The 8 files I use to make sure my business doesn't forget anything.

Build to Thrive — buildtothrive.co

What this is

8 plain text files and a morning routine. That's it. No software to install, no tool to buy, no architecture to design.

Drop these files somewhere your AI assistant can read them (ChatGPT projects, Claude projects, a local folder your AI tool has access to). Fill them in once. Update them as you go. Read them every morning with AI before you start working.

That's the whole system.

The 10-minute setup

  1. Duplicate this page to your own Notion workspace.
  2. Open each subpage. Replace the example lines with your own content. One line is enough to start. Don't try to be complete.
  3. Put the folder somewhere your AI tool can read it (or export the pages as markdown).
  4. Tomorrow morning, open your AI tool and paste in the morning prompt (see 09 Morning Prompt below). Let it read the files and talk you through your day.
  5. Update whatever file is relevant at the end of the day. Keep it short.

Do this for two weeks. Add files as you notice new things you want your business to remember.

The 8 files

# File What it holds
01 Goals and Priorities The big picture. Annual goal, current quarter focus, this week's priorities, today's non-negotiable.
02 Daily Work Log What actually got done each day. One entry per weekday.
03 Session Log A rolling history of your work sessions. Patterns, accountability, what worked and what didn't.
04 Pending Actions Every open commitment, deadline, and follow-up. The one file that makes your business stop forgetting.
05 Revenue Log Money in, money out, weekly run rate, progress toward annual revenue goal.
06 Function Architecture The 8 functions of your business and which ones you run personally vs which ones you've delegated.
07 Brand Voice How you write and speak. What words you use, what words you avoid. So nothing you publish sounds off.
08 Working Memory Who you are, what you're building, what you care about. The file your AI reads first.

Plus one more:

# File What it holds
09 Morning Prompt The exact prompt to paste into your AI tool every morning.

What changes in the first week

Day 1: You set this up in 10 minutes.