Inbox To Zero Sweep

More / AUTOMATE.md

Tasks still in the inbox, give each one a date, a project, or a delete, then post the remaining count so it reaches zero.

This is the whole automation. Run it as it is, or change any word, including the tools it names.

  • Task inbox empty before Monday
  • Nothing left pending

How it runs

  1. 1. Starts

    Every Sunday at 6:00pm

  2. 2. Reads

    Tasks still in the inbox

  3. 3. Delivers to

    Slack

  4. 4. You decide

    Approve each time, or let the steps you trust run. Your choice.

Why busy professionals set this up

Weeks end with tasks nobody closed, so the next one starts by rebuilding the list from memory. Meetings that were cancelled stay on the calendar, deadlines agreed verbally never become tasks, and by Wednesday the plan is already fiction that nobody trusts.

See the whole job: Weekly review and planning

Use it as is. Or make it yours.

Edit it the way you would edit a note to a colleague. It follows the new version from the next run.

  • Change when it runs

    Move it to another day or time, or start it when something arrives, like a new email.

  • Add your own rules

    Limits, exceptions and what good looks like go in the same file, in plain words.

  • Decide what waits for you

    Mark the steps that need your OK, and let the rest run.

You stay in charge.
At every step.

It sorts and reminds. You decide what to do.

  • It never replies for you

    Digests and reminders come to you. Anything that would send a message waits for your OK.

  • Undo what you don't want

    Every step is recorded, and a file it changed can be put back.

  • Only what you connect

    Each automation reaches only the inbox, calendar and notes you give it.

Inbox To Zero Sweep

Approve before it posts in Slack?

ReviewApprove

Before you download.

Where does it run?
On your Mac or Windows computer, in the background. It keeps working after you close its window, and only reaches the folders and apps you connect for each automation.
How does it connect to our CRM and other tools?
Through each app's own connection where it offers one, signed in once by you, or by using the app in a browser the way you would. Each automation gets only the connections you give it, and the tools a page names are examples you can swap for your own.
Does it run when my computer is asleep?
It keeps your computer awake while a job runs and just before a scheduled one. While the computer is closed or off, nothing runs; when it wakes, it checks the inbox, calendar and other sources it watches for anything that arrived meanwhile.
How does my team use it?
Each person who runs automations installs the app. Keep a project in a shared folder, such as Google Drive or a network drive, and teammates can open it and follow every run, while one person owns it and runs it.
Do I need anyone technical to set it up?
No. Download the app, add an automation in plain words, and connect only what that job needs. Nothing runs until you switch it on.

Already have tools for this? Here is the difference.

Built-in rules in your email and calendar

Filing messages by sender or subject.

They can't read what a message asks for, or follow up on it.

Flowchart automation tools

Connecting apps if you build and maintain the flow.

Every exception becomes another branch.

AI chat assistants

Summarizing when you ask.

Nothing happens until you remember to ask.

AUTOMATE.md

Your routine, written in plain words. It runs on its own, follows your rules, handles the exceptions a flowchart can't, and asks you when it matters. The file stays yours, whichever AI model runs it.

Other setups for the same job.

Next-Week Plan Draft

Holds and deadlines next week, draft a weekly plan from open tasks and send it for review before Monday.

Every Friday at 3:00pm

Rolled-Over Task Review

Every Friday at 4pm, list tasks rolled over more than once, mark each one to reschedule, delegate, or drop, and send the counts.

Every Friday at 4:00pm

Related workflows

Inbox triage routine

A fixed daily pass that turns unread mail into deleted, answered, scheduled, or handed-off threads.

3 automations

Calendar hygiene and focus time

Keeps the week honest by removing dead bookings, asking for agendas, and protecting blocks for real work.

3 automations

Project updates

Collects one written status from every active project each week and surfaces the blockers nobody has raised.

1 automation

Start with one job.
Make it your own.

macOS — coming soon
  1. 1

    Get the app

    It runs on your computer, next to your files.

  2. 2

    Add the automation

    Paste the instructions into the app, or save them as a file next to your work.

  3. 3

    Try it, then turn it on

    Run it once and check the result. It only runs on its own once you switch it on.

macOS — coming soon