Stop Doing the Donkey Work
You're good at your job. But half your day isn't your job. It's email triage. Task shuffling. Filing documents. Tracking projects. Updating spreadsheets. Scheduling. Following up.
The donkey work.
What if you had an assistant that handled all of it?
The Robot Assistant Field Guide teaches you how to build a personal AI assistant that lives on your Mac, knows your projects, and runs your workflows, so you can spend your time on work that actually matters.
Best Money I've Spent
"This is the best two hundred bucks I ever spent. I'm a Red Cross volunteer, and there's a bunch of donkey work that I have to do with spreadsheets and updating reports. After the 'Create Your First Skill' video, I created several that just blew through work that usually took me a couple of hours to do in about 15 minutes." — Timothy
You Already Know the Feeling
You sit down to do real work and spend the first hour sorting email. You open your task manager and spend twenty minutes reorganizing instead of doing. You have a system, maybe several systems, but they all need feeding. Notes here, tasks there, calendar somewhere else, and none of them talk to each other.
You've probably tried AI. Asked ChatGPT a few questions. Maybe had Claude write a draft. It was interesting, but it didn't stick. The next day, it forgot everything. You started over. Again.
The problem isn't the AI. The problem is that a chatbot isn't an assistant. An assistant remembers. An assistant knows your projects, your preferences, your people. An assistant doesn't need to be told the same thing twice.
That's what we're building.
The Solution
Meet Your Robot Assistant
The Robot Assistant is a persistent AI system built on two tools: Obsidian and Claude.
Obsidian is a free, powerful note-taking app that stores everything as plain text files on your computer. Claude is an AI assistant from Anthropic that can read, write, and manage those files. Together, they become something neither can be alone: a personal assistant that actually knows your life.
Here's what a morning looks like with a working robot assistant:
You sit down and say "briefing." Your assistant checks your calendar, scans your email for anything urgent, reviews your active projects, and gives you a rundown of the day. You work through your tasks and your assistant tracks what's done. At shutdown, it reviews what happened, surfaces what needs attention tomorrow, and logs a journal entry. The planning and tracking that used to eat your evenings? Handled.
But it goes further. The system processes your email and routes things to the right place. It manages tasks without the busywork of traditional task managers. It tracks your projects, your contacts, your recurring responsibilities. It drafts replies in your voice. It remembers what you told it three weeks ago about that contractor invoice.
And because everything is stored as plain text files on your computer, you own all of it. No subscription lock-in. No cloud dependency. No wondering what happens to your data if a company shuts down or you decide to move on to some other AI vendor.
Already Built My Robot
"By video four, I've already built my first skill — and it addresses a major pain point. It takes a raw voice-memo transcript and extracts structured content: studio reflections, ideas, contacts, and next steps. Ready to work from." — Caroline
WHY NOW
The Early Adopter Advantage
AI-powered personal assistants that manage your files, your tasks, and your workflows are going to be common. That's not a prediction. It's a trajectory. The tools are here. The capability is here. Most people just haven't figured out how to put the pieces together yet.
The people who build these systems now will have a tremendous advantage. They'll understand how to work with AI in ways that most people won't figure out for years. They'll have systems that are already trained, already refined, already handling real work while everyone else is still asking chatbots trivia questions.
The Robot Assistant Field Guide is for people who want that advantage now.
"I went from "this is neat" to "this is how I operate now" in the span of a few days." — Mark S.
WHAT YOU'LL BUILD
A System, Not a Toy
This isn't a weekend hack. By the end of the Field Guide, you'll have a working assistant that handles real work:
Morning Briefings
Start every day with a clear picture of what's on deck. That means handling calendar, tasks, email, projects without opening six apps.
Email Processing
Your assistant triages your inbox, drafts replies in your voice, flags what needs your attention, and files the rest.
Task Management Without the Busywork
No more dragging tasks between columns or reorganizing lists. Tell your assistant what needs doing, and it tracks everything, including the stuff that repeats weekly, monthly, and quarterly.
Document Filing
Drop scanned PDFs into a folder. Your assistant reads them, names them properly, and files them in the right place. Automatically.
Project Tracking
Your assistant knows your active projects, their status, and what's next. Ask for an update and get one across everything you're working on.
Weekly Reviews That Actually Happen
Your assistant gathers the data, walks you through the review, and produces a plan for next week. The part that used to take an hour takes fifteen minutes.
And More
Content pipelines. Contact management. Customer service workflows. Client tracking. The system grows with you.
Not a Developer, Running in One Weekend
"I'm not a developer. I don't write code. But the method David teaches made the whole thing feel like following a recipe. My robot assistant was running by the end of the first weekend." — Nguyen
WHO THIS IS FOR
You Might Be a Good Fit If...
You probably have some kind of productivity system, even if it's imperfect. Maybe you've tried AI chatbots and found them interesting but not useful for your actual daily work.
You're skeptical of the hype but open to practical applications. You value control over your data and prefer tools that work locally on your machine. You're willing to invest time upfront to build something that pays dividends for years.
You don't need to be a programmer. You don't need a technical background. If you can organize files into folders, you can build this system.
WHO THIS IS NOT FOR
Robot Assistants are great, but you still need to be the human in the loop. This system handles the donkey work. The repetitive, tedious, time-consuming tasks that eat your day. Email triage. File management. Task tracking. Scheduling. Data entry. The grunt work.
The goal is liberation from that stuff so you have more time and energy for the work that only you can do. The creative work. The strategic thinking. The relationship building. The things a machine shouldn't do for you.
We build assistants for the tedious stuff, not replacements for the meaningful stuff.
I binge-watched this all in one night and immediately started building my own assistant first thing the next day. I have already found so many uses for this and it is absolutely amazing what it is able to do. — Kyle L.
Watch the First Instructional Video
Course Curriculum
- What Your Robot Assistant Can Do (13:01)
- How Your Robot Assistant Thinks (11:30)
- Setting Up Claude Cowork (17:18)
- Your Robot's First Skills (21:39)
- The Skill Index (9:09)
- Connecting to Your World (22:19)
- Building Workflows (8:31)
- Robot File Management (8:59)
- Maintaining Your Robot (12:53)
- MacSparky's Robot, Deployed (48:46)
- Workshop 1 — Getting Real
- Workshop 2 — Email Processing
- Workshop 3 — Calendar and Daily Planning
- Workshop 4 — Task Management
- Workshop 5 — The Personal CRM
- Workshop 6 — Review Cadences
- Workshop 7 — Content Workflows
- Workshop 8 — Integrations and Automation
- Workshop 9 — Building Your Own Skills
- Workshop 10 — Spotlight and Q&A
Your Donkey Work Isn't Going to Do Itself
Actually, that's exactly the point. It can.
You just need to build the system. The Robot Assistant Field Guide shows you how.
About the Instructor: David Sparks
David Sparks has been on a never-ending quest to be more productive with technology since programming his first computer in 1980. He publishes the MacSparky Blog, co-hosts the Mac Power Users and Focused podcasts, and has been creating the MacSparky Field Guides since 2012. Through MacSparky Labs, he goes even deeper on workflows and the productive use of technology with weekly videos and posts for his members. Over his 28-year career as an attorney and 20-year career as MacSparky, David has conducted countless experiments and interviews to figure out what actually works.
Now David is turning that experience toward AI. The Robot Assistant Field Guide is his hands-on course for building a personalized AI assistant that fits your life and work. No hype, no jargon — just practical workflows grounded in the same productivity principles David has been teaching for years. If you've ever wanted AI to work for you instead of against you, this is the place to start.
FAQ
Do I need to know how to code?
No. The entire system is built through natural language instructions and plain text files. If you can write a sentence and organize files into folders, you have all the technical skill you need.
When are the Workshops?
Every Thursday at noon Pacific, starting April 2.
What software do I need?
A computer, Obsidian (free), and Claude (requires a subscription from Anthropic). The Field Guide walks you through setting everything up.
What if I already use Obsidian?
Great! You're ahead of the game. The foundation videos cover setup for beginners, but the skills and workflows will be new territory even for experienced Obsidian users.
What if I've never used Obsidian?
That's fine. Video 3 covers installation and setup from scratch. Many of the best students will be starting fresh.
How long until I have a working system?
By the end of the 10 foundation videos (3 hours), you'll have a functional robot assistant. The workshop series takes it deeper over the following weeks.
What if I can't make the live workshops?
Every workshop is recorded and available on Teachable. Work through them at your own pace.
Is my data safe? Does it go to the cloud?
Your files stay on your computer in plain text. Nothing is uploaded to any cloud service. When you interact with Claude, your conversation goes to Anthropic's servers (as with any AI tool), but your vault files remain local.
Can I use this system on iPad or iPhone?
The robot assistant is built on Claude's Cowork mode, which currently only runs on the Mac. You can access your Obsidian vault on iOS for reading and editing, but the AI assistant features require your computer.
What if AI changes significantly during the course?
That's what the live workshops are for. The curriculum adapts to new developments. The principles: structured instructions, plain text, local data will remain relevant regardless of which AI model you use.
I already use OmniFocus / Things / Todoist. Do I need to switch?
You don't have to, but the Field Guide teaches a task management approach built into the robot assistant system. Many people find it replaces their standalone task manager, but as software developers are adopting the Model Context Protocol (MCP), you can integrate it with your favorite apps. The workshops will help you decide what works best for your setup.
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More Testimonials…
The Robot Assistant FG Helps Me Do The Work That Matters
The Robot Assistant Field Guide is fantastic! Seeing some of David's podcasting skills gave me an idea of the potential and the step by step lessons followed by the assembler for implementation meant that I had positive feedback at each stage. I've already seen great results in my own work, and can confidently say that my robot assistant is not only giving me more time, but also giving me more mental energy and capacity to do the work that really matters. – Francine G.
David Gives You What You Need to Make Claude Cowork Do Your Donkey Work
My Donkey Work has been reduced! This is an excellent course, as usual. I've done the majority of the Field Guides and David puts out excellent work. I learned how to control and guide Claude Cowork to my advantage. This knowledge is not intuative
– Cliff538
What I've Been Waiting for To Use AI Productively
The Robot Field Guide is what I've been waiting for to get started with using AI on my Mac productively. No more dithering about which model to use and how to get started - the RFG has it all, step by step Like every other Field Guide (and I've used almost all of th ... – Rob O
I Built My Own Personal Assistant That Works for Me
I’ve been using artificial intelligence for about three years now, and I thought I already had a solid understanding of it. However, the ideas David presents truly take things to another level. I was especially drawn to the concept of building my own personal assistant. In just a few days, I was able not only to create that assistant but also to assemble a small library of skills that I can activate whenever I need them. What I particularly appreciated is how clearly the underlying principles are explained. At first, I was hesitant about the use of Obsidian, since I already rely on Craft for my note-taking. But I quickly realized that Obsidian is not the cornerstone of the system—it simply serves as a convenient Markdown editor. Thank you, David. Thank you for taking the time to explain these ideas in a clear and thoughtful way, without the usual hype and noise that so often surrounds AI “gurus.” – Maxime S.
Helped Me Build The Best Personal Assistant I Ever Had!
I bought into the MacSparky Field Guides from day one and they have all been excellent in their presentation and detail. The Robot Assistant is no different. I started working with Cowork possibly three or four weeks ago but one of the frustrations was that it didn't seem to remember what I was working on the day before. In the very first video David spends time talking about what's under the hood of Claude. Once you get that and the fact that you can easily build deep memory files that Claude refers to every time it opens up on a task, means that suddenly you have the best PA you ever had in the world! I couldn't recommend the field guides highly enough. They're superb pieces of work and what's more David continues to update on an ongoing basis so once you've invested you're in for life! – Phil C.
This Has Transformed My Use of AI
I am in danger of being considered hyperbolic in my praise for this course. It has been transformational! I considered myself a competent use of AI, however, the processes, structures, and tools I was introduced to in this course have completely changed the way I interact with AI, the way I work, and the speed at which I achieve results. As a professional educator I have nothing but the highest praise for the teaching methodologies David uses, for the structure he applies to their delivery, and the support tools he provides to enable learning to take place. I highly recommend this course to anyone. This is the way to fully understand why everyone is using the word "transformational" with regard to the productivity changes being brought about by AGI, and to update your working practices to the coming age. – Jim K.
Not Just Teaching: You Have A Robot Up and Running
You always know that a MacSparky Field Guide will show you new ways to use our computers. The Robot Assistant Field Guide is another great addition to the MacSparky Field Guide Collection. David doesn't just teach about what is possible, within minutes of finishing the first couple of videos you have the basis for the Robot up and running. The uses and potential are just amazing. – Brendan B.
The Perfect Entry Point To Do Real Work With AI
We are at a point where AI and the AI tools available are changing daily (even hourly). David does a great job breaking down the complexities of AI into an easy to understand concepts and examples that is digestible no matter if you have been using AI for a few years or very new and looking to get started. This field guide is the perfect entry point if you want to start doing REAL things with AI other than funny pictures or searching the web. – Greg D.
Highly Recommended!
I've owned most of David's Field Guides, but this one clicked in a way that surprised me. I poured through all ten introductory videos in a weekend, while simultaneously building out my own Robot Assistant. Highly recommended!– Matt G.
I'm Thrilled – Already Built My First Unique Skill
I’m thrilled with the Robot Assistant Field Guide. David’s explanations and pacing make the learning easy.Claude Cowork and Obsidian are new to me. But by video four, I’ve already built my first skill — and it addresses a major pain point. It takes a raw voice-memo transcript and extracts structured content: studio reflections, ideas, contacts, and next steps. Ready to work from. – Caroline C.
Another Winner from David Sparks: A Step-by-Step Path to Automating Your Digital Life
I highly recommend the MacSparky Robot Assistant Field Guide, if you want to safely automate routine tasks on your home computer. I have purchased many of David's Field Guides and they all lead you from no knowledge to the state of being comfortable with experimenting and growing on your own. David explains the concepts and walks you through the steps to implement the concept. It is easy to follow along with the video using the referenced apps on your computer. The bite size videos allow you to learn and play at your own pace. I am up to video 6 and see exactly where this is headed. I look forward to completing the course and using my robot assistant to automate my life.
– Walter G.
No Coding Required: MacSparky Makes Custom AI Assistants Accessible for Real-World Professionals
As a freelance IT consultant (but not a professional coder), I've watched with interest as colleagues have adopted AI services such as Claude Code to help with their workflows. When Anthropic recently launched Claude Cowork, I was further intrigued by how I could better leverage this tool to help me be more effective as a one-person operation, but figuring out details such as MCP and Claude "skills" felt daunting while trying to also meet my client work obligations.
David Spark's "Robot Assistant" course has come along at just the right time. By walking through how to set up an intelligent "assistant" that can interact with other current tools, such as task management and calendars, he provides a structured path for getting the most out of a customized AI assistant to help with all the "donkey work" which will then let us focus our mental energy on the work that truly creates value for our clients. I no longer have to figure all this out myself; I have a knowledgeable guide to help me create my own customized "Robot Assistant." Klaus M. IT Architect & Consulting.
– Klaus M.
MacSparky Made AI Practical for Non-Developers, and I Haven't Stopped Building Since
The first thing I built was a productivity coach skill, and here's the twist: it's powered by your Productivity Field Guide. The robot walks me through weekly (and soon also monthly, and quarterly reviews). It also compares and can generate reports. It can make a dashboard output. Keeps me on point.
From there, things snowballed and I'm not nearly finished yet with experimenting. I've built skills for preparing standardized emails, translating between Dutch and English, generating structured meeting reports, and even an assistant for my financial services practice. The Robot Assistant Field Guide gave me the framework to make all of that happen — the skill structure, the index system, the iterative build process. It's like LEGO for AI workflows. What surprised me most is how much I genuinely enjoy the process of building these things. It doesn't feel like work.
Would I recommend the Field Guides? Without hesitation. The Obsidian field guide is also great, and without a doubt, the productivity field guide is a life changer, certainly in combination with the Robot Assistant field guide. You've made AI practical for people who aren't developers, and that's no small thing. Keep up the good work David!
– Wim
My Favorite Field Guide So Far
This is my favorite field guide so far and a great introduction to this incredible new paradigm of personal computing. I am recently retired, but find myself wondering how much more effective I could have been with a Robot Assistant. It's almost (but not quite) enough to "unretire"! I have made skills for travel planning and household budgeting and have a number of others I want to try.
– Tom H.
The File Organization Blew My Mind!
I love bringing some rigor to the AI as a way to keep it moving the way I want. And the file organization part blew my mind!
– Kevin
It's Given Me The Tools and Knowledge To Be More Productive
I have used Foundational LLMs for some time for many tasks. However, getting LLMs to perform these tasks to my specific requirements has been challenging due to their need for highly structured instructions. The Robot Assistant Field Guide has been amazing because it has given me the tools and knowledge to use LLMs properly to make me more productive. I highly recommend the Robot Assistant Field Guide.
– Don P.
Like a Friend Looking Over Your Shoulder
I cannot recommend the Robot Assistant Field Guide enough. What sets it apart is David's teaching style as he walks you through each topic like a friend looking over your shoulder, making the subject matter both approachable and immediately useful. The focus on security and solid instructions on setting up guard rails gives you additional confidence in the tools David helps you build. Using the course, I have built a skill that organizes media files on my NAS, and it's given me the confidence to run it all from the terminal. What used to take 15–20 minutes now takes less than a minute.
– Paul
Using Claude in Ways I Never Considered Before
I've bought most of your guides, but this was the first I sat down with and went beginning-to-end on over a single weekend. It's truly excellent — it has actionable steps and gave me a great understanding of Claude. It has me using Claude in a way I never even considered before and already, 3 days into it, is making me more efficient without sacrificing privacy.
– Matt
Love What I'm Learning!
Love the Field Guide! Still going through it, but I love what I'm learning!
– Steve
My Morning Briefing Runs Before Coffee
I built a morning briefing that pulls my calendar, tasks, and weather into one summary. I check it before coffee every day.
– Marcus
No Code Required: Like Following a Recipe
I'm not a developer. I don't write code. But the method David teaches made the whole thing feel like following a recipe. My robot assistant was running by the end of the first weekend.
– Nguyen
The Foundation Videos Teach You How To Think
The ten foundation videos are the key. David doesn't just show you what buttons to click. He teaches you how to think about building skills so you can create your own workflows after the course is done.
– Janine
This Field Guide Is a Must-Buy for Anyone Looking to Leverage the Power of Artificial Intelligence in Their Everyday Work
Anthropic introduced Claude Cowork to the public on January 12. In less than two months, David Sparks has not only mastered the application but also developed his own system for using it effectively and published an entire MacSparky Field Guide on using it as your robot assistant. It never would have occurred to me to use Cowork in conjunction with a project management tool like Obsidian in the way David demonstrates in the video. By doing that, David has made his robot assistant the center of his project management universe, which is incredible. To say that I am blown away by David's preparation and thoroughness in preparing this Field Guide would be an understatement. This Field Guide is a must-buy for anyone looking to leverage the power of artificial intelligence in their everyday work beyond coding. I cannot recommend it enough. And the little robot assistant character is extremely cute!
– Joe G.
I Recommend this Field Guide to Anyone Who Wants to Use AI in a Practical Way
Before this Field Guide, I had already been experimenting with AI, but not really with Claude in a structured way. MacSparky's approach helped me move from just trying things out to actually building useful workflows that now take annoying tasks off my plate and free up time for better work. I really enjoy the way he teaches: clear instructions, practical examples, seeing it done live on the computer, and the very personal, thoughtful follow-up. I would definitely recommend the MacSparky Field Guides to anyone who wants to use AI in a practical and sustainable way.
– Dennis
If You Are Interested in How You Can Make AI Work in Your Life, This Is a Great Place to Start!
The Robot Field Guide came at a great time for me. I am starting to explore AI Agents and specifically Claude Cowork. David's Field Guides always give me great ideas to start from, but they go further, giving great advanced tips and ideas as well. If you are interested in how you can start to make AI work in your life, this is a great place to start!
– Jeff F.
This is the Practical AI Guide We've Been Waiting For
This is the practical guide so many of us have been waiting for: Mac Sparky cuts past the hype and gives us all clear, specific steps for putting today's most powerful AI tools to real use.
– Brad H.
Highly Recommended – I've Already Built My Own Skill
I have been buying field guides since 2019 and now have 12. All of them have helped me to get up to speed quickly. My most recent is the Robot Assistant. Highly recommended. I have already built a skill that allows me to create a daily note in Obsidian formatted just the way I want it. I will be adding to this skill as I get more comfortable with the process.
– Dale R.
David's Onboarding for Building My Own Robot Assistant Was Flawless
I binge-watched this all in one night and immediately started building my own assistant first thing the next day. I have already found so many uses for this and it is absolutely amazing what it is able to do. Things I never would have thought possible, David explains clearly and easily and his onboarding for my own personal robot assistant was flawless. Thanks so much!
– Kyle L.
You Can Never Go Wrong With Purchasing One of David Sparks' Field Guides
You can never go wrong with purchasing one of David Sparks' Field Guides. I have gone through the ten lessons of the Robot Assistant Field Guide, and have Claude working for me every day, helping with my genealogy research.I'm looking forward to the upcoming Workshops to learn more ways to use Claude Cowork.
– Tim G.
I Went From "This Is Neat" to "This Is How I Operate Now" in the Span of a Few Days
The Robot Assistant Field Guide taught me to stop thinking of AI as a chatbot and start thinking of it as infrastructure. Before the course, I was using Claude for one-off questions. Now I have a system -- skills, templates, connected tools -- that compounds over time. David doesn't just show you the features -- he shows you the thinking. The Field Guides give you a mental model for how to approach the tool, and then the specific techniques snap into place naturally. With the Robot Assistant guide specifically, I appreciated that he spent real time on the skill system, connected tools, and building workflows that persist across sessions. That's the difference between a toy and a tool. I went from "this is neat" to "this is how I operate now" in the span of a few days. Without hesitation. If you're the kind of person who wants to actually use your tools well -- not just know they exist -- the Field Guides are the fastest path I've found. The Robot Assistant Field Guide in particular is worth it if you use Obsidian, DEVONthink, OmniFocus, or any combination of productivity tools and want an AI layer that ties them together.
– Mark S.
The AI Robot Doesn't Just Save Time—It Makes Complex Workflows Simple and Manageable
I wanted to share some feedback on my experience with the AI Robot Field Guide. David talks about donkey work, and it's fantastic at handling exactly that. But I've also found it incredibly useful for other types of structured work in my day-to-day life. A couple of roles I juggle are: Red Cross volunteer for Disaster Cycle Services, and avid overlander who ships my vehicle internationally and explores different countries.
As with David's other field guides, this one is professionally done, easy to follow, and extremely thorough. Whether you're a beginner or a power user, there's value here no matter where you fall on the skill spectrum.What stands out most is how solid the AI Robot framework is. It provides a strong foundation that can grow into a very sophisticated and capable AI assistant.
For example, when I'm wearing my Red Cross volunteer hat, I often have to do a lot of data manipulation to produce reports and graphs for disaster leadership. It's classic "donkey work." With the AI Robot, I was able to eliminate that manual effort. Tasks that normally took me an hour and a half are now handled with a simple voice command and completed in seconds. Another example: I'm currently preparing to ship my truck to Australia for an overlanding trip. There are a lot of logistics involved. I used the AI assistant to generate a full list of tasks for me to review, and once approved, it automatically wrote those tasks directly into OmniFocus. The time savings and clarity this creates are huge. The AI Robot doesn't just save time—it makes complex workflows simple and manageable.
– Timothy A.