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AI for Everyday Automation 7 AI workflows to save hours at work every week (Dipankar Sarkar) (z-library.sk, 1lib.sk, z-lib.sk)

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AI for Everyday Automation 7 AI workflows to save hours at work every week (Dipankar Sarkar) (z-library.sk, 1lib.sk, z-lib.sk)

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Build smarter daily workflows with ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity to boost productivity Key Features Learn practical AI workflows for communication, research, reporting, coordination, and data analysis Master ready-to-use prompts, templates, and AI workflow patterns with tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity Build reliable daily AI productivity routines that speed up repetitive work Most professionals spend their days juggling a constant flow of information, communication, and coordination. Individually, these tasks seem small. Together, they consume hours every week. AI for Everyday Automation shows you how to use AI to turn these recurring responsibilities into practical, repeatable workflows. Using tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity, this book walks you through seven practical workflows for automating emails, meetings, research, reports, task tracking, spreadsheets, content creation, and professional communication. Each workflow includes prompts, templates, and step-by-step guidance that you can immediately apply to your own work. By the end of the book, you’ll have a set of repeatable AI-assisted systems that help you save time, reduce repetitive work, and get through your workday with far less friction.

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AI for Everyday Automation 7 AI workflows to save hours at work every week Dipankar Sarkar
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AI for Everyday Automation Copyright © 2026 Packt Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews. Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing or its dealers and distributors, will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by this book. Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information. Portfolio Director: Pavan Ramchandani Relationship Lead: Larissa Pinto Program Manager: Divij Kotian Content Engineer: Akanksha Gupta Technical Editor: Vidhisha Patidar Indexer: Rekha Nair Production Designer: Alishon Falcon Growth Lead: Nivedita Singh First published: June 2026 Production reference: 1240626 Published by Packt Publishing Ltd. Grosvenor House 11 St Paul's Square Birmingham B3 1RB, UK. ISBN 978-1-80808-981-7 www.packtpub.com
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For Maitrayee, whose constant support makes everything possible. For our two sons, who make every day an adventure. And in memory of my father, Amal, who taught me that the best work is done with patience and precision. – Dipankar Sarkar
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Contributors About the author Dipankar Sarkar is a Principal Engineer at Neul Labs where he builds open-source agentic AI tools. He previously served as Principal AI Architect at Aveni, an FCA-regulated fintech, where he worked at the intersection of AI capability and real-world deployment. He has filed multiple patents in generative AI and communication technologies. Dipankar holds a BTech in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Delhi and an MS in Cybersecurity from Arizona State University. He is a published author and a machine learning researcher. He lives in Scotland with his wife and two sons. This book exists because of the people who made it possible. To my wife, Maitrayee, your constant support is the foundation everything else stands on. Your patience during long writing sessions, your sharp eye on early drafts, and your steady belief that this book would be worth the effort carried me through. Thank you for being my first reader and my most honest critic. To our two sons, you are too young to read this, but old enough to have noticed that Dada was on his laptop more than usual. Thank you for the interruptions. They were the best parts of my day. To my mother, for the discipline that makes a book possible, and the curiosity that makes it interesting. To my sister, for your constant encouragement and for always asking how the writing was going, even when the answer was, "slowly."
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To my father, Amal, I wish you were here to hold this book. The scientific rigor you brought to your own work taught me how to bring the same to mine. This one is for you. To my father-in-law and mother-in-law, for your warmth, your generosity, and the space you gave me to think and write. I am grateful. To the team at Packt, thank you for believing that a concise book about AI workflows could be as valuable as a 500-page textbook, and for pushing it to be sharper and more practical at every turn. To my colleagues at Neul Labs and Skelf Research, the ideas in this book were tested in our daily work before they were written down. Thank you for being the proving ground. And to every professional who picked up this book hoping to reclaim their time: I wrote it for you.
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About the reviewer Thomas Rice is a business automation leader, solution architect, and delivery strategist with over 20 years of experience turning complex challenges into scalable, practical solutions. He specializes in Microsoft technologies—especially the Power Platform—to simplify processes, accelerate delivery, and drive measurable outcomes. A Microsoft Community Super User, he guides teams on architecture, governance, and best practices to build secure, sustainable solutions. He is passionate about continuous learning, mentoring others, and delivering real business value.
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Table of Contents Preface xv Free benefits with your book .............................................................................. xix Chapter 1: Audit, Arm, Go 1 Where your hours actually go ............................................................................... 1 The 30-minute time map • 2 Scoring your tasks: Time vs. cognitive uniqueness • 2 Building your hit list • 3 Setting up your AI workbench ............................................................................... 4 Why three tools, not one? • 4 Free vs. paid: What you actually need • 5 Teaching your tools who you are • 6 Example custom instruction • 7 Verifying everything works • 9 Summary ............................................................................................................. 9 Chapter 2: Your First AI Win 11 Walkthrough 1: Batch-draft three email replies .................................................... 11 Step 1: Gather your inputs • 12 Step 2: Write the prompt • 12 Step 3: Review the output • 13 Step 4: Refine with a follow-up • 13 Step 5: Use the result • 13 Walkthrough 2: Summarize a recent meeting ....................................................... 13 Step 1: Gather your inputs • 13 Step 2: Write the prompt • 14 Step 3: Review the output • 15
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Step 4: Refine with a follow-up • 15 Step 5: Use the result • 15 Walkthrough 3: Turn bullet points into a polished memo ..................................... 15 Step 1: Gather your inputs • 16 Step 2: Write the prompt • 16 Step 3: Review the output • 16 Step 4: Refine with a follow-up • 17 Step 5: Use the result • 17 What just happened • 17 Three lessons to carry forward ............................................................................ 18 Lesson 1: Imperfect input is fine • 18 Lesson 2: A prompt is a conversation, not a command • 18 Lesson 3: Be the editor, not the writer • 18 Summary ........................................................................................................... 18 Chapter 3: Inbox Zero in 25 Minutes 21 Setting up the integrations ................................................................................. 22 In Claude • 22 In ChatGPT • 22 The connected email workflow ........................................................................... 23 Stage 1: Let the AI classify your inbox • 23 Stage 2: Batch-draft replies • 24 Stage 3: Review and refine • 25 Stage 4: Approve and click send • 25 The single-prompt morning workflow ................................................................ 26 Building your voice guide ................................................................................... 26 How to write your voice guide • 27 Five email prompt templates ............................................................................... 28 Template 1: Decline a meeting or request • 28 Template 2: Follow up on a deliverable • 28 Template 3: Request information or action • 28 Template 4: Status update • 29 Table of Contents viii
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Template 5: Handle a complaint or difficult message • 29 When to write manually ..................................................................................... 29 Advanced: Processing complex threads ............................................................... 30 The daily rhythm ................................................................................................. 31 Fallback: When Gmail cannot be connected ........................................................ 32 Summary ........................................................................................................... 32 Chapter 4: Meetings That Actually Work 35 The connected meeting stack .............................................................................. 36 Before the meeting: Automated briefs ................................................................. 37 The morning briefing • 37 During the meeting: Transcription ..................................................................... 38 After the meeting: The connected packet workflow ............................................. 38 The extraction and distribution process • 39 The review step • 39 Recurring meetings: The feedback loop ............................................................... 42 Advanced: Cross-meeting synthesis .................................................................... 43 Fallback: When connections are unavailable ....................................................... 44 Summary ........................................................................................................... 44 Chapter 5: Research in 30 Minutes, Not 3 Hours 47 The connected research stack ............................................................................. 48 The four-step research workflow ........................................................................ 48 Step 1: Define the question • 48 Step 2: Gather and synthesize • 49 Approach A: Web search for current facts • 49 Approach B: Internal documents for company context • 49 Approach C: Combined external + internal • 50 Approach D: Deep research for complex questions • 50 Step 3: Structure the brief • 51 Step 4: Verify • 52 Five research patterns ......................................................................................... 53 ix Table of Contents
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Pattern 1: Competitive landscape • 53 Pattern 2: Decision support • 53 Pattern 3: Trend analysis • 53 Handling hallucinations ..................................................................................... 54 Prompting for honesty • 54 From research to action ...................................................................................... 55 Summary ........................................................................................................... 55 Chapter 6: First Drafts in 15 Minutes 57 The connected document generation chain ......................................................... 58 Step 1: Connected extraction • 59 Step 2: Outline • 60 Step 3: Draft • 60 Step 4: Polish and deliver • 61 Three connected document chains ....................................................................... 61 Chain 1: Weekly status report • 61 Chain 2: Project proposal • 62 Chain 3: Client-facing summary • 63 When the chain goes wrong ................................................................................ 64 The AI invents content • 64 The structure does not fit • 64 The tone is wrong • 64 The document is too long • 65 Building your connected template library ........................................................... 65 The editor mindset ............................................................................................. 66 Summary ........................................................................................................... 66 Chapter 7: Tracked Tasks in 15 Mins 69 The connected task extraction stack ................................................................... 70 Extracting tasks from meetings ............................................................................ 71 The integrated meeting-to-task prompt • 71 Reviewing extracted tasks • 72 Table of Contents x
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Extracting tasks from email threads .................................................................... 72 Extracting tasks from documents and messages .................................................. 73 The weekly status sweep .................................................................................... 73 From tasks to status summaries .......................................................................... 74 Handling ambiguity: When tasks are unclear ...................................................... 75 Fallback: Manual task extraction ........................................................................ 75 Summary ........................................................................................................... 76 Chapter 8: Spreadsheets Without Writing Formulas 77 Which tool for which data task ........................................................................... 78 Data privacy and sensitivity ................................................................................ 79 Fallback: When code execution is unavailable ..................................................... 80 The data analysis workflow ................................................................................ 80 Step 1: Load your data • 80 Step 2: Describe what you want • 81 Step 3: Review and iterate • 81 Three worked examples ...................................................................................... 82 Example 1: Sales data cleanup • 82 Example 2: Survey result summarization • 82 Example 3: Budget variance analysis • 83 Integrating your Drive for a fully automated workflow ........................................ 84 When to trust the numbers ................................................................................. 85 Summary ........................................................................................................... 85 Chapter 9: Write Once, Use Everywhere 87 Building your style bank ..................................................................................... 87 Five content templates ....................................................................................... 88 Template 1: Thought leadership post • 88 Template 2: Project update (multi-audience) • 89 Template 3: Event or launch announcement • 89 Template 4: Recurring newsletter section • 89 Template 5: Response to feedback or press • 90 xi Table of Contents
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The content repurposing chain ........................................................................... 90 Step 1: Provide the source material • 90 Step 2: Review and edit • 91 Step 3: Distribute • 92 When to write from scratch ................................................................................ 93 Summary ........................................................................................................... 93 Chapter 10: Your Automated Week 95 Technical requirements ...................................................................................... 95 What is a Skill, exactly? ...................................................................................... 96 A short demonstration • 96 Installing the Skills ............................................................................................. 99 Step 1: Download the Skill files • 99 Step 2: Upload to your AI tool • 99 In Claude (recommended) • 99 In ChatGPT • 99 In Perplexity • 100 Step 3: Connect your work tools • 100 Which Skills to install first ................................................................................. 101 The system in action ......................................................................................... 102 Monday morning • 102 Daily rhythm (Tuesday–Friday) • 103 Friday close • 103 Week one checklist ........................................................................................... 104 Measuring your time savings ............................................................................. 105 Keeping your Skills current ............................................................................... 106 Sharing Skills with your team ........................................................................... 106 Where to go next ............................................................................................... 107 Build your own Skills • 107 Watch for AI agents • 107 Stay connected • 107 The one thing that matters • 107 Table of Contents xii
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Chapter 11: Unlock Your Exclusive Benefits 109 Unlock this Book's Free Benefits in 3 Easy Steps .................................................. 110 Appendix: Setup and Skill Installation Guide 113 A.1 Downloading the companion Skills .............................................................. 114 A.2 Installing Skills in Claude ............................................................................ 115 Enabling Skills • 115 Uploading a Skill • 115 Verifying a Skill works • 115 Updating a Skill • 115 Removing a Skill • 115 A.3 Installing Skills in ChatGPT ......................................................................... 116 A.4 Installing Skills in Perplexity ....................................................................... 116 A.5 Claude account setup and custom instructions ............................................. 116 Creating an account • 117 Custom instructions • 117 Claude Projects (optional) • 117 A.6 ChatGPT account setup ............................................................................... 117 Custom instructions • 117 Advanced Data Analysis • 117 A.7 Perplexity account setup .............................................................................. 118 A.8 Connecting integrations in Claude ............................................................... 118 Google Calendar • 118 Google Drive • 118 Gmail • 118 Task tools (Asana, Linear, Notion, Jira) • 118 A.9 Meeting transcription setup ........................................................................ 119 Otter.ai • 119 Fireflies.ai • 119 Built-in transcription • 120 A.10 Setting up your Google Drive folders .......................................................... 120 xiii Table of Contents
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A.11 Customizing Skills for your needs ............................................................... 120 How to edit a Skill ............................................................................................ 120 What to customize • 121 Building a Skill from scratch • 121 A.12 Troubleshooting ........................................................................................ 121 Skill is installed but does not activate • 121 Integration shows connected, but AI cannot read data • 122 Gmail send failure • 122 Drive search returns nothing • 122 Skill upload fails • 122 Skills grayed out (Team/Enterprise) • 122 A.13 Companion resources ................................................................................. 122 Other Books You May Enjoy 126 Index 131 Table of Contents xiv
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Preface This book starts with a simple premise: You are good at your job; you just spend too much time with administrative redundancies. Buried under emails, meetings, status reports, task tracking, research rabbit holes, and the endless cycle of reformatting information, the actual thinking—strategy, decision-making, and creative work—becomes an afterthought. This book is about eliminating the scaffolding. AI tools like Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity are not productivity toys or clever search engines. When connected to the tools you already use, your email, calendar, documents, and task tracker, they become infrastructure for your workday. They read your inbox and draft replies in your voice. They process meeting transcripts and push action items directly to your project tracker. They search the web and your internal documents simultaneously to produce sourced research briefs. They turn a week of meeting notes into a status report, save it to your Drive, and email it to your manager. All from a single conversation. This is not simply a book of AI prompts but also a book of connected workflows that you install as Skills in your AI tool, run by talking naturally, and refine over time. Every workflow was built and tested in real professional environments, from regulated fintech to open-source AI infrastructure to academic research, before being written down. By the end of your first week with this book, the goal is to reclaim 8 to 12 hours. This won't happen by working faster, but by eliminating the work that was never yours to do in the first place. Who this book is for This book is for mid-career knowledge workers: product managers, consultants, team leads, analysts, operations managers, and small-team founders who spend 60% or more of their day on communication, reporting, research, and coordination rather than deep creative or strategic work. You have tried AI tools casually but have not built repeatable daily workflows. You want immediate, practical results, not theory. You do not need to be technical. If you can use a web browser, install an app, and upload a file, you have all the skills required. This book never asks you to write code, use a terminal, or understand how AI models work.
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What this book covers Chapter 1: Audit, Arm, Go, helps you identify which tasks eat your time, set up your AI tools with your personal context, and build your automation hit list. Chapter 2, Your First AI Win, walks you through completing your first real AI-assisted task in under 30 minutes, establishing the core loop you will use throughout the book. Chapter 3, Inbox Zero in 25 Minutes, connects your Gmail to your AI tool so it reads, classifies, drafts, and sends email, introducing the connected workflow pattern that powers every subsequent chapter. Chapter 4, Meetings That Actually Work, automates the entire meeting lifecycle: AI reads your calendar for briefs, processes transcripts into structured packets, creates tasks in your tracker, and sends summaries via email. Chapter 5, Research in 30 Minutes, Not 3 Hours, uses AI that searches the web and reads your internal documents to produce sourced, structured research briefs with confidence levels. Chapter 6, First Drafts in 15 Minutes, builds document generation chains where AI gathers inputs from Drive, email, and task tools, drafts the document, and delivers it, all in one conversation. Chapter 7, Tracked Tasks in 15 Minutes, extracts action items from meetings, emails, and documents and pushes them directly to your project tracker so nothing falls through the cracks. Chapter 8, Spreadsheets Without Writing Formulas, cleans, analyzes, charts, and summarizes data by describing what you want in plain English, with AI running the code behind the scenes. Chapter 9, Write Once, Use Everywhere, turns a single set of source material into LinkedIn posts, internal announcements, client emails, presentation bullets, and newsletter sections, distributed from one conversation. Chapter 10, Your Automated Week, assembles all workflows into a weekly system, walks you through installing the companion Skills, and provides a day-by-day Week One Checklist. Appendix, Setup and Skill Installation Guide, provide step-by-step instructions for creating accounts, installing Skills, connecting integrations, customizing workflows, and troubleshooting. Preface xvi
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To get the most out of this book You will need a free account on at least one AI tool (Claude, ChatGPT, or Perplexity). The book recommends Claude as the primary tool because of its strong reasoning, file handling, and integration capabilities, but every workflow works across tools. A Google account (for Gmail, Calendar, and Drive integrations) is recommended but not strictly required. If your organization uses Microsoft 365, the workflows apply but the integration setup differs. Check the Appendix for guidance. Paid tiers are helpful but not necessary. You can follow every workflow using free tiers. Upgrading to Claude Pro or ChatGPT Plus removes friction (higher limits, file uploads, more integrations) but is not required to learn or use the workflows. Download the example code files The code bundle for the book is hosted on GitHub at https://github.com/PacktPublishing/ AI-For-Everyday-Automation. We also have other code bundles from our rich catalog of books and videos available at https://github.com/PacktPublishing. Check them out! Conventions used There are a number of text conventions used throughout this book. CodeInText: Indicates AI prompts, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, and user input. For example: "The power is in the follow-up: make it shorter, change the opening, add a section on risks." Longer prompts are set in blocks as follows: I have rough notes that need to become a polished [type: status update / proposal / client summary / internal memo]. The audience is [who will read this]. Bold: Indicates a new term, an important word, or words that you see on the screen. For instance, words in menus or dialog boxes appear in the text like this. For example: "Look for the Connectors icon near the input box or in settings." • • • Warnings or important notes appear like this. Note Tips and tricks appear like this. Tip xvii Preface
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Get in touch Feedback from our readers is always welcome. General feedback: If you have questions about any aspect of this book or have any general feedback, please email us at customercare@packt.com and mention the book's title in the subject of your message. Errata: Although we have taken every care to ensure the accuracy of our content, mistakes do happen. If you have found a mistake in this book, we would be grateful if you reported this to us. Please visit https://www.packt.com/submit-errata, click Submit Errata, and fill in the form. Piracy: If you come across any illegal copies of our works in any form on the internet, we would be grateful if you would provide us with the location address or website name. Please contact us at copyright@packt.com with a link to the material. If you are interested in becoming an author: If there is a topic that you have expertise in and you are interested in either writing or contributing to a book, please visit https:// authors.packt.com/. Preface xviii
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Free benefits with your book This book comes with free benefits to support your learning. Activate them now for instant access (see the "How to Unlock" section for instructions). Here's a quick overview of what you can instantly unlock with your purchase: xix Preface
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