Your ongoing assistant setup
Start here: Start with the complete fictional morning brief below. Run it manually, change one deadline and compare the revision. Then inspect what approved reading or action access would add before deciding whether to connect anything.
Start with one assistant responsibility and the fictional morning brief in the linked lesson. Check changed facts before considering real connections or recurrence.
Work through the assistant lesson (opens in a new tab) for the Dot and Grok Bot setup paths and fictional practice. Use one platform; no other course purchase is needed.
Try the complete brief first
Copy this into a new conversation and send it:
Prepare a short owner brief from these fictional facts only.
Tuesday, October 20. All times America/Chicago.
Calendar: educator planning 9-9:30 AM; supplier call 11-11:30 AM;
curriculum review 2-3 PM. Other availability is unknown.
Supplier message A: proposed order needs my confirmation by 10 AM;
it has not been approved.
Education message B: review two demonstration topics before tomorrow.
Vendor message C: optional software demo next week, no deadline.
I want 30 minutes for curriculum preparation.
Show fixed commitments, decisions and suggested next steps.
Keep a suggested focus block separate from a booked event.
Identify sources by the calendar or message letter.
Do not send, approve an order, edit a calendar or create a schedule.
Check the 10 AM decision before the 11 AM call. Ask for a draft question about extending that deadline; it must not claim an extension was granted. Then change the deadline to noon and remove the supplier call. Ask again and compare the new brief with those changed facts. No connection is required.
Your working brief
Responsibility and useful result:
Standing preferences: timezone, working hours, brief format:
Today's priorities: temporary, not permanent instructions:
Approved source account or selected nonpersonal excerpts:
Information excluded from this job:
Actual permissions granted: reading versus changing/sending:
Actions that need my approval:
Where I review the result and its sources:
When to notify me and what counts as urgent:
One-time task or verified recurring arrangement:
How I pause work, cancel recurrence and remove access:
Where I keep a recoverable copy of these instructions:
Briefing request
Use only these approved inputs: [nonpersonal practice material].
Show fixed commitments, approaching decisions, suggested replies
and one realistic focus block. Keep facts and suggestions separate.
Point to the source for each item. Say what you could not inspect.
Do not send, forward, archive or delete email, change my calendar,
contact people, spend, connect accounts or start recurring work.
Ask when an important fact is missing. Prepare the brief once now.
Inspect the result
Does the brief preserve deadlines and distinguish a proposed order from an approved one? Are focus blocks suggestions rather than claimed bookings? Does a reply draft avoid making a commitment you have not chosen? If the source is unavailable, does the assistant report the gap?
Use the fictional calendar and three messages in the lesson, then change a deadline and cancel a practice meeting. Try again before choosing a recurring arrangement. No real mailbox or calendar connection is needed for that exercise.
Access review
Inspect: open the actual app/plugin connection settings, select the service and read the account and data/action permissions before confirming. If only learning, cancel. If the school approves a suitable connection, use the supported sign-in flow and inspect the saved permissions afterward.
| Needed capability | Access to inspect, where supported | Without it |
|---|---|---|
| Notice new routine messages | Suitable approved email reading | Supply the selected permitted messages yourself |
| Inspect appointments | Suitable approved calendar reading | Supply the schedule excerpt yourself |
| Deliver a reviewed reply | Supported email sending plus required approval | Copy and send the checked draft yourself |
| Create an agreed meeting | Supported calendar editing plus required approval | Enter the checked event yourself |
Separate the permission from the specific decision. If supported, action controls and explicit recipient/content/time approval help govern external actions; a prompt is not a technical restriction on underlying access. Test only with separately approved harmless teaching material and inspect the real sent item or event. Know how to stop the job, cancel recurrence and revoke access; they are separate controls.
Record the connected account, actual permissions, school approval and removal route. A prompt limiting the assistant to vendor mail does not limit a connector that can read the entire inbox. Use an appropriately restricted approved source or selected nonpersonal excerpts instead. Never record passwords or recovery codes here.
Decide whether to keep it
Note what important work the brief helped you handle, the time spent checking it and any missing or noisy items. Adjust its job and notifications before adding more responsibilities. Check the actual schedule or task controls when stopping; ending a conversation is not proof that future work has stopped.
Add one responsibility at a time
The same bounded brief can support a school meeting or a manually supplied weekend agenda. Change sources, timing, delivery and the decisions you retain. Test changed facts and missing access with fictional inputs first. Account connections require their own permission check; a written limit does not reduce a connector’s actual reach.