Did it actually run?

⏱ 40 min6 steps

An that stops working doesn't tell you. It goes quiet, and quiet looks the same as a calm week. So every agent gets a : one line it sends each run, even when there's nothing to say. Then, once a month, you count the runs yourself and decide what stays. Bring a list of anything that runs on its own in your business. Not knowing where a tool keeps its run history is common, and it is half this lesson.

agent Claude given a goal and some tools. It plans, does a step, checks the result and keeps going until the job is done. All wordsheartbeat A short line an agent sends every time it runs, even when there's nothing to report, so silence tells you something's wrong. All wordsfinding One thing an audit found, with the link and the words that show it. All words

Before this, you'll want:

One agent, one job

Steps

Step 1 of 60 done · about 40 min left

Steps for

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List everything that runs on its own
Count anything that does a job without you starting it: a , an automation in your booking or email software, an that answers your phone or the chat on your website, a weekly report a supplier's system sends you. Count the too.
1. Write each one on its own line.
2. Next to each, write its one job, how often it should run, and where you can see that it ran. A Claude scheduled task, like the inbox watcher, lists its runs on the Scheduled page in the 's sidebar.
scheduled task A job Claude does on its own on a schedule, like every morning, even when your computer is closed. All wordsAI Short for artificial intelligence. Here it means a program like Claude that reads what you write and writes back in plain words. All wordsinbox watcher A scheduled task in the Claude app that reads your new mail each morning and tells you what needs you. It changes nothing. All wordsClaude app Claude on your phone or computer, where you chat with it by typing. claude.ai is the same thing in a web browser. All words
That's not what I see
I don't know where to see whether something ran.
Search the tool's help pages for run history, activity or logs. If it has none, its only is the message it sends you. Write that down, and Step 2 matters even more for that one.proof Something you or Claude actually saw, like the page loading or the line in the result. Not "it should work". All words
A company set it up for me, and I've never looked at it.
It still goes on the list. Ask them where you can see its runs, in writing.
Give each agent a heartbeat line
I've seen it happen twice: a scheduler that never fired once during a whole paid trial, and a week when 19 of my 52 agents sent nothing.

A heartbeat line turns silence into a warning. If Monday's line doesn't arrive, something's wrong, even when there was nothing to report.

This adds the line to the end of an agent's instructions and changes nothing else. Your already ends with a line like it. Use this for any agent whose prompt doesn't.
1. Start a new chat in the Claude app or at claude.ai.
2. Copy the prompt below.
```
Here's the prompt or job card for one of my agents. Add one last instruction: every time it runs, even when there's nothing to report, it ends with this line: Ran [date and time]. Checked [what it reads]. Found [number] that need me. Don't change anything else, and don't add a new job. Give me the whole prompt back so I can replace the old one. My agent's prompt: [paste it]
```
1. Paste it into the chat. Replace the part in square brackets with the agent's prompt, with any names, emails, phone numbers, passwords or keys taken out.
2. Send it, and check that only the last instruction changed.
3. Put the new prompt back where the agent keeps its instructions, yourself. For a Claude scheduled task, click Scheduled in the sidebar, open the task and edit its instructions.
prompt What you type to Claude. A good one says what you want, how to work and what never to do. All wordsjob card One page that says what an AI agent does, what it reads, what it may never do and the one report it gives you. All words
You should see:
The same prompt, unchanged except for one new last instruction with the heartbeat line.
That's not what I see
The tool doesn't let me change what it says.
Then its run history is its heartbeat. Write down where it is, and check it in Step 4.
Start a new chat and build the monthly agent review sheet
This prompt turns your list into a sheet you fill in once a month. Claude sets up the columns. You do the counting, because Claude can't see your tools' run histories.
1. Start a new chat.
2. Copy the prompt below.
```
I run a small business, [what you do]. Below is my list of everything that runs on its own. Make a monthly agent review sheet as a table with these columns: agent, its one job, how often it should run, runs expected this month, runs I counted, last heartbeat I saw, messages I used this month, did anything not on its card, where I check it, and keep or cut. Fill in only what's in my list. Leave runs I counted, last heartbeat, messages I used, did anything not on its card, and keep or cut empty for me. If something's missing, write FILL IN. Don't guess how often anything ran, and don't tell me what to keep. I decide. My list: [paste your list]
```
1. Paste it into the chat. Replace the parts in square brackets with what you do and your list from Step 1.
2. Send it.
3. Open NumbersExcel, choose > New, then double-clickclick BlankBlank workbook. Copy the table from the chat, click the top-left cell, and press Command-VCtrl+V to paste. Save it as Agent review. No Excel? Google Sheets is free at sheets.google.com.
file One document on your computer, like a letter or a photo. Files live inside folders. All words
You should see:
A table with one row for each agent and the columns you count yourself left empty.
That's not what I see
Claude filled in the runs or the keep-or-cut column.
Reply: Leave those empty. I count them myself. Then carry on.
Count the runs yourself
1. For each agent, open the place you wrote down in Step 1 and count its runs this month. For a Claude scheduled task, that's its past runs on the Scheduled page.
2. Write the number under runs I counted, and the date of the last heartbeat line you saw.
3. Count the messages from it you read and did something about. Write that under messages I used.
That's not what I see
Its history says it ran, but I never got a message.
Write 0 under messages used. A run that sends nothing is the same to you as a run that didn't happen. Open the run and read what it did.
The history shows a green check mark or Succeeded, and nothing else.
Green often only means it started and finished. Open the run and check it did its job.
I don't see Scheduled in the sidebar.
Scheduled tasks need Pro or higher. If your message box has Chat and Cowork buttons, you're on the older version of the app: click Cowork, then Scheduled in the sidebar. If not, update the Claude desktop app from claude.com/download.
Decide what to keep, fix or cut
1. If any agent did something not on its card, switch it off today, then fix the card before it runs again.
2. For each agent that ran fewer times than it should, fix it once. If it misses again next month, cut it.
3. For each one that ran but sent nothing you used all month, ask: would I miss it if a real problem came and it wasn't there? If not, cut it. If yes, write keep and why.
4. For each one that ran and you used, write keep.
5. Switch off what you cut yourself, in the tool's own settings, and write the date next to it. Pause or delete a Claude scheduled task on the Scheduled page.
Keep no more agents than you'll check every month.
That's not what I see
I'm paying for it, so cutting it feels like a waste.
The money's already gone. What matters is whether next month's is worth it. The next lesson works that out.
Set a weekly glance and a monthly review
1. Open the calendar app on your phone or computer.
2. Add a 5-minute reminder every Monday called Heartbeat glance. That's one look at the heartbeat lines from the week before.
3. Add a 30-minute reminder that repeats every month, in the first week, called Agent review.
That's not what I see
Nobody has reported a snag on this step yet. Getting stuck is normal. Read the step again one line at a time, and compare your screen with the video.

Your challenge

Do your first monthly agent review this week, for everything that runs on its own in your business, including anything a software company set up for you. Count the runs yourself. Cut at least one thing that didn't run or that you never used, or write down why every one stays.

Last checked 2026-10-21

Weekly helpers, in the app