making a
time machine:

everything from the workshop — frameworks, prompts, and guides to build AI systems that compound your time instead of consuming it

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workshop by tommy baravtimelessmarch 2026

the core idea
slot machine vs. time machine:

everyone talks about saving time with AI. no one talks about making it matter. there are two ways to use AI right now — and most people are stuck on the wrong one.

slot machine

  • you prompt, it responds, you start over
  • feels productive — nothing compounds
  • vibe coding into the night
  • more output, same bottleneck: you
  • confuses movement with progress
  • you serve the machine

time machine:

  • AI works while you sleep
  • systems that compound, not reset
  • built from your real moments and context
  • removes the bottleneck: you
  • shapes the future before you know you need it
  • the machine serves you

what changed
productivity techniques that are now obsolete:

the techniques that shaped how we work were designed for a world where you did the work. that world is gone.

pomodoro25 minutes of focused work, 5 minute break
→
reverse pomodoro5 minutes of prompting, 45 minutes while AI works — your job is to review and redirect, not execute
deep workblock 4 hours to do deep, focused execution
→
deep thinkingyou have an army of agents for execution — deep work is now deep human thinking blocks
GTDcollect, organize, review, and execute tasks manually
→
help AI help you prioritizeeverything is fluid and connected — the only thing that matters is surfacing more perspectives to help AI help you prioritize

working principles
how to actually work with AI:

three principles that separate people who use AI from people who are transformed by it.

01

talk, don't type

use voice (like Wispr Flow) to instruct AI while you review something else — speak your intent, send it away, interrupt when needed

02

small loops, fast

don't give AI one giant prompt and disappear — stay in tight feedback loops, check in often, course-correct early

03

run agents in parallel

work with multiple agents simultaneously — one researches, one writes, one builds — you orchestrate, not execute


what you need
your toolkit:

three tools that form the backbone of every time machine we build.

🤖

OpenClaw

AI that does stuff for you — your natural language interface to every app and workflow

visit openclaw →
⌨️

Claude Code

AI that builds stuff for you — scheduled tasks, automations, and tools that run autonomously

get claude code →

Timeless

AI that remembers for you — turns meetings, conversations, and context into searchable intelligence

try timeless →

step 1
run an agentic audit:

before you build anything, map your time. connect AI to your data sources — calendar, email, meetings — and let it find the patterns.

1

connect your data sources

link your Google Calendar, Gmail, Slack, and Timeless. give AI access to see how you actually spend your time.

2

let AI scan and map your time

understand patterns — see where your time goes across meetings, emails, and deep work blocks.

3

surface repetitive workflows

AI identifies pain points you can automate — the tasks you do again and again that are taking time from you.

"what tasks am I doing repetitively that are taking time from me and I'm doing again and again?"
delegate it. schedule it. let AI run it in the background.

what to build
your autonomous teammates:

once you've audited your time, build these systems. each one runs in the background, compounding every day.

01

good morning sunshine:

your daily command center — rebuilt fresh every morning
  • pulls updates from across your tools into one clear view
  • shows what's top priority, what's next, what needs attention
  • tasks surfaced from meetings and conversations — not manually groomed
02

the rabbit hole:

deep research on any topic — built from your conversations, podcasts, and the web
  • tell AI a topic — it auto-collects every relevant conversation into a Timeless room
  • add podcasts, articles, and web sources — Timeless captures and organizes them
  • create anything from it: reports, project plans, mockups — all grounded in real knowledge
03

the EA:

your executive assistant — schedule anything in natural language
  • tell OpenClaw what you need via Telegram or Slack — in plain English
  • it uses Timeless to check your calendar, calculate focus time, and find open slots
  • considers teammates' availability, time zones, and meeting load
  • creates the event and sends you a scheduling link — done
04

the architect:

transforms chaos into focused, achievable time blocks
  • builds daily and weekly plans from your priorities and energy
  • optimizes for focus, not just calendar density
  • realistic schedules that balance productivity with well-being
05

the rearview mirror:

a weekly review that writes itself — so you can see where you've been
  • compares how you spent time vs. your stated priorities
  • surfaces wins, blind spots, and patterns you missed
  • recommends what to adjust next week before you repeat mistakes
06

the bouncer:

your inbox bodyguard — only what matters gets through
  • summarizes your inbox each morning before you open it
  • suggests keep, archive, or reply based on your routing rules
  • drafts replies for the ones that need your voice, not your time
07

the strategist:

your meeting prep agent — walk in ready, not winging it
  • researches participants, companies, and context before each call
  • surfaces smart talking points and relevant insights
  • connects past conversations to current agenda items

copy & paste
master prompts:

the exact prompts we use to power these autonomous teammates. copy them, customize them, make them yours.

good morning sunshine scheduled task

+
Act as my Executive Assistant. Access my Gmail, Google Calendar, and Timeless meeting notes to provide a concise, high-priority morning briefing for today.

1. THE DAY'S SCHEDULE (Calendar + Meeting Intelligence)
- Full Agenda: List all meetings for today in chronological order.
- Meeting Prep Context: For each meeting, search Timeless for previous meetings with overlapping attendees or matching topics. Surface:
  - A 1-2 sentence recap of what was discussed last time
  - Any unresolved action items assigned to me or others
  - Key decisions or quotes relevant to today's agenda
- Focus Blocks: Identify gaps longer than 1 hour for deep work
- Conflicts: Flag overlapping or back-to-back meetings
- RSVP Needed: Flag events where my response is pending

2. INBOX INTELLIGENCE (Gmail)
- Urgent Action Required: Emails from last 24 hours needing a response today. Bold the sender's name.
- Waiting on me: Emails from people awaiting my response
- Good news: Milestones, wins, positive mentions
- The rest: One-line summary of newsletter/promo count

3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY & THE BIG 3
- 2-sentence overview of the day's shape and biggest opportunity
- The Big 3: Three highest-priority tasks, numbered, with brief rationale.
- Deep Work Suggestions: Recommend scheduling Big 3 items into specific focus blocks
- Tomorrow's heads-up: Notable deadlines or events

4. FORMAT
- Professional, encouraging, brief. Bold for names, times, and deadlines.
- Output as a beautiful HTML page using brand guidelines

How to use: Set this up as a Claude Code scheduled task running daily at 8:00 AM. Connect Gmail, Google Calendar, and Timeless as MCP servers.

the agentic audit one-time

+
Analyze how I spend my time and identify what I should delegate to AI.

1. CALENDAR ANALYSIS - Pull the last 2 weeks of my Google Calendar. Categorize events: meetings, focus blocks, personal, admin. Calculate % of time in each category.

2. EMAIL PATTERNS - Scan my last 100 emails. Identify repetitive email types. Flag emails that took more than 5 minutes to write. Note which responses could be templated.

3. MEETING INTELLIGENCE (via Timeless) - Review recent meeting transcripts. Identify repeating action items. Flag meetings where I'm mostly listening.

4. THE AUDIT REPORT - Create a visual dashboard: time breakdown by category, top 5 repetitive tasks, top 5 automation candidates, estimated hours/week to reclaim, priority ranking.

Output as a clean HTML page with charts and actionable recommendations.

How to use: Run this in Claude Code with access to your Google Calendar, Gmail, and Timeless.

the rabbit hole on-demand

+
I want to do deep research on: [TOPIC]

1. SEARCH MY KNOWLEDGE - Search Timeless for all meetings where [TOPIC] was discussed. Extract key insights. Create a Timeless room called "[TOPIC] Research."

2. FIND EXTERNAL SOURCES - Search for top podcast episodes about [TOPIC]. Find insightful articles and videos. Capture podcasts into the Timeless room.

3. SYNTHESIZE - Combine internal knowledge and external sources. Highlight contradictions. Surface actionable insights. Note knowledge gaps.

4. CREATE DELIVERABLES - Executive summary (1 page), detailed research document, 3-5 action items, reading/listening list ordered by priority.

How to use: Replace [TOPIC] with anything. The prompt searches your existing knowledge in Timeless first, then augments with external sources.

the EA always-on

+
You are my Executive Assistant for scheduling. When I message you:

1. UNDERSTAND - Parse natural language: "find time with X", "schedule a lunch", "clear my morning"
2. CHECK AVAILABILITY - Use Timeless to access my calendar. Calculate focus time ratio. Consider time zones and energy patterns.
3. OPTIMIZE - Protect morning focus blocks. Batch meetings. No back-to-back without breaks.
4. EXECUTE - Create the event. Send the invite or scheduling link. Confirm: "Done - [event] scheduled for [time]"

Always confirm the action taken. Never double-book me.

How to use: Set this up in OpenClaw connected to Timeless and Google Calendar. Message via Telegram or Slack.

the bouncer scheduled task

+
You are my Inbox Bodyguard. Every morning, scan my Gmail:

1. CATEGORIZE - Pull all unread emails from last 24 hours. Categorize: urgent, waiting-on-me, FYI, newsletter, promotional.
2. TRIAGE - For each email suggest: REPLY NOW (draft response), REPLY LATER (flag + timing), ARCHIVE, or DELEGATE.
3. DRAFT REPLIES - For urgent emails, draft responses matching my style with Timeless context.
4. REPORT - 🔴 Reply Now, 🟡 Reply Later, 🟢 FYI Only, 📊 Stats.

How to use: Schedule as a Claude Code task at 7:30 AM. Connect Gmail and Timeless. Pairs with Good Morning Sunshine.

the rearview mirror weekly

+
Generate my weekly time review:

1. TIME ANALYSIS - Pull this week's calendar. Categorize: meetings, deep work, admin, personal. Compare to last week.
2. PRIORITY ALIGNMENT - Compare stated Big 3 vs. actual time spent. Score alignment percentage.
3. MEETING ROI - Which meetings produced outcomes? Which could have been async?
4. WINS & BLIND SPOTS - What went well? What patterns am I repeating?
5. NEXT WEEK - Suggested Big 3, meetings to decline, time blocks to protect, one habit to change.

Output as a visual HTML report.

How to use: Schedule weekly on Friday at 4 PM. Weekly retrospective before the weekend.

the strategist before each meeting

+
Prepare me for my upcoming meeting: [MEETING NAME]

1. CONTEXT - Look up each attendee: role, company, our history in Timeless, last conversation recap, open action items.
2. AGENDA INTELLIGENCE - Stated agenda + what's likely to come up based on history. Decisions needed.
3. TALKING POINTS - 3-5 points that reference our last conversation, advance my goals, include specific questions.
4. PREP BRIEF - Attendees with context, last meeting recap, open items, talking points, desired outcome.

How to use: Run 30 minutes before each meeting, or on-demand. Requires Timeless for meeting history.


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