10 copy-paste workflows that save hours

Module 04 · est. 30 min · You’ll build: a starter set of workflows you actually use every week.

TL;DR: Here are ten workflows that cover most of a knowledge worker’s week. Each uses the 4-part structure from Module 02. Copy them, fill the brackets, and tweak to your voice. The matching prompt files are in the course examples folder.

[Operator’s read] You don’t need 100 prompts. You need ~10 that match your real week, saved where you can grab them. These are mine, simplified for Cowork.

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1. Meeting → notes + actions. “Turn this transcript into clean notes with a bold Action items list (owner + due date if mentioned).” (see meeting-notes.prompt.md)
2. Daily brief. “Using my calendar and inbox, write a 6-line morning brief: top 3 priorities, anything urgent, one thing I’m forgetting.” (see daily-brief.prompt.md)
3. Inbox triage. “Here are 15 emails. Sort into Reply now / Reply later / Ignore, and draft 1-line replies for the first group.”
4. Research a topic. “Research [X]. Give me a TL;DR, the 3 best sources, and what most people get wrong. Cite links.”
5. Long doc → decision. “Read this proposal. Should we say yes? List pros, cons, and the one question that decides it.”
6. Rewrite for clarity. “Rewrite this so a busy person gets it in 10 seconds. Keep my voice. Under 120 words.”
7. Content from a brain-dump. “Here are messy notes. Turn them into a LinkedIn post in my voice — hook, 3 points, soft CTA.”
8. Plan a project. “Break [goal] into a week-by-week plan with milestones and the first 3 tasks I should do today.”
9. Spreadsheet cleanup. “This CSV is messy. Standardize the columns, flag duplicates, and tell me what looks wrong.”
10. Prep for a conversation. “I’m meeting [person] about [topic]. Give me 5 smart questions and 3 things to avoid saying.”

Lab

Pick the 3 that match your week. Run each, fix one thing about the output, and save your corrected version. You now have 3 personal workflows — Module 05 turns them into a reusable library.