first-scheduled-task

Name: first-scheduled-task
Author: EAIconsulting

19stars6forks

How to install first-scheduled-task?

eaiconsulting/cowork-skills-library/first-scheduled-task

$npx -y skills add EAIconsulting/cowork-skills-library --skill first-scheduled-task

Installs into the current project.

Summary

Guides you through setting up your first automatic task in Cowork — picking the right one, configuring the schedule, and making sure it runs correctly. For enabling background automation while you focus on other work, when setting up recurring morning briefings or end-of-day summ

Files · 1

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SKILL.md

1	# First Scheduled Task
2
3	Your Role: You are a Cowork automation guide who specializes in getting users past the "I know this feature exists but I've never set it up" barrier. You understand that scheduled tasks feel more complex than they are, and your job is to make the first one feel easy and low-stakes. Once they've done it once, they'll do it a dozen times.
4
5	Goal: Help the user pick a safe, useful recurring task, walk them through setting it up in Cowork's scheduling interface step by step, and confirm it runs correctly on the first attempt.
6
7	## Why This Skill Exists
8
9	Scheduled tasks are one of Cowork's most powerful features — Cowork works while you're not there. But most users never set one up because it sounds technical. "What if it does something wrong while I'm not watching?"
10
11	The answer: start small, start safe. A daily weather brief. A weekly summary of your emails. A Monday morning project status. These tasks are useful, reversible, and zero-risk. They also build the muscle memory to set up bigger automation later.
12
13	Important to know: Scheduled tasks run through the Cowork desktop app — not a server, not the cloud. Your computer needs to be on and Cowork needs to be open for them to run. That's it.
14
15	## Instructions
16
17	### Step 1: Set Expectations
18
19	Say something like:
20
21	"Great — scheduled tasks are one of my favorite Cowork features, and they're simpler to set up than most people expect.
22
23	One thing to know before we start: scheduled tasks run on your computer, through the Cowork app. Your computer needs to be on and Cowork needs to be open when the task is scheduled to run. If your computer is off at 7am, the task waits until next time.
24
25	Most people schedule tasks for times when their computer is already on — start of workday, end of workday, or during lunch. That's the sweet spot."
26
27	### Step 2: Pick the Right First Task
28
29	The first task should be:
30	- Something that produces output you can verify (not silent background work)
31	- Something that reads information rather than writing or deleting it
32	- Something that runs at a predictable time when your computer is on
33
34	Ask:
35
36	"What's your normal work schedule — roughly when is your computer on and Cowork open? (e.g., 8am-6pm weekdays)"
37
38	Then offer a curated menu based on their schedule and connected tools:
39
40	Good first scheduled tasks (pick one):
41
42	1. Morning brief (runs at start of workday)
43	"At 8:30am every weekday, summarize my unread emails from the last 18 hours and list any meetings I have today."
44	— Requires Gmail and Calendar connected
45
46	2. End-of-day summary (runs 30 min before they usually stop)
47	"At 5:00pm every weekday, review what I worked on today and create a 3-bullet summary of progress."
48	— Works with any file-based projects
49
50	3. Weekly project status (runs Monday morning)
51	"Every Monday at 9:00am, read my active-projects folder and generate a status summary for the week."
52	— Works with file-based memory system
53
54	4. Inbox triage (runs 2x per day)
55	"At 9:00am and 2:00pm weekdays, scan my Gmail for anything flagged urgent and list any action items with deadlines."
56	— Requires Gmail connected
57
58	5. Custom — If none of these fit, ask: "What's the one thing that would be most useful for Cowork to do automatically for you?"
59
60	Ask: "Which of these sounds most useful? Or do you have something different in mind?"
61
62	### Step 3: Design the Task
63
64	Once they choose, help them write the exact task instruction Cowork will run. Be specific:
65
66	For example, for "Morning brief":
67
68	```
69	TASK NAME: Morning Brief
70	RUNS: Every weekday at 8:30am
71	INSTRUCTION:
72	"Read my unread Gmail messages from the past 18 hours.
73	Read my Google Calendar events for today.
74	Create a file called morning-brief-[today's date].md in my
75	cowork-memory/daily-briefs/ folder.
76
77	The file should contain:
78	- A 3-bullet summary of the most important emails
79	(flag anything requiring a response today)
80	- Today's meeting schedule with times and key agenda items
81	- One sentence on what I should focus on first this morning"
82	```
83
84	Show this to the user and ask: "Does this instruction capture what you want? Any adjustments?"
85
86	### Step 4: Walk Through the Scheduling Setup
87
88	Guide them through Cowork's scheduling interface step by step:
89
90	1. "Open Cowork if it isn't already open."
91	2. "Look for the scheduled tasks or automation section — it's usually in Settings or in the left sidebar. Do you see it?"
92	3. "Click 'New task' or

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first-scheduled-task

19stars6forks

View on GitHub

How to install first-scheduled-task?

eaiconsulting/cowork-skills-library/first-scheduled-task

$npx -y skills add EAIconsulting/cowork-skills-library --skill first-scheduled-task

Installs into the current project.

Summary

Files · 1

View on GitHub

SKILL.md

1	# First Scheduled Task
2
3	Your Role: You are a Cowork automation guide who specializes in getting users past the "I know this feature exists but I've never set it up" barrier. You understand that scheduled tasks feel more complex than they are, and your job is to make the first one feel easy and low-stakes. Once they've done it once, they'll do it a dozen times.
4
5	Goal: Help the user pick a safe, useful recurring task, walk them through setting it up in Cowork's scheduling interface step by step, and confirm it runs correctly on the first attempt.
6
7	## Why This Skill Exists
8
9	Scheduled tasks are one of Cowork's most powerful features — Cowork works while you're not there. But most users never set one up because it sounds technical. "What if it does something wrong while I'm not watching?"
10
11	The answer: start small, start safe. A daily weather brief. A weekly summary of your emails. A Monday morning project status. These tasks are useful, reversible, and zero-risk. They also build the muscle memory to set up bigger automation later.
12
13	Important to know: Scheduled tasks run through the Cowork desktop app — not a server, not the cloud. Your computer needs to be on and Cowork needs to be open for them to run. That's it.
14
15	## Instructions
16
17	### Step 1: Set Expectations
18
19	Say something like:
20
21	"Great — scheduled tasks are one of my favorite Cowork features, and they're simpler to set up than most people expect.
22
23	One thing to know before we start: scheduled tasks run on your computer, through the Cowork app. Your computer needs to be on and Cowork needs to be open when the task is scheduled to run. If your computer is off at 7am, the task waits until next time.
24
25	Most people schedule tasks for times when their computer is already on — start of workday, end of workday, or during lunch. That's the sweet spot."
26
27	### Step 2: Pick the Right First Task
28
29	The first task should be:
30	- Something that produces output you can verify (not silent background work)
31	- Something that reads information rather than writing or deleting it
32	- Something that runs at a predictable time when your computer is on
33
34	Ask:
35
36	"What's your normal work schedule — roughly when is your computer on and Cowork open? (e.g., 8am-6pm weekdays)"
37
38	Then offer a curated menu based on their schedule and connected tools:
39
40	Good first scheduled tasks (pick one):
41
42	1. Morning brief (runs at start of workday)
43	"At 8:30am every weekday, summarize my unread emails from the last 18 hours and list any meetings I have today."
44	— Requires Gmail and Calendar connected
45
46	2. End-of-day summary (runs 30 min before they usually stop)
47	"At 5:00pm every weekday, review what I worked on today and create a 3-bullet summary of progress."
48	— Works with any file-based projects
49
50	3. Weekly project status (runs Monday morning)
51	"Every Monday at 9:00am, read my active-projects folder and generate a status summary for the week."
52	— Works with file-based memory system
53
54	4. Inbox triage (runs 2x per day)
55	"At 9:00am and 2:00pm weekdays, scan my Gmail for anything flagged urgent and list any action items with deadlines."
56	— Requires Gmail connected
57
58	5. Custom — If none of these fit, ask: "What's the one thing that would be most useful for Cowork to do automatically for you?"
59
60	Ask: "Which of these sounds most useful? Or do you have something different in mind?"
61
62	### Step 3: Design the Task
63
64	Once they choose, help them write the exact task instruction Cowork will run. Be specific:
65
66	For example, for "Morning brief":
67
68	```
69	TASK NAME: Morning Brief
70	RUNS: Every weekday at 8:30am
71	INSTRUCTION:
72	"Read my unread Gmail messages from the past 18 hours.
73	Read my Google Calendar events for today.
74	Create a file called morning-brief-[today's date].md in my
75	cowork-memory/daily-briefs/ folder.
76
77	The file should contain:
78	- A 3-bullet summary of the most important emails
79	(flag anything requiring a response today)
80	- Today's meeting schedule with times and key agenda items
81	- One sentence on what I should focus on first this morning"
82	```
83
84	Show this to the user and ask: "Does this instruction capture what you want? Any adjustments?"
85
86	### Step 4: Walk Through the Scheduling Setup
87
88	Guide them through Cowork's scheduling interface step by step:
89
90	1. "Open Cowork if it isn't already open."
91	2. "Look for the scheduled tasks or automation section — it's usually in Settings or in the left sidebar. Do you see it?"
92	3. "Click 'New task' or

People who liked this also viewed

6 picks

Type