# Create your own chief of staff binder > Source: > Published: 2026-10-18 20:34:31+00:00 | | You are helping me build a portable Chief of Staff workspace. | | | The workspace files are the durable source of truth. The AI app is only the assistant reading and updating those files. Do not make this depend on one AI product, model, paid subscription, plugin, or chat history. | | | Goal: | | | Create a small local folder or GitHub-backed repo that helps me keep track of my work, priorities, projects, tools, and handoffs. | | | Work style: | | | - Ask me one section at a time. | | | - Wait for my answers before moving on. | | | - Do not generate files until you have summarized my answers and I confirm. | | | - Keep everything in plain Markdown. | | | - If you can create files directly, create them. | | | - If you cannot create files directly, give me exact file contents grouped by path. | | | - Start small. This should feel like a useful binder, not a giant operating manual. | | | Safety rules: | | | - You may read, summarize, organize, draft, and update local notes. | | | - Ask before sending messages or emails. | | | - Ask before publishing anything. | | | - Ask before spending money. | | | - Ask before deleting data. | | | - Ask before changing production systems. | | | - Ask before creating public, customer-facing, or irreversible artifacts. | | | - Never store passwords, API keys, tokens, private keys, recovery codes, or raw credentials in this workspace. | | | - If a tool or connector is unavailable, say what was actually checked and what was only carried forward from notes. | | | Interview me first. | | | Section 1: Scope | | | Ask: | | | 1. Is this for work, personal life, or both? | | | 2. What should this Chief of Staff help you keep from dropping? | | | 3. Do you want this local only, or backed up to GitHub? | | | Section 2: Responsibilities | | | Ask: | | | 1. What is your role? | | | 2. What do you actually do week to week? | | | 3. What are your top 3 recurring workstreams? | | | 4. What does "a good week" look like? | | | Section 3: Sources of truth | | | Ask: | | | 1. What calendar do you use? | | | 2. What email or inbox matters? | | | 3. What chat tools matter? | | | 4. Where do tasks or tickets live? | | | 5. Where do docs, notes, and finished work live? | | | 6. Which tools are read-only unless you explicitly approve changes? | | | Section 4: Priorities and urgency | | | Ask: | | | 1. What counts as urgent? | | | 2. What can be handled quietly? | | | 3. Who or what should get extra attention? | | | 4. What should the assistant never interrupt you about? | | | Section 5: Working preferences | | | Ask: | | | 1. Should the assistant act when it can, or show options first? | | | 2. How brief or detailed should updates be? | | | 3. What frustrates you about AI output? | | | 4. What should the assistant never do? | | | 5. Do you want direct language, casual language, formal language, or something else? | | | Section 6: Voice, if useful | | | Ask only if I write for other people: | | | 1. What kinds of writing do you create? | | | 2. What should your writing sound like? | | | 3. What should it never sound like? | | | 4. Ask me to paste 1 to 3 examples if I have them. | | | Section 7: Confirm | | | Summarize my answers in plain language. | | | Ask: "Does this look right? Anything to add or remove?" | | | Wait for my confirmation. | | | After I confirm, generate this folder structure: | | | my-chief-of-staff/ | | | \|-- README.md | | | \|-- AGENTS.md | | | \|-- context/ | | | \| \|-- about-me.md | | | \| \|-- working-preferences.md | | | \| \|-- sources-of-truth.md | | | \| `-- voice-and-tone.md | | | \|-- vault/ | | | \| \|-- daily/ | | | \| \| `-- today.md | | | \| \|-- projects/ | | | \| \| `-- README.md | | | \| `-- system/ | | | \| \|-- connectors.md | | | \| `-- handoff.md | | | `-- scripts/ | | | `-- README.md | | | File requirements: | | | README.md | | | Explain what this workspace is, what it is for, where the source of truth lives, and how an AI assistant should start and end a session. | | | AGENTS.md | | | Write the main assistant instructions: | | | - Read README.md, context files, today.md, connector status, handoff, and relevant project notes before making claims. | | | - Keep facts separate from guesses. | | | - Use absolute dates when timing matters. | | | - Prefer updating existing notes over creating new ones. | | | - Ask before public, paid, customer-facing, destructive, or irreversible actions. | | | - Record what was live-checked versus carried forward. | | | - Add an agent fingerprint to durable changes: | | | Added/created/modified by [assistant name] on [yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm] on [environment]. | | | - End important sessions by updating today.md, relevant project notes, connectors.md, and handoff.md. | | | context/about-me.md | | | Capture my role, responsibilities, priorities, people I work with, and what kind of help I want from AI. | | | context/working-preferences.md | | | Capture how I want the assistant to communicate, decide, ask questions, handle uncertainty, and avoid annoying me. | | | context/sources-of-truth.md | | | List my important tools and where truth lives: calendar, email, chat, docs, task tracker, storage, dashboards, and any other key systems. | | | context/voice-and-tone.md | | | Create this if writing matters. Capture voice, formats, examples, banned phrases, and review rules. If writing does not matter, create a short placeholder saying it can be filled in later. | | | vault/daily/today.md | | | Create a starter running scoreboard with: | | | - Date | | | - Last refreshed | | | - Morning brief | | | - Today's schedule | | | - Top 3 priorities | | | - Eisenhower board | | | - Running task list | | | - Waiting on | | | - Parking lot | | | - Source check | | | - Completed today | | | Make clear that today.md is a running scoreboard, not a disposable checklist. | | | vault/projects/README.md | | | Create an index of my top 3 recurring workstreams. For each: | | | - Why it matters | | | - Main signals | | | - What to track | | | - Suggested project note path | | | vault/system/connectors.md | | | Create a table: | | | - Tool | | | - Status | | | - Last checked | | | - What works | | | - What does not work | | | - Notes | | | Include this rule: do not claim a live check happened unless it actually happened in this session. | | | vault/system/handoff.md | | | Create a simple handoff note for the next assistant or device: | | | - Current state | | | - Recently changed | | | - Waiting on | | | - Next best action | | | - Open risks | | | - Agent fingerprints | | | scripts/README.md | | | Explain that scripts are optional and should only be added after a repeated workflow is clear. Start with no automation unless I ask. | | | Final response: | | | After generating the files, tell me: | | | 1. What you created. | | | 2. What I still need to fill in. | | | 3. How to use this every day in 5 minutes. | | | 4. How to move it between AI tools without losing context. |