Exercise 2: Map Before You Build (10 minutes)

Before you touch the workflow canvas, sketch the Morning Brief on paper. Actually write it out or draw it.

What to do: 1. On paper, draw 4 boxes in a vertical line (or however you want to visualize it) 2. Label them: - Box 1: "Trigger" — What triggers it? - Box 2: "Fetch" — What action fetches data? What data? - Box 3: "Format" — What action formats the data? What does the output look like? - Box 4: "Send" — What action sends it? Where does it go? 3. Under each box, write: - What data goes in - What data comes out - Any configuration details you remember from the lessons

Example sketch:

[Trigger: Schedule 7am daily]
           ↓ (nothing—just a time)
[Fetch Weather: Open-Meteo API]
           ↓ (raw JSON: temp, condition, etc.)
[Format: Text formatter]
           ↓ (readable text: "Today in SF: 72°F, Sunny")
[Send Email: Gmail]
           ↓ (to your inbox)

Why: This habit—planning before building—separates people who build things that work from people who build things that almost work. You're thinking through the data flow before you start.