Week 3 · foundation
Connectors, MCP & the Second Brain (+ Managing Email)
Connect Claude to your whole working life — and turn email from enemy to ally.
The spine of the programme. Until now Claude has answered from the open web and the files you hand it; this week it starts answering from your actual working life. We teach the connector / plugin / MCP mental model (so you can connect tools we never mention), wire up Gmail, Calendar and Drive, and stand up a Second Brain Project.
The wow is a single cross-source question answered from inbox + transcript + doc, with citations. Then we make email an ally with the Email Triage Skill. Two D’s this week: Delegation (handing real work over) and Diligence (doing it safely — scoped access, drafts never auto-send).
Learner goals
- Understand connectors vs. plugins vs. MCP — and connect tools we don't name.
- Enable Gmail, Calendar and Drive (plus Slack/transcripts) safely.
- Build a Second Brain Project that answers from your own data, with sources.
- Build the Email Triage Skill — drafts in your voice, the human sends.
What you set up live
- Enable the Google Workspace connectors (Gmail, Calendar, Drive) and review scopes.
- Create a Second Brain Project and ask it a cross-source question.
- Build and run the Email Triage Skill on a real inbox.
Run-of-show · 180 min
The session timeline. The amber row is where the wow lands.
| Time | Segment | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00 · 10m | The big idea: answers from YOUR world | Talk |
| 0:10 · 25m | Connectors, plugins & MCP — the mental model | Talk |
| 0:35 · 40m | Build-along: connect Gmail, Calendar, Drive (+ Slack/transcripts) | Build-along |
| 1:15 · 10m | Break | Break |
| 1:25 · 25m | Build-along: your Second Brain Project ✦ wow | Build-along |
| 1:50 · 40m | Build-along: the Email Triage Skill | Build-along |
| 2:30 · 20m | Role breakout + Diligence on data | Breakout |
| 2:50 · 10m | Project handoff (Delegation + Diligence) | Talk |
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