Free Monday Automation Template: Copy, Fill, Ship

Starting from a blank page is where most Monday automation attempts stall. This post gives you a template with six boxes, then a filled example beside it. Copy it, fill it and use it to brief an AI assistant.

The template is a plain document. No account, no download, no code.

Lesson 6.6 walks you through it step by step: Hand off the job you do every Monday.

Six boxes: job, trigger, inputs, steps, result and stop rules. Fill them in before you ask AI to do anything.

The template

Copy everything between the lines into a note.

Job name: [what it is called] Why it exists: [one sentence on who uses the result] Trigger: [when it should start] Inputs: [where the raw material lives, and which files or labels] Steps: 1. [first action] 2. [second action] 3. [continue, one action per line] Finished result: [what done looks like, format and length] Stop rules: [what the AI must never do alone] If something is missing: [say so and stop] Completion note: [what to tell me when it is done]

Nine lines, and every one earns its place. The "if something is missing" line stops the AI filling gaps with guesses, and the completion note gives you visibility.

A filled example, illustrative

This is an invented example for a small online shop. It is here to show the level of detail, not to suggest your job looks like it.

Job name: Monday stock summary Why it exists: My supplier needs to know what to send this week. Trigger: Monday 8am, after the weekend sales sheet is updated. Inputs: The sales sheet tab named "Last 7 days" and the stock sheet tab named "Current". Steps: 1. Total units sold per product for the last seven days. 2. Compare with current stock. 3. List any product where stock is under two weeks of sales. 4. Skip anything marked "discontinued". 5. Write the list as a short email to the supplier. Finished result: A draft email under 120 words with a simple list. Stop rules: Never send. Never edit the sheets. If something is missing: Say which tab is missing and stop. Completion note: One line: draft ready, plus anything odd.

How to use it

1. Fill it in by handDo not ask AI to fill the template for you. The thinking is the point.
2. Run it once with a real week of dataPaste the filled template and the inputs into your assistant. Read the output against what you would have done.
3. Fix the template, not the outputEvery gap becomes a line in the steps or stop rules.
4. Check three runsKeep your own version beside the AI's until three weeks come back clean.
5. Schedule itOnly then put it on a rhythm.

Ways to schedule it

When the template is solid, choose the lightest scheduling option that works. A repeating event in Google Calendar, which Google's help page says can repeat on chosen days, is enough as a reminder. If the result is an email, Gmail's schedule send lets you set a time, and Google's page says up to 100 scheduled emails are allowed. A fuller scheduler is an upgrade for later, and the options are compared in this scorecard post.

Adapting the template

• Weekly report: put the numbers you need under Inputs and the layout under Finished result.
• Order prep: inputs are orders and standing orders, result is a prep list.
• Client update: inputs are last week's notes, result is a short draft.
• Admin tidy: inputs are a folder, steps are rename and file, stop rule is never delete.

The shape stays the same. Only the contents change.

Common template mistakes

• Writing the steps too loosely: "do the report" is not a step.
• Forgetting to name the file or tab, so the AI picks one.
• Leaving out the stop rules.
• Making the finished result vague. Give a length and a format.

If you read the steps aloud and a stranger could follow them, you are done.

A second filled example

A second illustration helps, because a different job shows which boxes change most. This one is a weekly client update for a freelance designer, invented for the purpose.

Job name: Client update Why it exists: Clients like to know where things stand without asking. Trigger: Monday 9am. Inputs: My notes file for each client from the last seven days. Steps: 1. For each client, list what was finished. 2. List anything that slipped and the reason in my words. 3. List what comes next. 4. Write five lines in a friendly, plain tone. Finished result: One draft per client in the drafts folder. Stop rules: Never send. Never invent a reason for a delay. If something is missing: Say which client has no notes and skip them. Completion note: How many drafts, and which clients were skipped.

Notice the stop rule about invented reasons. AI will happily fill a gap with a plausible sentence, so name the gaps you do not want filled. Add a line like that wherever the input could be thin.

When to retire the template

A template is a tool for getting started. After a month, the filled version is the real document, so keep that and drop the blank one. Revisit it every quarter, read it as if you were new, and cut any step that no longer matters. Short procedures get followed. Long ones get skimmed, by people and by AI.

Where this fits

The template is the first third of the work. The testing and checking are the rest, and Lesson 6.6 walks you through all of it: Hand off the job you do every Monday. The writing habits in Lesson 6.1, plan your day in five minutes use the same plain language approach.

Questions people ask

Is this template really free?

Yes. It is text on this page. Copy it as you like.

How detailed should the steps be?

Detailed enough that a new assistant could follow them without asking you. One action per line.

Can I use it for several jobs?

Make a fresh copy for each job. Start with one.