Plan your day with two scheduled Claude tasks

A written plan beats a busy head. This guide sets up two scheduled Claude tasks. At 8 AM on weekdays you get a plan for the day. At 6 PM you get a report on what happened. Anything that slipped twice goes to the top. Both tasks share one "Focus log" note, which is how the evening report knows what the morning plan said.

You write the job once, pick a time, and Claude runs it. As of October 2026, Anthropic's help article says scheduled tasks are available on all paid plans (Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise) and run remotely, so they keep going when your computer is asleep. See Schedule recurring tasks.

You set this up in a normal Claude conversation. In September 2026 Anthropic merged Cowork into chat, so any conversation can create a scheduled task (Anthropic). If your message box still shows separate Chat and Cowork options (Team and Enterprise plans keep them for now), pick Cowork first.

Do it with Claude

Let Claude set up your two tasks

It asks five short questions, then creates both scheduled tasks.

Copy
Paste into a new Claude conversation
Answer its questions

See the prompt Claude gets

You are my setup coach. I run a small business and do not code. Use plain words and short sentences. The guide is pasted under this prompt. Use it as your script and your source of facts. I am reading it too, so do not summarize it. Task: set up the two scheduled tasks from the guide for me. Before you create anything, ask me the questions from the "Questions Claude asks first" section, in one numbered list. Both tasks share one note called "Focus log" and may write only to that note. No sending, no replying, no calendar changes. Show me the finished instructions for each task and wait for my yes before you schedule them.

When you copy, the whole guide goes in under this prompt, so Claude has every step.

Rather do it by hand? Jump to the setup document.

01 / 08

What you get

Two tasks, both on weekdays.

Morning plan, 8:00. The meetings that matter (three at most, one line on why), the one thing to finish today, and what can wait.
Day report, 18:00. What got done, what slipped, and anything that slipped twice at the top, plus one suggestion for tomorrow's one thing.

The morning plan sets the day. The evening report keeps the plan honest, because it compares the plan with what happened.

02 / 08

The Focus log

Each scheduled task starts fresh. It does not remember yesterday or this morning. So both tasks share one note called "Focus log".

Before it does anything else, each task reads the last 3 weekdays of the Focus log.
When it finishes, each task adds its output to the log, with the date and "Morning plan" or "Day report" at the top.
The Focus log is the only thing the tasks may write. Nothing gets sent, and nothing in your calendar or inbox changes.

This is how the day report can compare with this morning's plan, and how it can tell that something slipped twice.

03 / 08

Connect your tools first

Scheduled tasks use your connected tools. Connect your calendar, your email and the tool that will hold your Focus log before you start. A scheduled task has the same capabilities as a regular Claude task, including connected tools, skills and installed plugins. If a task needs files or apps on your computer, it only runs on your computer, so keep these two tasks to your connected tools.

Check that the calendar and email connections work in a regular chat first. If they fail there, they will fail in the schedule too.

04 / 08

The setup document

Copy this into a new Claude conversation. (If your message box still shows separate Chat and Cowork options, pick Cowork first.) Claude reads it, asks you questions, then creates both tasks. If Claude replies that it can't create scheduled tasks, check that you're on a paid plan, then paste the setup document into a new conversation and try again.

Focus setup document

Set up two scheduled tasks for me. Before creating them, ask me the questions in section 5. 1. FOCUS LOG: create one note or doc called "Focus log" that both tasks can open, in the place I choose when you ask me the questions in section 5. Both tasks read the last 3 weekdays of it before they do anything else, and add their output to it when they finish. It is the only thing they may write. 2. TASK ONE: "Morning plan". Run on weekdays at 8:00 in my time zone. First read the last 3 weekdays of the Focus log. Then read today's calendar and my inbox since 18:00 yesterday. Output: - Meetings that matter: three at most, one line on why each. Only real calendar events go here. Deadlines go under the ONE thing or What can wait. - The ONE thing to finish today. - What can wait. - Anything carried over from the Focus log (yesterday's day report). Add the output to the Focus log, labelled "Morning plan" with today's date. 3. TASK TWO: "Day report". Run on weekdays at 18:00. First read the last 3 weekdays of the Focus log. Compare this morning's plan (the latest "Morning plan" entry in the Focus log) with today's calendar and sent mail. Output: - Done. - Slipped: the ONE thing, any meeting that did not happen, and anything carried over. Leave out items that were under "What can wait". - Slipped twice (at the top): anything that was in the Focus log as slipped or carried over on two different days. - One suggestion for tomorrow's ONE thing. Add the output to the Focus log, labelled "Day report" with today's date. 4. GUARDRAILS: the Focus log is the only thing you may write. Do not send, reply, or change anything in my calendar or inbox. Nothing gets sent. Keep each output under 200 words. 5. QUESTIONS CLAUDE ASKS FIRST: - What is my time zone? - Do I already have a note or doc called "Focus log"? If yes, use it instead of making a second one. - Which calendar and inbox are connected? - What does "matters" mean for me (clients, deadlines, new business)? - Where do I keep the Focus log, and where do you want to read each plan (the Focus log only, or also in the task's own result)? - Is there anything you should never include? Show me the final instructions for both tasks and wait for my yes before scheduling.

05 / 08

Questions Claude asks first

Claude may ask you questions, often as multiple choice, before it creates the scheduled task. The document above tells it what to ask. Answer in plain words. The one that shapes the plan most is what matters to you. Be specific: "calls with leads and anything due this week" works better than "important stuff."

06 / 08

Check the first run

Set up the 8 AM Morning plan first and get it right before you trust the 6 PM report. Do not wait a week to see if it works.

Ask Claude to run the morning plan task once now.
Read the output. Does it name the right meetings? Is the one thing sensible?
Fix the instructions in the task, then run again.
Check that the 6 PM report runs the next evening, that it quotes the morning plan from the Focus log, and that nothing was sent.

07 / 08

If it goes wrong

The plan is empty or generic.

The calendar or email connection may not be reaching the task. Test both in a regular chat, then re-run the task. On a first run the Focus log is empty, so there is nothing carried over yet. That is normal.

The report lists things I did not plan.

That is the report working: it compares the plan in the Focus log with the real day. If it is noisy, tell Claude what to ignore and update the task.

I want a different time.

Click Scheduled in the left sidebar, open each task and edit its schedule. Frequency options include hourly, daily, weekly, on weekdays or manually.

Finish line

What to do next

Copy the setup document into a new Claude conversation today and get the 8 AM Morning plan working first. Tomorrow at 8, read the plan and pick the one thing.

You reached the end of the guide