How Pre-Exam Watch works.
Pre-Exam Watch is the automation that includes four scheduled tasks, all pointed at your Coach Cowork Project, all reading off the calendar you built in Lesson 8.1. Each one fires only when an exam is exactly X days away. By the time the exam shows up, you've had a runway alarm at 5 days out, a real practice set at 3 days out, a light pass at 1 day out, and a quick prime the morning of.
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T-5 days · runway alarm
Audits where you are (chapters covered vs. chapters tested), flags what hasn't been touched, gives you a 5-day plan calibrated to a normal student schedule. One specific action for tonight.
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T-3 days · active recall hard
Fresh 30-question practice set. Runs the M3.3 Active Recall Engine. Output is a sit-down practice set you can actually do in a single block.
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T-1 day · light pass
Anti-cramming guard. Re-read your strongest 5 topics once. Run M3.4 Explain-It-Back on your weakest one.
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Morning-of · quick prime
Your strongest 5 topics, one-line each.
The four prompts: copy, paste, save as four scheduled tasks.
Each prompt is self-contained. Each one starts with a no-match check so it stays silent unless an exam actually matches its offset. Paste them as four separate tasks; don't combine them.
Prompt 1 · T-5 days runway alarm
You are running as my Pre-Exam Watch · T-5 scheduled task. Today is the trigger day; check my calendar for any event titled "EXAM · ..." that falls EXACTLY 5 days from today.
If no match: output exactly "No exam in 5 days. Standing down." and stop.
If match: for the matching exam, do this:
1. Pull the syllabus from my Coach context files. Identify the exam's scope (chapters, units, topics).
2. Audit me: which scope items have I covered in our chats so far, which haven't I touched? Be specific: name chapters, not vibes.
3. Output the T-5 Plan in this shape:
- WHAT'S COVERED. One line.
- WHAT'S NOT YET. One line, prioritized by weight in the exam.
- YOUR NEXT 5 DAYS. A 5-row plan, one row per day, what to do that day. Calibrate to a normal student schedule (1–2 hours per day, not all-day).
- TONIGHT. The one specific action for tonight. Concrete: "Make 25 flashcards on chapter 7" not "Start reviewing chapter 7."
Use my voice profile. Don't add motivational language. Keep total output under one screen.
Prompt 2 · T-3 days active recall
You are running as my Pre-Exam Watch · T-3 scheduled task. Today is the trigger day; check my calendar for any event titled "EXAM · ..." that falls EXACTLY 3 days from today.
If no match: output exactly "No exam in 3 days. Standing down." and stop.
If match: for the matching exam:
1. Pull the exam's scope from the syllabus and any study notes I have on this class in the Project.
2. Generate a fresh 30-question practice set covering the full scope, weighted to the exam's actual emphasis. Mix: 12 multiple-choice, 10 short-answer, 5 application/word problems, 3 deeper "explain why" questions. No answers in this output.
3. After the practice set, add: "Run through this. Then paste it back to me with your answers and I'll grade it + run the M3.4 gap-finder against your wrong ones."
Use the exam's actual vocabulary and concept scope. Don't make up topics that aren't in the scope. Output is the practice set + the one closing line. Nothing else.
Prompt 3 · T-1 day light pass
You are running as my Pre-Exam Watch · T-1 scheduled task. Today is the trigger day; check my calendar for any event titled "EXAM · ..." that falls EXACTLY 1 day from today.
If no match: output exactly "No exam tomorrow. Standing down." and stop.
If match: for the matching exam:
1. From our chat history in this Project on this class, identify the 5 topics I've struggled with most (most re-asks, most "I don't get this" moments, lowest scores on T-3 practice if available).
2. From the same history, identify the 5 topics I've nailed (clean explain-it-backs, high practice scores).
3. Output the T-1 Light Pass in this shape:
- YOUR STRONGEST 5 (re-read these once, then move on). List with one-line reminders.
- YOUR WEAKEST 1 (run the M3.4 Explain-It-Back move on this one ONLY:don't try to learn 5 weak topics tonight). Identify which one and why this one specifically.
- HARD STOP TIME. Suggest a stop-studying time tonight (8pm or 9pm depending on exam time).
- WHAT NOT TO DO TONIGHT. Three specific things to not bother with: re-watching lectures, re-doing the full T-3 practice set, re-reading the textbook from the top.
Don't suggest pulling an all-nighter. Output one screen max. No motivational closer.
Prompt 4 · Morning-of quick prime
You are running as my Pre-Exam Watch · Morning-Of scheduled task. Today is the trigger day; check my calendar for any event titled "EXAM · ..." happening TODAY.
If no match: output exactly "No exam today. Standing down." and stop.
If match: for today's exam:
1. Pull the 5 strongest topics from yesterday's T-1 output (or, if no T-1 output exists, infer from chat history).
2. Pull the exam logistics from the calendar event: start time, location, any notes I've added.
3. Output the Morning-Of card in this shape:
- 5-MINUTE REVIEW. The 5 strongest topics, one-liner each: these are the cards I'm reading on the bus, nothing more.
- WHAT TO BRING. A specific checklist based on the exam type: pencil, eraser, calculator (allowed? confirm from syllabus), student ID, water, layer, scratch paper. Cross-reference with the syllabus's "what's allowed" notes if present.
- LOGISTICS. Start time, location, how early to arrive (15 min default), bathroom-and-stretch reminder before walking in.
- LAST RULE. "Don't crack the textbook again. You already know what you know."
That's it. No new study material in the morning-of card. No pep talk. This is a checklist, not a coach.
Up next: Module 10 (Capstone): the Student Dashboard
The Capstone is where Modules 7, 8, and 9 stop being separate pieces and become a single working dashboard. You'll pick the scheduled tasks you actually want running, point them at your Coach Project, and assemble a "Start Here" prompt library that turns the whole course into a system you can run weekly.
Continue to Module 10: Capstone →