A morning briefing that covers your whole day in one message
Most mornings start with five apps: weather, calendar, inbox, news, then the to-do list. This prompt turns that into one recurring to-do. At the time you pick, your todo.is agent checks the forecast, your Google Calendar and Gmail, scans the news on your topics and sends one short morning briefing you can read over coffee.
The prompt
- Every weekday at [TIME] ([TIME ZONE]), send me a morning briefing on [WHERE TO SEND IT]. Include, in this order: 1) the weather in [CITY] today, with the high, the low and whether I need an umbrella; 2) my meetings today from Google Calendar with start times and who is attending; 3) emails from the last 12 hours that need a reply from me, max 5, one line each; 4) the 3 most important news stories about [MY TOPICS], with source links; 5) one reminder from my notes if anything is due today. Keep it under 250 words, use short bullets, and put anything urgent at the very top. On weekends, skip the meetings and emails and just send the weather and news at 9:00.
What to change
- [TIME]: When you usually wake up or start work, e.g. 7:00.
- [TIME ZONE]: Your time zone or city, e.g. "Europe/Madrid" or "Chicago time".
- [WHERE TO SEND IT]: WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord or email.
- [CITY]: Where you are most days, e.g. "Rotterdam". Add a second city if you commute.
- [MY TOPICS]: Two or three specific topics, e.g. "logistics in Europe, electric vans, news about my client Hollin Freight".
Example result
- Good morning · Tuesday, October 13
- Urgent: Marta Velde asked for the signed quote by 11:00 (email at 22:14).
- Weather in Rotterdam
- • 9°C now, high of 14°C, low of 7°C
- • Dry until about 15:00, then light rain. Take an umbrella for the ride home.
- • Wind from the west, gusty near the river
- Today's meetings
- • 9:30 Weekly ops stand-up (30 min) · Jonas, Priya, Kees
- • 11:00 Call with Hollin Freight about Q1 rates · Marta Velde
- • 14:00 Dentist (blocked in your calendar, leave by 13:35)
- • 16:30 1:1 with Priya · agenda doc linked in the invite
- Emails that need you
- • Marta Velde (Hollin Freight): wants the signed quote before your 11:00 call
- • Finance: asks you to approve two expense claims, due Thursday
- • Skipped: 14 newsletters, 6 notifications, 3 FYI threads
- News on your topics
- • EU agrees on new rules for truck rest areas. Operators will need to report stops digitally from next year. (source link)
- • Electric van orders rise again in the Benelux. Fleet buyers cite lower charging costs. (source link)
- • Hollin Freight opens a depot near Antwerp. Could affect your lane pricing. (source link)
- Due today
- • Renew the parking permit (you asked me to remind you)
- About 1 minute of reading. Reply "more on 2" or "draft a reply to Marta" and I will take it from there.
How to do it with todo.is
- Copy the prompt and fill in your time, city, topics and the app where you want the briefing.
- Connect Google in todo.is so your agent can read your calendar and Gmail, then paste the prompt on the Today screen.
- Your agent saves it as a recurring to-do and sends the first briefing at the time you set.
- Reply to any briefing to change it, like "add my Friday team lunch" or "only show emails from clients".
Tips for a better result
- Keep the order fixed. When the sections are always in the same place, you can scan the briefing in under a minute.
- Tell it which senders count as urgent ("my boss, clients at @hollin.com") so the email section stays short.
- Ask for a longer Monday edition with the whole week's meetings and deadlines.
- If you travel, say "use the weather where my calendar says I am today" instead of a fixed city.
- Without Google connected, the briefing still works with weather, news and reminders you give your agent.
morning briefing: FAQ
- What should a morning briefing include? The things you check first anyway: weather, your first meetings, anything urgent in your inbox and a few headlines. Keep it under a minute of reading or you will stop reading it.
- Does it need access to my Gmail and calendar? Only for those sections. Connect Google in todo.is and your agent can read your calendar and inbox. It never sends an email without your OK.
- Can I get the briefing as a voice note? Yes. Ask your agent to also send it as an MP3 voice note, which is handy if you listen while getting ready. It uses a few more credits.
- How is this different from a daily news briefing? A news briefing only covers headlines. A morning briefing mixes your own day (meetings, emails, reminders) with weather and a short news section.
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