Inbox Zero every morning. Zero back-and-forth. Every email linked, every action one click away. Built on Tiago Forte's One-Touch method, powered by Claude Cowork Scheduled Tasks.
Ethan's inbox is a mix of franchise/City Launcher operations, compliance alerts, sales leads, and personal emails. Without a system, important things get buried. With Claude as EA, the inbox is pre-sorted, pre-drafted, and pre-linked every morning — Ethan just makes decisions.
Opens Gmail → 47 unread → scrolls → forgets → reopens 3x → still 47 unread at 11pm. Mental load compounds daily.
Opens Claude brief → 3 P0s with drafts ready → clicks links → sends/archives → done in 17 min. Inbox hits zero by 8 AM.
Claude is a prep layer, not an autopilot. It reads, categorizes, drafts, and links — but Ethan presses every button. Here's exactly what Claude can and cannot do with the Gmail MCP:
Every email in the morning brief includes a direct Gmail link using the message ID. Ethan clicks the link → lands on the exact email → takes action (send draft, archive, label). No searching, no scrolling, no "which email was that?" The brief is a clickable action list.
create_event, list_events, find_meeting_times, find_my_free_time, delete_event — Claude can read today's calendar and create events from email context.
Claude's built-in task manager. Replaces ClickUp for personal task tracking. Tasks follow Tiago's 7 rules. Max 3 per day.
Five phases. The goal: every email gets touched exactly once. Claude handles phases 1–4 overnight. Ethan handles phase 5 in 17 minutes.
Identify obvious noise — newsletters Ethan never reads, automated receipts, marketing blasts. Claude flags them for archive with one-click links.
Unsubscribe candidates identified. Claude lists them with links — Ethan clicks to unsubscribe from Gmail directly.
Route emails to the right system: Calendar event? Task? Read Later? Claude pre-routes and creates drafts/events/tasks. Ethan confirms.
Draft replies for anything that needs a response. Templates for common patterns (franchise/City Launcher inquiries, vendor follow-ups).
Ethan opens the brief. Every item has a link. Click → decide → next. Six possible decisions per email (see Triage Table below).
Every email routes to one of four systems. Claude works with Ethan's existing labels — no new labels created.
| System | Tool | Connector | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calendar | Google Calendar | Google Calendar MCP | Available |
| Tasks | TASKS.md | Built-in | Ready |
| Notes / Reference | Apple Notes | Shortcuts bridge | Workaround |
| Read Later | "Reading" Gmail label | Ethan applies manually | Manual |
Claude respects these labels — never creates, removes, or modifies them.
Two layers: Claude prepares overnight, Ethan executes in the morning. Every email gets a direct link.
1. Scan Inbox
search_messages → get all unread. Save every message ID for linking.
2. Read & Categorize
read_message each → assign triage decision (archive, reply, calendar, task, reference, read later).
3. Flag P0s
Check for deadline triggers, money signals, legal/gov, account alerts. Flag as P0 with reason.
4. Draft Replies
create_draft for emails needing response. Calendar events created via GCal MCP. Tasks added to TASKS.md.
1. Review P0s
Click link → review draft → hit Send. 3 min.
2. Batch Archive
Click batch link → select all → archive. 2 min.
3. Review Drafts
Click each → edit if needed → send. 8 min.
4. Confirm Calendar & Tasks
Quick scan of auto-created events and tasks. 2 min.
5. Label "Reading"
Click links → apply "Reading" label in Gmail. 2 min.
Claude pre-assigns a decision. Ethan confirms or overrides. Every row in the brief has a link.
| Decision | What Claude Does | What Ethan Does | Link Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archive | Lists email in "Archive These" with link | Clicks batch link → select all → archive | Batch search link |
| Reply | Creates draft reply via create_draft | Click link → review draft → hit Send | Direct message link |
| Calendar | Creates event via GCal MCP | Confirms in calendar | Email link + GCal link |
| Task | Adds to TASKS.md with email link embedded | Reviews top 3 tasks for the day | Email link in task |
| Reference | Extracts key info, outputs for Apple Notes | Runs Shortcut to save note | Email link + text |
| Read Later | Lists in "Reading" section with link | Click link → apply "Reading" label | Direct message link |
Claude runs this logic on every email. Each question is a yes/no gate. The first "yes" wins.
First yes wins. Claude evaluates top-to-bottom. A P0 email that also needs a reply gets flagged as P0 (with the draft still created). An email can only land in one category in the brief — no duplicates.
Claude scans every email for high-priority signals. These always appear at the top of the brief, highlighted in red.
password reset, security alert, account suspended, verification required, unusual activity
due by, expires on, deadline, final notice, last chance, renewal date, action required by
wire transfer, payment received, invoice overdue, refund, chargeback, past due, NSF
from *.gov, subpoena, compliance notice, cease and desist, regulatory, audit, tax notice
investors, lawyers, franchise/City Launcher partners by name, key vendors, accountant, landlords
machine down, out of stock, delivery failed, shipment delayed, system outage, critical error
Each task runs autonomously via Claude Cowork Scheduled Tasks. Cron expressions in Ethan's local timezone.
Search all unread → read each → categorize → flag P0s → create drafts → build morning brief with Gmail links for every email.
0 45 6 * * *Pull today's events from GCal → append to morning brief with meeting prep notes for key meetings.
0 0 7 * * *Review TASKS.md → surface the 3 highest-priority tasks → append to brief. Follow Tiago's "go with energy" rule.
0 5 7 * * *Quick scan for new P0s since morning. If urgent, flag immediately. Otherwise, queue for tomorrow's brief.
0 0 12 * * *List any unsent drafts from the morning → remind Ethan if any P0 drafts weren't sent.
0 0 17 * * *Review TASKS.md → mark completed tasks → note anything that rolled to tomorrow. 2-minute rule check.
0 30 17 * * *ECNT sweep: Email (inbox zero check) → Calendar (next week preview) → Notes (orphaned items) → Tasks (overdue cleanup). Prep doc for Ethan's 30-min Friday review.
0 0 16 * * 5This is what Ethan sees every morning at 7 AM. Every email is a clickable link to Gmail. Archive items include a batch search link to select-all-archive in one shot.
Links use format: mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/MESSAGE_ID
When Claude scans emails via search_messages, it receives a message ID for each result. This ID maps directly to a Gmail deep link:
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/18e4f2a3b7c8d9e0
For the batch archive feature, Claude constructs a Gmail search query that matches all archive-worthy emails:
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/from:morningbrew+OR+from:shopify+OR+from:linkedin+OR+from:stripe
Ethan clicks the batch link → Gmail shows all matching emails → select all → archive. 14 emails archived in 2 clicks.
No searching. No scrolling. Every action is a click from the brief.
Open brief → see 2 P0s → click link → review Claude's draft → hit Send or take action. Biggest fires handled first.
Click the batch search link → Gmail shows 14 emails → Ctrl+A → Archive. Done in 2 clicks. No one-by-one hunting.
4 drafts ready → click each link → skim Claude's draft → edit if needed → Send. ~2 min per draft.
Glance at today's 3 events. Confirm auto-created event is correct. Review top 3 tasks from TASKS.md.
Click 3 "Reading" links → apply label in Gmail. Check unsubscribe candidates. Inbox zero achieved.
"Every Commitment Needs Tracking." Four sweeps in 30 minutes every Friday. Claude preps the review doc at 4 PM; Ethan reviews at 4:30.
Is inbox at zero? Any drafts unsent? Any threads older than 48 hours that need follow-up?
Review past week (any missed follow-ups?). Preview next week. Any prep needed for key meetings?
Any orphaned notes without a next action? Reference material that should become a task? Apple Notes cleanup.
TASKS.md audit. Overdue items? Tasks that need to be broken down? Anything to delegate or delete? Reset for next week.
These rules are programmed into Claude's task creation logic. Every task in TASKS.md follows them.
From zero to fully operational AI EA in 5 days. Each day has a clear deliverable.
Connect Gmail MCP and Google Calendar MCP in Claude Cowork settings. Verify access by running a test search and listing today's events. Initialize TASKS.md with section headers. Test Apple Notes Shortcut bridge.
Create the main scheduled task: inbox scan + categorize + draft + brief generation. Include P0 keyword list. Set cron to 6:45 AM local. Test with yesterday's emails. Verify Gmail links work.
Create calendar preview task (7:00 AM). Create task surfacing task (7:05 AM). Wire calendar event creation into the morning scan — if email contains a meeting/deadline, auto-create GCal event.
Create midday P0 sweep (12:00 PM). Create end-of-day draft check (5:00 PM). Create task wrap-up (5:30 PM). Test the full daily cycle end-to-end.
Create Friday weekly review prep task (4:00 PM). Fine-tune P0 keywords based on Day 2–4 results. Adjust archive thresholds. Document any patterns for future optimization. Go live.
Built for Ethan Kohan by Trisha — Powered by Claude Cowork
Blueprint v5 — April 2026 — Every email linked, every action one click away.