A Four Step Framework for Morning Brief Automation

Doing morning brief automation by feel gives uneven results. One week the note is useful, the next it is a wall of text, and you cannot say why. A framework fixes that by giving you the same four questions to ask every time you build or change a brief.

The framework here is called SIFT: Select, Input, Format, Tune. It is a name I am giving a simple process, not an industry standard. It is meant to be small enough to remember and repeat on a Friday.

Lesson 6.5 takes you through building the brief itself: A short brief waiting every morning. SIFT is the method you can use alongside it, or after it, to keep the brief working.

SIFT: Select what belongs, Input only reliable sources, Format for a two minute read, Tune weekly based on what you actually used.

Why use a framework at all

Without a process, you change the brief when you are annoyed and leave it alone when you are not. That means fixes are random, and you cannot tell whether a change helped. With four fixed steps, you always know which part to look at: what is in the note, where it came from, how it looks, or whether it is still the right note.

S is for Select

Select is the decision about what earns a place. Everything else in the brief depends on it.

Use this checklist for each candidate item:

• Do I act on this at least twice a week?
• Would missing it cost me something real?
• Can I decide what to do from a single line?

An item has to pass at least two. Sales since yesterday usually passes. A general news feed usually does not, unless your business reacts to news.

Write the selected items as a short list with one reason each. If you cannot give a reason, drop it. This list is the only thing you need to keep updated.

I is for Input

Input is about where each item comes from and how far you trust it. A brief is only as good as its sources.

For each selected item, write down:

• The source, such as your calendar, your inbox or your sales tool.
• Whether a tool can read it without you copying anything.
• How you would know if it were wrong.

That last question is the useful one. If a figure comes from a source you can check in ten seconds, it is a safe input. If it comes from somewhere you never look, you cannot catch an error.

Some inputs are already easy. Google Calendar can email a daily agenda each morning. For others you may need an assistant that can read the account. Connect only what you need and read the access a tool asks for before you accept.

F is for Format

Format is how the note looks. Its job is to be read in about two minutes by someone who is not fully awake.

1. Lead with the verdictOne line that says what kind of day it is, so you know before you read more.
2. Action items nextThings that need you, each with the next step in a few words.
3. Context afterShort lines on what happened, with no action required.
4. Close with what can waitThe items you may leave alone, so you do not worry about them.

Keep paragraphs short. Government plain language guidance recommends one topic per paragraph and short sentences, which also suits a quick morning read. Set a cap, for example five action items, and instruct the assistant to drop the least important if there are more.

T is for Tune

Tune is the weekly habit that keeps the brief honest. Do it on Friday, in about ten minutes.

Ask four questions:

1. Which lines did I read and act on?
2. Which lines did I skip every day?
3. What did I go and check by hand that the brief should have told me?
4. Was anything wrong?

Delete what you skipped. Add what you went looking for. Fix what was wrong by changing the instruction, not by editing the note. Then write down the one change you made, so that next Friday you can see whether it helped.

SIFT on a page

A worked example, clearly made up

Say you run a small accounting practice with two staff. This is an illustration, not a real case.

Select: deadlines this week, new client emails, today's calls. You drop general news because you never acted on it.

Input: deadlines come from a shared calendar, client emails come from the inbox, calls come from your calendar. You can check all three in seconds.

Format: a one line verdict, then up to five items, then a "can wait" line.

Tune: on Friday you notice you keep opening the inbox to see whether a particular client replied. You add a line: "Tell me if X has replied." Next week you check whether you still open the inbox for that reason.

Common slips with the framework

The most common slip is skipping Select and jumping to tools. A tool can summarise anything, which makes it easy to build a note full of things you do not need.

The second is skipping Tune. A brief that is never reviewed slowly drifts from your work.

The third is changing three things at once. If you change several parts in one week you cannot tell which one made it better or worse.

Common questions

Questions people ask

Is SIFT an established method?

No. It is a simple name for four steps, created for this post. Use it if it helps and change it if it does not.

How often should I run through it?

Select and Input when you build the brief, Format when you first see output, and Tune every week.

Does this work for a team?

It can. Each person can have a short brief, and the Tune step becomes a quick weekly check on what people actually used.

What if I only have a calendar to use?

Then Select is easy. Start with the calendar email and add one item at a time.

Put it to use

Take ten minutes now to do Select: list what you check first each morning and mark what you act on. Then follow Lesson 6.5, A short brief waiting every morning, to build it. If you want a ready layout for Format, see the free template.