Free setup
Your free AI accountability coach
3 notes. 1 prompt. 2 check-ins a day. Works in ChatGPT, Claude or Grok, free plans included. Setup takes under 10 minutes.
You don’t need another productivity app. You need two things: your life organized in one place, and something that checks on you every day and remembers what you said you’d do. That’s this.
Want our team to build it? See the done for you version
What you get
The files
- coach-prompt.txtThe one prompt. Paste it in once.
- Goals.mdNote 1: your goals, habits and why. The coach fills it in with you.
- daily-note-template.mdNote 2: one per day, 2 minutes in the morning and 2 at night.
- weekly-review-template.mdNote 3: one per week, filled in with the coach on Sunday.
- 00-README.mdThis whole guide as one file.
Every file, with a download and a copy button, is in the full setup below.
4 minutes a day
Morning and night check-ins
Morning
Type morning and paste yesterday’s note. It asks for your top 3, checks they connect to a goal, reminds you of your non-negotiables, and gives you a block to paste into today’s note.
Night
Type night and paste today’s note. It asks what got done, asks why in one line for what didn’t, gets tomorrow’s #1, and gives you a Night block to paste in. That block includes your Carried over list with a day count on every task that slipped.
The 3 day rule
Do it, shrink it, or kill it?
That day count is how the coach remembers, even in a brand new chat. When anything hits day 3, the next morning starts with it:
"This has slipped 3 days in a row. Do it, shrink it, or kill it?"
- Do it: it becomes today's #1, before anything else.
- Shrink it: cut it to a 15 minute first step you'll actually start. "Write the intro" becomes "write 3 rough sentences".
- Kill it: drop it on purpose, with one line on why. Quitting on purpose is fine. Carrying it forever isn't.
Try it tonight, before you set anything up: write tomorrow’s top 3 in any notes app. Tomorrow night, put a day count next to anything that slipped, like "Write the intro (day 1)". The morning anything hits day 3, pick one: do it, shrink it, or kill it. That one habit is most of what the coach does for you.
The 10 minute setup
Set it up once
Step 1
Make a Project called "Coach"
Pick the AI you already use.
- ChatGPT (opens in a new tab)
Sidebar, Projects, New project. Name it Coach. Open the project's Instructions and paste the whole prompt.
- Claude (opens in a new tab)
Sidebar, Projects, Create project. Name it Coach. Paste the whole prompt into Project instructions.
- Grok (opens in a new tab)
Projects, New project. Name it Coach. Paste the whole prompt into the project instructions.
No Projects on your plan? Start one new chat, paste the whole prompt as your first message, and pin or bookmark that chat. Always come back to it.
- ChatGPT (opens in a new tab)
Continue the setup
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Step 2
Paste the prompt
Copy the prompt below into the project instructions. Put your name in the first line and pick a tone: chill, blunt or drill sergeant.
The coach promptcoach-prompt.txtDownload You are my daily accountability coach. My name is [YOUR NAME]. Tone: [chill / blunt / drill sergeant]. If I say "be blunter", go blunter. WHAT YOU KNOW - My goals, non-negotiables and my "why" are in Goals.md (uploaded to this project, or pasted below). Treat it as the source of truth. - Each check-in I paste a daily note. The note's "Carried over" section lists every task that slipped and how many days in a row it has slipped, e.g. "- Write the intro (day 3)". That counter is how you keep track, even if you can't remember earlier chats. - Your whole job: remember what I said I'd do, and bring it up. HOW YOU TALK - Short and direct, like a coach who's on my side. No pep talks, no lectures, no emojis. - One question at a time. Wait for my answer before the next one. - Keep every reply under about 120 words unless I ask for more. WHEN I TYPE "start" (first time only) Ask me these one at a time, then write my Goals.md in the exact format below so I can save it: 1. What are the 1-3 things you most want to get done this year? 2. What would move those forward this month? 3. What 2-4 daily habits are non-negotiable for you? 4. Why does this matter to you? (One or two honest sentences. I'll use it when you're slacking.) 5. What time do you want your morning and night check-ins? Format: # Goals ## This year (max 3) ## This month ## Non-negotiables (daily) ## Why this matters to me ## Check-in times WHEN I TYPE "morning" (and paste yesterday's daily note) 1. Read yesterday's note. If anything in "Carried over" has reached day 3 or more, deal with it FIRST. Name it, say how many days it's slipped, and ask: "Do it, shrink it, or kill it?" - Do it: it becomes today's #1, before anything else. - Shrink it: help me cut it to a 15-minute first step I'll actually start. - Kill it: I drop it on purpose and give you one line on why. Accept that, no guilt. 2. Ask for my top 3 for today. If one doesn't connect to a goal in Goals.md, ask why it's on the list. 3. Remind me of my non-negotiables in one line. 4. End with a ready-to-paste block for today's note: Top 3: 1. ... 2. ... 3. ... Carried over: (the list, with day counts) WHEN I TYPE "night" (and paste today's note) 1. Ask what got done from the top 3 and which non-negotiables I hit. 2. For anything not done, ask why in one line. No guilt trip. Look for patterns. 3. Ask for tomorrow's #1. 4. End with a ready-to-paste Night block: Got done: ... Missed (why): ... Carried over: every unfinished top-3 task with its day count +1 (a new one starts at "day 1"). Anything I finished or killed comes off the list. Tomorrow's #1: ... WHEN I TYPE "sunday" (and paste the week's daily notes) 1. Walk me through the weekly review one section at a time: wins, misses (patterns, not excuses), what carried over all week, next week's top 3, one thing to stop doing. 2. Point out patterns you see in the notes: what keeps slipping, which days were good, which non-negotiables I skip most. 3. Help me pick next week's top 3 and check they line up with Goals.md. 4. Ask if any goal needs to change. Goals can change. Quitting silently can't. 5. End with the finished weekly review, ready to paste. RULES - Never make up what I did. If you don't know, ask. - Don't add new goals for me. Help me hit the ones I picked. - If I miss a check-in, don't lecture. Ask what happened, then move on.Step 3
Type "start" and answer 5 questions
In the Coach project, type
start. It asks you 5 questions one at a time and writes your Goals.md. Save it, then add it to the project’s files. That’s how it remembers every goal you set.Rather fill it in yourself? Use this template and upload it to the project.
Note 1: GoalsGoals.mdDownload # Goals ## This year (max 3) 1. [The big one. e.g. "Grow my business to the point I can hire my first person"] 2. [e.g. "Get in the best shape of my life"] 3. [e.g. "Post content every week"] ## This month (what moves the year goals) - [e.g. "Land 2 new clients"] - [e.g. "Work out 4x a week"] - [e.g. "Film and post 8 reels"] ## Non-negotiables (daily) - [ ] [e.g. Workout or a 30-min walk] - [ ] [e.g. 1 hour of deep work before checking messages] - [ ] [e.g. In bed by 11] ## Why this matters to me [One or two honest sentences. The coach uses this when you're slacking.] ## Check-in times Morning: [e.g. 8:00 AM] · Night: [e.g. 9:30 PM] · Weekly review: Sunday [e.g. 6:00 PM]Step 4
Set two alarms
On your phone: "Coach: morning" and "Coach: night", at the times you gave it. Add a third for Sunday evening. The coach can’t tap you on the shoulder on its own, so the alarm is the tap. ChatGPT has scheduled tasks on some plans, so you can also ask it to remind you.
Step 5
Make tomorrow’s note
Copy the daily note into whatever notes app you use (Apple Notes, Notion, Obsidian, Google Docs) and name it with tomorrow’s date. Done. Tomorrow morning, type
morningand paste yesterday’s note (or the empty template on day one).Note 2: Daily notedaily-note-template.mdDownload # Daily: YYYY-MM-DD ## Morning (2 min) Top 3 for today: 1. 2. 3. Non-negotiables: [ ] [ ] [ ] Energy (1-5): ## Carried over (Tasks that slipped, with how many days in a row. The coach updates this every night.) - (none yet) ## Notes / brain dump ## Night (2 min) Got done: Missed (why, one line): Tomorrow's #1:
Every Sunday
The weekly review
Type sunday and paste the week’s daily notes. It walks you through the weekly review one section at a time: wins, misses, what carried over, which habits you skipped, and next week’s top 3, checked against your goals. You start Monday with a plan instead of from zero.
# Week: YYYY-Www
## Wins
-
## Misses (patterns, not excuses)
-
## What carried over all week
-
## Non-negotiables hit (out of 7)
- [habit 1]: /7
- [habit 2]: /7
- [habit 3]: /7
## Next week's top 3
1.
2.
3.
## One thing to stop doing
-
## Does any goal need to change?
-
What it sounds like
A real reply
One morning check in could sound like this:
"The intro has now carried over 4 days running. Your blocker is the angle, not time.
Do it, shrink it, or kill it?
Shrink means 15 minutes: pick any angle and write 3 rough sentences. Kill means saying out loud that the newsletter goal has changed."
If it’s not working
Quick fixes
- It forgot something: paste the note. The note is the memory. Keep the Carried over section, because the 3 day rule reads it.
- Too soft: type "be blunter". Too harsh: "dial it back".
- You skipped a few days: just type morning again. No catch up needed.
- Replies too long: "keep it under 60 words".
Once the habit sticks
Level up
This is the manual version. Once the habit sticks, an AI agent can read your daily note without you pasting anything, see your calendar, and message you when it’s time to check in.
Safety
Keep it safe
- No passwords, card numbers or bank logins in your notes or chats.
- If you ever connect an AI to real accounts, make it ask before it pays, sends or deletes anything.
- Start small: one habit, one week.
Downloads
Every file
- coach-prompt.txtThe one prompt. Paste it in once.Download
- Goals.mdNote 1: your goals, habits and why. The coach fills it in with you.Download
- daily-note-template.mdNote 2: one per day, 2 minutes in the morning and 2 at night.Download
- weekly-review-template.mdNote 3: one per week, filled in with the coach on Sunday.Download
- 00-README.mdThis whole guide as one file.Download
Done for you
Want it done for you?
Our team builds your full AI second brain around your goals, notes and calls.
Book a call with our teamWho it’s for
Founders, creators and small teams who want an AI that actually knows their life and business, without spending weekends wiring it up.
What you get
- One organized home for your notes, meetings, people and projects
- Your AI connected to the tools you already use, with approval rules so nothing goes out without your OK
- An accountability coach and routines on top that check on you every day
- A walkthrough so you know exactly how to run it
What happens on the call
We look at how you work today, where everything lives and what eats your week, and we tell you what we'd build first. If it's a fit, we map out the build. If it's not, you still leave with the plan.