How I Use ChatGPT to Organise My Inbox & Weekly Tasks
There are two types of Monday mornings in an interior design studio.
The one where you open your inbox to 47 emails about fabric lead times, outstanding quotes, client feedback and a supplier who's still not confirmed delivery.
And the one where you open your calendar and already know what needs your attention.
I'm very much trying to make the second one my default.
I've been using ChatGPT alongside Gmail and Google Calendar to review my inbox, identify outstanding tasks and schedule time to actually get them done.
And having run my own interior design studio, I can't help thinking how useful this would have been during those particularly busy project weeks.
Because when you're an interior designer, your to-do list is rarely just a to-do list. It's about six different projects happening simultaneously.
Your Inbox Is Basically Your Studio's To-Do List
Think about everything that lands in your inbox during a normal working week.
A supplier chasing approval on a fabric order.
A client requesting changes to their living room presentation.
An electrician needing lighting specifications.
A joiner waiting for drawings.
A delivery date that's suddenly moved.
A quote that needs adding to your FF&E schedule.
And somewhere amongst all of that, you're supposed to find time to actually design.
The problem isn't necessarily that you don't know what needs doing.
It's that those tasks are scattered across email threads, project documents, meeting notes and conversations.
And remembering everything is practically a job in itself.
My Monday Morning Inbox Review
At Studio Sidekick, I've started using ChatGPT to help review relevant emails at the beginning of the week.
Rather than simply looking at what's unread, I'm asking it to identify what actually needs action.
And this is where I think the same approach could be particularly useful for interior designers.
Imagine asking ChatGPT to review your project emails and identify:
Which suppliers are waiting for a response?
Which quotes or lead times need chasing?
What client feedback needs incorporating into presentations?
Are there outstanding FF&E approvals?
What drawings or specifications have I promised to send?
Are there upcoming installation or delivery deadlines?
Instead of manually searching through conversations, you've got a starting point for your week.
Of course, I'd still check everything against the actual project information.
But having those actions pulled together in one place? Very useful.
From Project Emails To Actual Tasks
This is where I'd take things one step further.
Because I don't particularly want another enormous to-do list.
I want to know when I'm actually going to do the work.
So once the actions are identified, I'd review them and assign realistic timings.
For example:
Update living room FF&E schedule — 1 hour.
Revise client design presentation — 2 hours.
Chase outstanding supplier quotes — 30 minutes.
Review joinery drawings — 1 hour.
Prepare samples for Thursday's client meeting — 45 minutes.
Suddenly, those vague things sitting in your head become actual pieces of work.
And you can start to see how much time your projects really need.
Because updating an FF&E schedule isn't the same as replying to a supplier email.
They shouldn't both sit on your to-do list as though they're equal.
Then I'd Put Everything Into Google Calendar
If you've read my previous posts, you'll know I'm a big believer in using Google Calendar as a to-do list.
And this is where the workflow becomes particularly helpful.
Using ChatGPT with my connected calendar, I can review my existing commitments and find space for the tasks I've approved.
For an interior designer, that might look something like this:
Monday: Review supplier quotes and update FF&E schedules.
Tuesday: Prepare the design presentation for Thursday's client meeting.
Wednesday: Finalise lighting specifications and review joinery drawings.
Thursday: Client presentation and follow-up actions.
Friday: Supplier chasing, project admin and next week's preparation.
Obviously, real projects rarely behave quite so neatly.
But that's exactly why having a plan helps.
You can move things around when something changes, rather than trying to remember what you've forgotten.
It Helps You Spot Problems Before They Become Problems
One of the biggest benefits isn't necessarily saving time.
It's seeing what's coming.
If you've got two client presentations, a site visit and an installation happening in the same week, you need to know whether you've actually got enough time to prepare for all three.
If a supplier hasn't confirmed a lead time, you want to catch that before it affects an installation.
If you're waiting on a client's fabric approval, you want to follow up before the order becomes urgent.
And if you've promised drawings to a contractor, you want that time protected in your calendar.
Having a regular review of what's outstanding helps you spot those things earlier.
It also makes it easier to separate what you need to do from what you're waiting for someone else to do.
Which, as any interior designer knows, are two very different lists.
And It Gives You More Time To Actually Design
I think this is the part that matters most.
When you start an interior design studio, you probably imagine spending your days designing beautiful spaces.
Not chasing delivery dates, searching email threads or remembering whether you sent the updated bathroom specification.
Of course, those things are part of running a studio.
But they don't need to take up quite so much mental space.
I don't want AI making creative decisions, choosing fabrics or deciding what looks good in a room.
That's the designer's job.
I want it helping with the organisation around the design work.
The admin. The follow-ups. The deadlines. The repetitive tasks.
And all those little things that quietly eat into your working week.
A Few Things I'd Keep In Mind
I wouldn't suggest handing over your entire project inbox and hoping AI gets everything right.
I'd always review the tasks it identifies, check dates and specifications against the original documents and make sure nothing confidential is being shared inappropriately.
I'd also be realistic about how long things take.
ChatGPT might suggest an hour for a design presentation. You know whether that's actually a three-hour job.
And I'd leave space for the unexpected.
Because there's always a supplier phone call, a site issue or a last-minute client request that wasn't in Monday's plan.
A Little Less Admin. A Little More Designing.
This is the kind of AI I'm interested in.
Not replacing the creative side of running an interior design studio.
Just making everything around it work a little better.
It's also exactly the thinking behind Studio Sidekick.
Having run my own interior design studio, I know how much time disappears into the non-design side of the business.
And whether it's better systems, organised workflows, content planning, website updates or ongoing studio support, my aim is to help designers get some of that time back.
Because your working week shouldn't disappear into organising the work. You should have time left to actually do the designing.