendar and Gmail connected, the skill will pull from those automatically.
3. Monday/Friday format — Adjust to match your actual week rhythm. If you do planning on Sundays, move the Monday expansion there. If your team standup is Wednesday, add a "standup prep" section.
4. Questions — Replace the sample questions with ones that match YOUR patterns. If you tend to procrastinate on sales calls, add "Did you make your outreach calls?" If you skip workouts, add "Did you move your body today?"
5. Connectors — This skill gets dramatically better with Google Calendar and Gmail connected (Settings → Connectors). Without them, you can still paste in your calendar or task list at the start of the conversation and the skill will work from that.