10 prompts for the chronically busy

Your calendar looks like a game of Tetris someone's losing. There are three missed calls you'll return "later," an email from last Tuesday you swore you'd answer that afternoon, and a group chat asking who's picking up dinner. Somewhere in there, you were supposed to book a dentist appointment.

IFTTT (If This Then That) connects the apps, devices, and services you already use so they work together automatically. That means one thing happening, like a call going unanswered or a receipt landing in your inbox, can trigger another: a new task, a cleaner inbox, a summary in your drafts. And with IFTTT Chat, setting it up means typing out what you want the way you'd say it to a person.

How these prompts work

Each prompt below is written the way you’d say it out loud, without naming a specific app or device. Type one into the chat, and it works out the trigger and the action, then matches them to the services you use. Ask it to “turn off my smart lights,” and it can build that for Philips Hue, LIFX, Smart Life, or whichever lights are in your home. From there, connect the accounts it asks for, fill in details like which lights to switch off, which calendar to watch, or who gets the text, and turn it on. Each prompt comes with an example Applet that shows what it builds.

Here are ten prompts that follow a packed day, from the moment you lock the front door to the Monday you finally see what you got done.

1. Leave the house without doubling back

"When I leave home, turn off my smart lights."

You’re halfway to work when the thought hits: did I turn off the lights? The space heater? This uses your phone’s location to tell when you’ve left home, then switches off your Smart Life lights or plugs, or a whole group of them at once. Put the usual suspects in one group, and walking out the door turns them all off.

2. Get directions before you're already late

“Before an in-person meeting, pull up directions to wherever I’m headed.”

The invite says 10AM across town. It’s 9:40, and you’re still typing “one quick thing” into an email. Connect your Google Calendar and pick how far ahead you want the heads-up, anywhere from 15 minutes to 4 hours. When the time comes, Google Maps opens on your Android phone with the route to the address in the invite already loaded. Driving, walking, or biking is your call. Point it at the calendar where your in-person plans live so your video calls don’t send you anywhere.

3. Clear the clutter before you open your inbox

“Archive receipts and newsletters so they skip my inbox.”

Half of a busy inbox is mail you were never going to read today anyway: shipping updates, receipts, the newsletter you’ve been meaning to unsubscribe from since spring. Set up a Gmail search once, like “subject:receipt” or a newsletter’s sender address, and anything that matches heads straight to your archive. It’s all still searchable when tax season rolls around, and what’s left in your inbox is the stuff that needs you.

4. Get the gist of a thread before you open it

“When an email thread gets a reply, summarize it and save the summary as a draft.”

Some threads grow faster than anyone can keep up with. Four replies in, you’re not sure if you’re being asked a question or just cc’d for moral support. When a new back-and-forth starts in your inbox, Claude reads the original message and the latest reply, writes a three-sentence summary with any action items called out, and saves it to your Drafts as “AI summary” plus the subject line. Skim it between meetings, and you’ll know whether the thread needs you or whether you can keep pretending you didn’t see it.

5. Turn missed calls into callbacks

“When I miss a call, add a task to call them back.”

A call comes in mid-meeting. “I’ll call them back after,” you think. Then it’s Thursday. On Android, every unanswered call becomes a Todoist task with the caller’s name, number, and the time they tried you. The callback sits on today’s list instead of living rent-free in the back of your mind.

6. Turn meeting notes into action items

“When I add meeting notes to a folder, email me the action items.”

Back-to-back meetings mean the notes from your 10AM are still unread when your 2PM wraps. Drop your notes in a Google Docs folder you pick, and AI Summarizer emails you the action items first, then the takeaways, then a short summary, with a link back to the doc. The to-dos come first because that’s what you’ll read between calls.

7. See the doorbell when you can’t hear it

“When someone rings my doorbell, flash my lights.”

You’re mid-call with headphones on, and the delivery driver has now rung twice. The second someone presses your Ring doorbell, your Philips Hue lights blink, so you catch it from across the room even with noise-canceling on. Your package makes it inside, and your coworkers don’t have to hear you yell “one sec!”

8. Stop finding out about birthdays from Instagram

“When there’s a birthday on my calendar, send me a notification.”

Your calendar knows exactly whose birthday it is. It just doesn’t make a big deal about it. This watches Google Calendar for any event with “birthday” in the title and sends a push notification when it starts. The “happy birthday!!” text goes out on the actual day, and you can skip the “sorry, this week has been insane” follow-up.

9. Ask what’s missing while you’re still at the store

“When I get to the grocery store, text my partner asking what we need.”

Everyone knows the moment: you’re unloading bags at home, and someone asks, “Did you get eggs?” Drop a pin on your store, and a text goes out through Android SMS the second you pull in, asking what else to grab. The replies come in while you’re still near the dairy aisle, and the second trip gets canceled.

10. Get a Monday recap of everything you finished

“Every Monday, email me a recap of the tasks I finished last week.”

Busy weeks blur together, and finished tasks disappear the second you check them off. This rounds up every Todoist task you completed into one Email Digest on the day and time you pick, with the project, priority, and when you wrapped each one up. Bring it to your next 1:1, or just read it on the Monday you’re convinced you got nothing done. (You did).

More Applets to try

Not done yet? These cover a few other corners of a busy day, from sorting your inbox to letting people know you’re on your way.

Ten prompts, a little more breathing room

You don’t need all ten running by tonight. Pick the one that matches whatever slipped this week: the callback you never made, the thread you never got to, the grocery run that turned into two. Type it in your own words, and we’ll handle the rest.