Claude Code routines automate repetitive work

Behind every routine that works are three decisions. Answer these three questions and you've already done half the work.

1. 1

   Trigger: when should it start?

   A fixed time ("every weekday morning at 8:00"), a cadence ("every Friday at 5pm"), or an event. It's the spark: without a when, the routine doesn't exist.

2. 2

   Context: what does it need to succeed?

   Connectors give Claude access to Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Notion, Slack. The rule is brutal: what Claude can't see, it can't use. Before saving, ask yourself what it needs to read and where it needs to write.

3. 3

   Control: how do you keep it honest?

   Every run is a real Claude session: you can open it, watch it, correct it midway, and resume. The first few days you check everything; as trust builds, you widen its autonomy. If you can't describe what "done well" means, it isn't ready to be automated.

Watch out with connectors: during runs Claude uses every tool you've given it — writes included — without asking permission each time. Only grant the ones you trust for autonomous action.

Every morning I lose twenty minutes checking my calendar, email, and messages to see how the day is shaping up. I turn it into a routine by applying the three questions.

In practice: I open the Routines page, pick the Briefing template — built exactly for this — check the time and connectors, save. At 8am I find a briefing already waiting: agenda, urgent emails, relevant messages. Twenty minutes a day that come back to me. And the same pattern works for the Friday email roundup, meeting notes, and documentation updates.

The starting point is the page claude.ai/code/routines. From there you have three paths, from the simplest to the most technical.

1. 1

   From a template

   Ready-made options like Briefing or Email triage: pick one, check the time and connectors, save. Minimal setup, you're running in a minute.

2. 2

   In plain language

   Describe in plain English what you want to automate. Claude builds the routine and asks you the right questions to fill in the gaps. The most natural route.

3. 3

   From scratch

   You configure the name, instructions, trigger, and connectors by hand. It's the most powerful and the most intimidating: use it when you know exactly what you want.

For the trigger, choose between Once, Hourly, Daily, Weekdays, Weekly or Custom; for the context, connect Gmail, Calendar, Slack, Notion, Drive and the other available connectors. If you're starting from scratch, there's one piece of advice: start with a template and branch out from there.

The point isn't to automate everything: it's to take back the time you spend on things a machine can do for you — keeping the decisions that matter for yourself.