Use Claude Code to clean inboxes, courses, and budgets

A non-technical CEO used Claude Code to narrow Gmail to reply-needed messages, convert homeschool PDFs into narrated lessons, and assemble a budget dashboard.

Done with Claude Code· Intermediate

What they did
Michael Crist, who is a CEO and does not code, started Claude Code inside a separate work folder on his machine. He connected it to Gmail with MCP, then asked for only messages from actual people that still called for a response. For the finance project, he gave it bank records, card statements, and Amazon purchase history, then had it construct a dashboard; he accepted each permission request before it acted.
How it went
The email pass took what had seemed like around 100 unread messages and trimmed them to about 8 worth answering. He reviewed the budget output and said the numbers checked out. The homeschool side of the work turned 15 PDFs into interactive narrated courses, but the account offered limited detail about that part.
Tips
Use a throwaway or dedicated folder and make backups first, since the tool can modify files you point it at. It also requires a paid plan, starting at Claude Pro for $20/month.

Try it yourself with Claude Code

I’m not technical, so walk me through this in plain language. In [folder path], help me: 1) find only inbox messages from real people that still need a reply, 2) turn the PDFs into [an interactive narrated course / a budget dashboard] with [features], and 3) stop and ask for approval before you delete, send, submit, or overwrite anything. Finish by telling me how to open the result on my computer.

Fill in the [brackets]. Agents can make mistakes, so review anything before it is sent, paid or deleted.

Read the original on michaelcrist.substack.com ↗

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