Building an AI Chief of Staff

Use approved messages for deadlines, requests and follow-ups.

1. Connect the Gmail plugin to the mailbox that holds your briefing information. Check the displayed email address before continuing.
2. Tell the setup chat which senders, labels and date range it may read. A request to use one label does not necessarily limit the account permission you granted.
3. In a chat inside this same Chief of Staff Project, edit and send the test prompt below. Check the result against Gmail; keep private contents minimal.
4. Record the verified mailbox and scope in Briefing sources.md. Keep sending, forwarding, archiving and deleting outside the briefing's instructions.

Use actual appointments, preparation time and schedule conflicts.

1. Connect the Google Calendar plugin to the intended Google account. Calendar needs its own authorization; Gmail access does not prove calendar access.
2. Name the calendars to include, the look-ahead window and your time zone. For shared calendars, check that this account can access them.
3. In a chat inside this same Chief of Staff Project, edit and send the test prompt below. Compare the result with Google Calendar.
4. Record those calendars and retrieval windows in Briefing sources.md. The briefing should read appointments, without creating, changing or cancelling events.

Use the specific goals, plans and documents your sections need.

1. Connect the Google Drive plugin to the account that can open your chosen documents. Review file access and any create, edit or delete permissions.
2. Choose specific files and copy their source links into the setup chat. A folder link alone is not proof that every file is available or kept in sync.
3. In a chat inside this same Chief of Staff Project, edit and send the test prompt below. Check the original file without changing it.
4. Record the verified files in Briefing sources.md and add supported file links or reviewed uploads to Project Sources. Label uploads as snapshots and check how they will stay current.

Bring assignment deadlines into your briefing through a Google Calendar subscription.

1. In Canvas, open Calendar, then Calendar Feed. Copy your private feed URL. Keep it private; do not paste it into this workshop page or a public chat.
2. In Google Calendar, open Other calendars, then Add, then From URL. Paste the feed URL and subscribe. Name the subscribed calendar so you can identify it.
3. Connect that Google Calendar account using the guide above. A direct Canvas connector has not been verified for this workshop.
4. In a chat inside this same Chief of Staff Project, edit and send the test prompt below. Compare one real assignment with Canvas before relying on the feed.
5. Google Calendar may take up to 24 hours to sync. Canvas To Do items are excluded. If the subscribed calendar is unavailable or stale, supply real assignment deadlines manually and record that fallback in Briefing sources.md.

A vault is an ordinary folder on your computer. Obsidian stores each note in it as a plain .md file you can also open in any text editor.

1. Download Obsidian from obsidian.md/download. On Windows, run the installer. On a Mac, open the download and drag Obsidian into Applications. Obsidian is free, including for work use.
2. Open Obsidian. Next to Create new vault, select Create.
3. In Vault name, enter Chief of Staff vault. Select Browse, choose a folder you control, such as Documents, then select Create.
4. Choose the location carefully. Do not use a system folder or a folder inside another vault. If the folder syncs with OneDrive, right-click it and choose Always keep on this device. On Windows, do not keep a vault in iCloud Drive.
5. Already keep notes as Markdown files? Next to Open folder as vault, select Open and choose that folder instead.
6. Check: Obsidian opens your new vault, and the folder exists where you chose. Obsidian adds a hidden .obsidian folder there for its settings; leave it in place.

Your vault will hold the master copy of each briefing file, under the exact filename your Project instructions and daily task expect.

1. In Obsidian's left sidebar, select New folder and name it Chief of Staff.
2. In ChatGPT, open your Chief of Staff Project, select Sources, then open and download each of the four briefing files. If a file is only in your setup chat, use its download button there. If you downloaded a ZIP, extract it first.
3. Drag the four .md files from your Downloads folder onto the Chief of Staff folder in Obsidian's sidebar. You can also move them into the vault folder with File Explorer or Finder; Obsidian picks up the change automatically.
4. Keep the exact filenames: Briefing preferences.md, Morning briefing template.md, Briefing sources.md and Morning briefing instructions.md. Remove anything your browser added, such as (1).
5. Check: open each file in Obsidian and compare it with its copy in Project Sources. If one is missing or older, ask your setup chat for the complete current version before you continue.

One start page that connects your briefing files and says what each one controls.

1. Select New note (Ctrl+N on Windows, Cmd+N on Mac) and name it Home.
2. Type [[ and choose Briefing preferences from the suggestions. Obsidian inserts the link [[Briefing preferences]]. Add the other three files the same way, one per line.
3. After each link, add a short description, for example: [[Briefing sources]]: approved sources, freshness checks and fallbacks. The first prompt on this page can draft this note for you.
4. Right-click Home in the left sidebar and choose Bookmark, so it is always one click away.
5. Leave Settings > Files and links > Automatically update internal links turned on, so renaming a note updates every link to it. Do not rename the four briefing files themselves; ChatGPT looks for their exact names.
6. Check: open Briefing sources and look at Backlinks in the right sidebar. It should list Home. Then select each link in Home to confirm it opens the right file.

Notes beyond the briefing give it context: the decisions, projects, people and research behind your preferences.

1. Create only the folders you will use. A simple start is Decisions, Projects and Templates. Links keep working if you reorganize later.
2. In Settings > Core plugins, turn on Templates. Then open Templates in the settings sidebar and set Template folder location to Templates.
3. In the Templates folder, create a note named Decision. Paste the Decision template from the first prompt, or type your own: a date property set to {{date}}, a status property, and headings for Context, Options considered, Decision and Follow-up. Obsidian replaces {{date}} with today's date when you insert the template.
4. Record one real decision. In Decisions, create a note, select Insert template in the left ribbon and choose Decision. Link the briefing file it affects, such as [[Briefing preferences]], and link the decision from Home under Recent decisions.
5. Optional: turn on Daily notes in Settings > Core plugins for one dated page per day, or add the official Obsidian Web Clipper browser extension to save web research into your vault.
6. Check: open Graph view from the left ribbon. Home, your four briefing files and your decision note should appear connected.

A backup is a separate copy in a different place. Sync keeps devices identical, including deletions and mistakes, so it does not replace a backup.

1. Choose one backup method for the whole vault folder: your computer's backup tool, such as File History on Windows or Time Machine on a Mac, or a regular copy to an external drive. Obsidian advises against keeping the live vault inside your backup service.
2. Make sure the backup includes the hidden .obsidian folder, which stores this vault's settings.
3. In Settings > Core plugins, check that File recovery is on. It keeps snapshots of your notes on this device for 7 days by default. To undo a bad edit, open Settings > File recovery > View snapshots. It is not a backup.
4. If you use Obsidian on more than one device, choose one sync method per vault. Do not combine services, such as Obsidian Sync and iCloud, on the same vault. On iPhone and iPad, Obsidian recommends Obsidian Sync (paid) or iCloud. Sync is optional for this module.
5. Keep community plugins in Restricted mode unless you trust a plugin's author. Community plugins can access files on your computer and connect to the internet.
6. Check: restore one note from your backup into a different folder and open it. A backup you have never restored is unproven.

ChatGPT reads the copies in Project Sources, not your vault. Editing a note in your vault does not change the copy ChatGPT reads.

1. Edit briefing rules in your vault first, so the vault stays the master copy.
2. To update ChatGPT, open Chief of Staff > Sources, delete the old copy of the changed file, then upload the edited file from your vault's Chief of Staff folder. Deleting first avoids two sources with the same name.
3. If ChatGPT updates a briefing file for you, for example in Edit your briefing, download the new version and replace the file in your vault. Read what changed before you rely on it.
4. After each replacement, open a new chat in Chief of Staff and send the second prompt on this page. It quotes your change and checks the other files and your daily task for conflicts.
5. Upload only what your briefing needs. Other notes stay on your computer until you upload or connect them.
6. Desktop app option: the ChatGPT desktop app can attach a folder on your computer to a project, and ChatGPT can then read and change every file in it. If you try this, back up first, attach only your Chief of Staff folder rather than the whole vault, and keep the four files in Project Sources too. A daily task may run where your computer's files are unavailable.
7. Check: the new chat quotes your edited passage exactly and reports no conflicts, or lists the conflicts for you to fix.