30 minutes a day on email is 4 and a half weeks a year. Here's how I got them back.

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I run a Pilates studio. For 9 years I answered every email myself. Cancellations, "is this okay for my back", "do you have parking", "can I bring my mum". Usually after 10 at night. Call it 30 minutes a day. That's 180 hours a year. 4 and a half working weeks, sat in an inbox, typing the same 6 answers in slightly different words.

Now ChatGPT drafts all of them. Not most. All. Nobody can tell, because it sounds like me, and it runs by itself twice a day, so I never open ChatGPT to do it. I read each draft, change 1 line, press send. This guide is the whole setup, every click, in order, plus the exact prompt I use and what to do when something doesn't work.

Before you start: what you need

A paid ChatGPT plan. Plus is about €23 a month. The free plan can't connect to your inbox and can't run things on a schedule, so it won't work for this guide.
The email account your studio actually uses. Gmail or Outlook both work. You need to be able to sign in to it. If it's a work Google account (an address ending in your studio's name, run through Google Workspace), you may need the person who set it up to allow the connection. See "If something goes wrong".
Your website address. ChatGPT reads it to learn your class times, prices and location.
Time: about 25 minutes, once, most of it answering ChatGPT's questions about how you write. Then 5 minutes twice a day, which is the bit you were already doing, only faster.
Cost: about €23 a month for ChatGPT Plus. Nothing else.
If you can send an email, you can do this.

You do this in normal ChatGPT. Not a special version. The app on your computer or chatgpt.com in your browser, whichever you already use.

What you'll have at the end

At 8am and 5pm, a reply to every client email waiting in your Drafts folder, in your voice, in the right thread, with nothing sent until you say so.
A ChatGPT project with your own email style guide, built from the emails you've actually sent, plus the drafting rules and the never-send rule.
A 5-minute routine: read, change 1 line, send.

Step 1: Connect ChatGPT to your inbox (2 minutes, once)

Do this first. The setup prompt in step 2 reads the emails you've already sent to learn how you write, so ChatGPT needs to be able to see your inbox before it can do anything useful.

In ChatGPT, click your name or photo at the bottom left. Click Settings.
Click Plugins. Older help pages call it Apps or Connectors. Same thing.
Find Gmail (or Outlook) in the list. Click Connect.
A Google or Microsoft sign-in window pops up. Sign in with your studio email. Tick every box it asks about, then click Allow (Microsoft says Accept).
Close settings. ChatGPT can now see your inbox, and it only looks when you ask it to. You can switch it off any time in the same place: Settings, Plugins, Disconnect.

You'll know it worked when Gmail (or Outlook) shows Connected in the Plugins list, and when you open a new chat, type "What's the subject line of the newest email in my inbox?" and it tells you.

If it doesn't: can't see Gmail or Outlook in the list? Check you're on a paid plan first (click your name, bottom left: it should say Plus, Pro, Team or Business). If you are and it's still missing, the connector isn't available in your region yet. Skip to "If something goes wrong" for the paste-in way, which still works and still saves you the typing.

Step 2: Teach it how you write (20 minutes, once)

Without this step, ChatGPT writes like a hotel. "Thank you for reaching out. We'd be delighted to welcome you." Your clients can tell, and it quietly makes your studio feel like a chain. This prompt fixes that. It reads the emails you've actually sent, reads your website for the facts, then interviews you one question at a time and writes a style guide it uses for every draft after that.

In the left menu click Projects, then New project. Call it My studio and click Create project. A Project is a folder that remembers instructions for every chat inside it, so you never repeat yourself. If you can't see Projects, update the app or use chatgpt.com in a browser.
Inside the project, click New chat. Copy the prompt below, put your website address in the first bracket, add anything else you want it to know in the second (or delete that line), and press enter.
It checks it can see your inbox, reads your sent emails, reads your website, then starts asking you questions. Answer one at a time, typing the way you actually talk. Don't tidy yourself up. If it tells you something you did in old emails that you don't want any more, say so. Your answer wins.

Prompt: build my email voice and reply system (once)You are going to build an email reply system for my Pilates studio. The replies must sound recognisably like me, answer the client properly and be safe for me to review. Do not draft or send any client emails until you have completed the setup below. MY BUSINESS Website: [paste your website address] Booking page: [paste your booking link] Studio location: [town and country] Anything that is important but is not on my website: [add it here, or delete this line] NON-NEGOTIABLE RULE You may create drafts in my existing email threads. You must never press Send, schedule an email or send anything on my behalf. If you are unsure, leave the reply as a draft and flag the uncertainty for me. PART 1 — CHECK WHAT YOU CAN ACCESS 1. Confirm whether you can read my inbox and Sent folder. 2. Confirm whether you can open the website and booking links above. 3. If anything is unavailable, stop and tell me exactly what you need me to connect or paste. Do not pretend you have read material you cannot access. PART 2 — STUDY HOW I REALLY WRITE Read at least 30 emails I personally sent, spread across the last 3 months if possible. Exclude newsletters, automated booking messages, receipts, signatures written by somebody else and one-word replies. Include examples of: - a brand-new enquiry asking which class to book - a nervous beginner - a client asking about pain, injury or pregnancy - pricing, intro offer or membership questions - cancellations, refunds, late arrivals and no-shows - timetable, parking or studio-location questions - an existing client I know well - a complaint or awkward request - a supplier or business enquiry For each type, notice what I do rather than labelling me with vague words such as “warm and professional”. Record: - the greetings and sign-offs I actually use - words, phrases and punctuation I repeat - my usual sentence and email length - whether I answer first or make conversation first - how direct I am when the answer is no - how I recommend a class without sounding pushy - how I state prices, policies and links - whether and when I use emojis - phrases I never use - differences between a new enquiry, a familiar client and a difficult situation Quote 8–12 short examples from my sent emails that best capture my voice. Remove names and private details from the examples. PART 3 — LEARN THE BUSINESS FACTS Use my website for facts, not for my personal writing style. Build a short reference sheet covering: - current intro offer and prices - class types and who each is for - beginner guidance - location, parking and arrival instructions - booking, cancellation and refund policies - memberships and class packs - timetable and booking links - anything the website does not answer clearly Mark every fact with its source page. If two pages disagree, flag the conflict. Never choose a price, policy, class or time by guessing. PART 4 — INTERVIEW ME After you have reviewed my emails and website, interview me ONE QUESTION AT A TIME. Wait for my answer before asking the next question. Only ask questions that the evidence did not settle. Cover any gaps that would change a reply, especially: - expressions I want you to keep or stop using - how I want medical or injury questions handled - when to recommend a private session - when to give a direct link - how firm to be about cancellations and refunds - whether I want prices written in the email or linked - topics that must always be left for me personally If my current answer conflicts with an old email, ask which rule I want from now on. My current instruction wins. PART 5 — SHOW ME THE RESULT BEFORE USING IT Create an “Email Voice Guide” with these headings: 1. What I sound like 2. Greetings I use 3. Sentence length and rhythm 4. Words and phrases I use 5. Words and phrases to avoid 6. How I answer common enquiries 7. How I handle difficult messages 8. Links and calls to action 9. Sign-offs 10. Facts you must verify before drafting 11. Messages you must flag for me instead of answering Then show me 3 test replies: - a new client asking whether Reformer is suitable for a complete beginner - an existing client asking to cancel outside the cancellation window - somebody asking which class they should attend because of back pain For each test, briefly tell me which parts came from my real writing and which business facts you used. Ask me what feels wrong. Revise the guide until I approve it. PART 6 — RULES FOR EVERY FUTURE DRAFT Before drafting, read the full conversation thread. Identify every question or request in the latest message. Do not make the client repeat information already in the thread. Each draft must: - answer the main question in the first 1–2 sentences - answer every other question in the email - use my approved Email Voice Guide - use only verified business facts - include one useful link only when it helps the client take the next step - match the relationship: new enquiry, regular client, complaint or business contact - be as short as my real emails, usually 3–8 sentences unless the situation needs more - avoid “Thank you for reaching out”, “We’d be delighted”, “I hope this email finds you well” and any phrase I would not naturally use - never give medical advice; for pain, injury, pregnancy or recovery questions, acknowledge the question and flag the draft for my review - put [CHECK: what is missing] anywhere a fact needs my decision Before saving the draft, silently check: 1. Did I answer the actual email? 2. Did I answer every question? 3. Does this sound like the approved examples? 4. Did I invent anything? 5. Is there anything Victoria must decide herself? Save the reply as a draft in the same email thread. Never create a new message when a reply belongs in an existing thread. Never send it. Start with Part 1 now. Tell me what you can access, then continue in order. When you reach the interview, ask one question and wait.

When it's finished asking, it writes your email style guide. Copy it. At the top of the project, click Instructions (on some screens it's a small settings icon, or Edit instructions). Paste the guide in and click Save. Now every chat in this project sounds like you.
Underneath the style guide, paste the full prompt above as well, and click Save again. That keeps the drafting rules and the "never send" rule in front of it for every future chat, including the scheduled task in step 3.

You'll know it worked when you open a new chat in the project, type "In 2 sentences, how do I sound in emails, and what's my address?" and it answers in your tone with your real address.

If it doesn't: if it says it can't see your emails, go back to step 1 and check Gmail shows Connected. If it says it can't open your website, copy the text of your homepage, timetable and prices pages and paste them into the chat, then say "use this as my website". If the instructions didn't save, open Instructions, check the style guide and the prompt are both there, and click Save.

That's the whole foundation. Do it once, use it for everything.

Step 3: Set it to run by itself, morning and evening (2 minutes, once)

This is the bit that makes it automatic. ChatGPT has a thing called tasks. You tell it to do something at a set time every day, and it does, without you opening ChatGPT. So we tell it: twice a day, look at my inbox, and draft a reply to every client email, in my voice, in the right thread. Draft. Never send.

Open your My studio project. Click New chat.
Paste this in. Change the times if you want. 8am and 5pm work for most studios. Put your website address in the bracket.

Prompt: the twice-a-day taskCreate a repeating task that runs every day at 8am and 5pm in my local time zone. At each run: 1. Find unread or unreplied emails received since the previous run. Include genuine client enquiries and replies in active client conversations. Ignore newsletters, sales pitches, receipts, booking confirmations, no-reply messages and anything automated. 2. Read the full thread before doing anything. List the questions and requests in the newest email so none are missed. 3. Draft a reply in the SAME THREAD using the approved Email Voice Guide and rules saved in this project. 4. Answer the main question in the first 1–2 sentences. Answer every other question before finishing. 5. Check facts against [your website address] and [your booking-page address]. Never invent prices, class times, availability, policies, links or medical guidance. 6. If a fact is missing or contradictory, write [CHECK: explain what I need to confirm] in the draft. 7. If the message concerns pain, injury, pregnancy, recovery, a complaint, a refund exception or anything sensitive, prepare a careful draft but mark it [VICTORIA TO REVIEW] at the top. 8. Keep the reply close to the length and tone of my real sent emails. Remove generic phrases such as “Thank you for reaching out” unless my Email Voice Guide specifically says I use them. 9. Save the reply as a draft. NEVER SEND, schedule or approve an email. When the run is complete, give me a short review list containing: - sender and subject - draft created, skipped or needs my decision - any [CHECK] item I must fill in If there are no emails that need a reply, say “No client replies needed this run.” Do not create unnecessary drafts.

ChatGPT confirms it's created a repeating task. You can see it any time under Scheduled in the left sidebar. You can pause it, change the times or delete it there.
That's it. You never have to open ChatGPT for emails again.

You'll know it worked when the task shows under Scheduled in the left sidebar with the 2 times, and tomorrow at 8am your Drafts folder has a reply in every client thread. ChatGPT also sends you a notification with the list of who it drafted for.

If it doesn't: if ChatGPT says it can't set up a task, type "create a scheduled task that repeats every day at 8am and 5pm" at the top of the prompt and paste it again. If it still can't, check your plan is Plus or above. If the task ran but the drafts are new emails instead of replies, the wording matters: it must say "draft a reply, in the same thread". If you say "write an email to Sarah", it makes a brand new email and Sarah gets something odd.

And don't let it send. You could, on some plans. Don't. Checking a draft in Gmail takes 10 seconds. Un-sending a wrong price to a client takes a lot longer.

Step 4: Your new routine (5 minutes, twice a day)

Open Gmail or Outlook on your phone. Tap the menu (3 lines, top left), then Drafts.
Every client reply is sitting there, in the right thread, in your voice.
Read each one. Change one line if it needs it. There's usually one: the class you'd actually suggest, a blank like [price] to fill in.
Tap Send. Next one.

That's the whole job now. Morning coffee, 5 drafts, 5 sends. Evening, same again. The AI does the typing. You stay the person who presses send.

Need one done right now? Between the 2 runs, a client emails and you don't want to wait until 5. Open the project and paste this, with the name and subject filled in. It drafts it straight away, in the thread, and leaves it in Drafts for you.

Prompt: draft one reply right nowFind the email from [their name/email address] with the exact subject “[paste the subject line]”. Read the entire thread, including my previous replies, before drafting. First identify: - what they are asking now - every question that needs an answer - anything already answered earlier in the thread - any fact that needs checking Then draft a reply as me in the SAME THREAD using my approved Email Voice Guide. The draft must answer the main question in the first 1–2 sentences, cover every other question, and use only verified details from the thread, my project instructions, [your website address] and [your booking-page address]. Keep it close to the length of my real emails. Include a link only when it helps them take the next step. Do not invent a price, time, place, policy, availability or medical answer. Use [CHECK: what I need to confirm] if anything is missing. If the email involves pain, injury, pregnancy, a complaint, a refund exception or another sensitive issue, put [VICTORIA TO REVIEW] at the top. Avoid generic phrases that are not in my voice, including “Thank you for reaching out”, “We’d be delighted” and “I hope this email finds you well”. Save the reply as a draft in the existing thread. Do not create a new email. NEVER SEND IT. When it is saved, tell me the sender, subject and any [CHECK] item I need to complete.

You'll know it worked when you open Drafts and the reply is there, in the same thread as their email, under 6 sentences, sounding like you.

If it doesn't: if it can't find the email, copy the exact subject line from your inbox and paste it in the bracket. If the draft is sitting in ChatGPT's reply instead of in your email, the connector has dropped: go back to step 1 and click Reconnect.

25 minutes of setup, once. 4 and a half weeks of your year back.

If something goes wrong

The drafts sound like a hotel. Your style guide needs more of you in it. Open the project, paste in 3 more real emails you've sent, and say "update my email style guide from these". Save the new guide in Instructions.
It told someone the old Tuesday class or the old price. Your website is out of date, or the price isn't on it. Fix the website, or add a line to the project's Instructions with the right price, and click Save. 2 minutes.
The draft is a brand new email, not a reply. The task must say "draft a reply, in the same thread". Delete the task under Scheduled and paste the step 3 prompt again.
Gmail or Outlook isn't in the Plugins list. You're on the free plan, or the connector isn't in your region yet. The paste-in way still works: do step 2 anyway (paste 5 or 6 of your sent emails into the chat when it asks, since it can't read them itself), then paste each client's email into the project and say "draft a reply to this as me". Copy the reply into Gmail yourself. Not automatic, but still 5 minutes faster than typing it.
Gmail says "your administrator has blocked this". Your studio email runs through Google Workspace. Whoever set it up (often your web person) needs to sign in to admin.google.com, go to Security, then API controls, and allow ChatGPT. Send them this line.
The task stopped running. click Scheduled in the left sidebar, and check it isn't paused. ChatGPT pauses tasks after a few failed runs, usually because the email connection dropped. Reconnect in Settings, Plugins, then turn the task back on.

Keep it alive

2 minutes whenever your timetable or prices change: update your website, and if the price isn't on the website, add a line to the project's Instructions and click Save. Otherwise it keeps confidently telling people the old Tuesday class. Then 10 minutes every 3 months: read your last 5 sent replies. If you're rewriting more than one line each, paste 3 more of your real emails into the project and ask it to update the email style guide.

Why I'm telling you this

The inbox is the job nobody sees. It's not on the timetable, it doesn't fill a class, and it's the reason you're still on your phone at 10pm. I spent 12 years in tech before 9 years running my studio, and when I moved studios and found my website and Google listing in tatters, the inbox was the first thing I handed over, because the answers barely change. That gave me the hours to fix the rest. Now new clients say "I found you on Google" or "ChatGPT recommended you", and the reply they get back still sounds like me.

Go deeper

Don't want to do this yourself?

I set this all up for you, start to finish. I connect your inbox, build your email style guide from your real emails, load your studio facts from your website, and set the twice-a-day task. You wake up to drafts. You get it working, in your voice, with nothing left for you to figure out.

Email me and I'll set it up

Put "EMAIL" in the subject and your studio's website address in the email. I'll reply with what it costs and when I can start. No call to book.

Victoria, Core and Code