Video summary

How I Use ChatGPT Work and GPT-5.6 to Do Everything (Beginner Tutorial)

Main summary

Key takeaways

Technology

Overview (beginner tutorial goal)

The speaker demonstrates how they use ChatGPT desktop app features—specifically ChatGPT Work, Codex, and GPT-5.6 models—to automate day-to-day work on a computer and phone. The tutorial emphasizes:

  • Setup (custom instructions, plugins)
  • Organization (projects/threads)
  • Practical automation (email/calendar “chief of staff” workflows)
  • Building/publishing websites

Chat / Work / Codex: what’s different

  • Chat: the regular ChatGPT interface.
  • Work: ChatGPT that can act inside your apps (via app integrations through plugins).
  • Codex: a developer/coding-focused mode.

Main practical distinction (as described):

  • When switching to Codex, the UI adds a “Pull requests” section.
  • Pull requests are described as the developer review/approval mechanism for code changes.
  • Otherwise, the speaker claims the difference is mostly presentation/UI.

GPT-5.6 model + effort level guidance

GPT-5.6 has three models (referred to in subtitles as Soul, Terra, Luna) with effort levels (low → ultra).

They reference an “intelligence vs output tokens” concept and recommend a sweet spot:

  • GPT-5.6 Soul + medium effort (good intelligence while conserving tokens)

They also mention using:

  • Soul + high effort sometimes for planning.

They “almost never” use Terra or Luna.

Desktop app setup: Custom instructions (recommended)

On a fresh install, the speaker’s first setup step is:

  1. Settings → Personalization → Custom instructions

Their custom instruction goals:

  1. Teach/learn technical concepts (system design, trade-offs, APIs) using plain explanations and no jargon.
  2. Avoid code blocks except for actual code (don’t format prose as code blocks).
  3. Be candid and thoughtful—push back when needed, not just agreement.
  4. Write plainly (active voice, minimal hedging/“AI slop”/grand claims; reduce throat-clearing).

They also mention a “no AI slop tool” on their GitHub that removes many AI-slop phrases during editing.

Plugins: the “key setup step” to enable work inside apps

They stress installing plugins so ChatGPT/Codex can operate inside daily tools.

Minimum recommended plugins:

  • Gmail
  • Google Calendar
  • Google Docs
  • Google Slides
  • Google Sheets
  • Google Drive

They also install many additional plugins (over 23 total), including:

  • PDF (read/edit PDFs)
  • Slack (community messages)
  • Notion (wiki)
  • Figma (design)
  • RemNote (meeting notes)

Claim: installing lots of plugins has “no real drawback” and increases capability.

Projects and threads: organization strategy

They recommend a scalable structure:

  • Use Projects as top-level containers (e.g., personal OS, product/app work).
  • Within each project, organize Threads by task/workflow, such as:
    • podcast episode production
    • newsletter editing
    • drafting/processing social posts

Behavior/features emphasized

  • Codex can compact previous messages in a long thread while retaining context, which supports long-running threads.

Management tips

  • Pin important threads
  • Drag-and-drop threads into projects
  • On Mac, use quick navigation via # shortcuts (holding the “pound sign”)

Core TL;DR:

Use long-running threads—ideally one thread per workflow.

“Chief of staff” automation for email + calendar

They propose starting a dedicated thread (a “chief of staff” thread) and then having it proactively manage tasks.

Email workflow

Prerequisite: Gmail + Google Calendar plugins enabled.

Example workflow:

  • Check the past 3 days of email
  • Produce the top 5 open action items
  • Include emails to unsubscribe from
  • Provide links to the relevant emails

They caution:

“Do not share any confidential information” (since it’s a tutorial)

Example actions shown:

  • Bulk unsubscribe by having Codex open emails in Chrome and click unsubscribe buttons.
  • Follow up on older conversations:
    • find prior hotel-email threads
    • draft replies
    • submit/send via Gmail integration after review

Advanced capability: create an email “skill” for voice/tone

  • Review their sent messages
  • Create a named skill (e.g., “/ email”)
  • Test the draft to ensure tone matches
  • Iterate if the style isn’t perfect

Calendar workflow

They describe reducing manual scheduling by asking Codex to book meetings:

  • Find contact emails (e.g., scheduling a Google Meet with “Char”)
  • Detect conflicts (e.g., needing to drop off a child at camp)
  • Add meeting links

They demonstrate examples such as:

  • schedule based on restaurant name
  • schedule after WhatsApp-like planning by copying/screenshotting the conversation into Codex
  • add a series of events automatically (e.g., World Cup matches starting from quarterfinals as optional events)

Advanced: podcast prep automation

  • Find podcast meetings in the next 7 days
  • Run a “podcast prep” skill:
    • research guest background
    • draft questions
    • produce a research-backed interview outline
  • Generate a guest-facing guide and store it in Google Docs

Scheduled tasks (proactive operation)

They show scheduling recurring work (example: every Friday at 7:00 a.m.) to:

  • re-run email + unsubscribe/action-item workflows
  • scan the next 7 days of calendar events
  • for podcast events, run the prep skill and create/link docs automatically
  • check for other prep-worthy meetings

They claim proficient Codex users run many scheduled tasks (even daily) to continuously monitor Slack/email/transcripts and prioritize next actions.

Using Codex on a phone (remote threads)

  • In the ChatGPT mobile app, access Remote threads.
  • Critical limitation: the computer must be on for remote Codex/thread actions to work.

Workaround:

  • Use a Mac utility called Amphetamine to prevent sleep (keep laptop awake).

They add a caution:

Constantly monitoring threads on mobile can be addictive and distract from real-life time.

Building and publishing websites with Codex (“Sites” feature)

They close with website creation without being a developer.

Codex has a Sites feature to publish websites:

  • privately (self/friends) or publicly

Examples demonstrated:

  • Convert a “Japan travel catalog” into an interactive site
  • Build a “multiplication tables” animal math game with confetti and interactivity
  • Create a “tastemaker plan” interactive PRD-style website (product requirements and design included)

Claim about speed:

Outputs are faster than expected; the model might say “2–3 weeks,” but their examples reportedly took “5–10 minutes.”

Key “7 action items” recapped by the speaker

  1. Install the ChatGPT desktop app (web users get the biggest upgrade on desktop).
  2. If overwhelmed by models: use GPT-5.6 Soul + medium effort (use high effort for heavier planning).
  3. Personalize custom instructions (concise, no AI slop, push back, teach technical concepts plainly).
  4. Install plugins for daily apps (start with Gmail/Calendar/Docs/Slides/Sheets/Drive; add Slack and others).
  5. Start a chief of staff thread and schedule proactive tasks (email/calendar + podcast prep).
  6. Use mobile remote threads (requires the computer staying awake; they use Amphetamine).
  7. Build/publish interactive sites using Codex “Sites” (travel guides, learning games, interactive plans/PRDs).

Main speaker / sources (end)

  • Main speaker: the video narrator/author (not explicitly named in subtitles).
  • Referenced third parties/tools:
    • OpenAI (GPT-5.6, ChatGPT desktop app, Codex, Work, Sites/Artifacts concept)
    • Google apps (Gmail, Google Calendar, Docs/Slides/Sheets/Drive)
    • GitHub (linked “no AI slop tool”)
    • Amphetamine (Mac keep-awake utility)

Original video