First Steps
Connect Your Calendar
Sift needs to see your schedule to help you plan. Go to Settings > Integrations and connect Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook.
- Free users get read-only access (Sift can see but not modify)
- Premium users get full read/write access
Connect Canvas (Students)
If you’re a student, connect your Canvas LMS to automatically import assignments, exams, and due dates.Go to Settings > Integrations > Canvas and enter your institution’s Canvas URL and API token.
Set Your Availability (Frames)
Tell Sift when you’re available to work. These are called “frames.”Try saying:
- “I’m free weekdays 9am to 5pm”
- “Don’t schedule anything on weekends”
- “Block off 12-1pm for lunch every day”
Start Using Sift
Once you’re set up, try these:Plan your day
“Plan my day” or “What should I work on today?”
Schedule your week
“Schedule my week” — Sift creates timeblocks for all your tasks (Premium)
Set up an automation
“Set up a morning briefing” — Get a daily summary every morning
Break down big tasks
“Help me plan my research paper” — Sift breaks it into phases with milestones (Premium)
Tips for Success
Be specific about due dates and time estimates
Be specific about due dates and time estimates
“Create a task for my essay due Friday, should take about 3 hours” works better than “I have an essay to do”
Sync your calendar before scheduling
Sync your calendar before scheduling
Make sure your calendar is connected so Sift knows what’s already booked
Check your frames if scheduling seems off
Check your frames if scheduling seems off
If Sift is scheduling at weird times, your availability settings might need adjustment
Use 'what can you do?' to explore
Use 'what can you do?' to explore
Ask Sift what it can help with to discover all available features
Free Tier Limits
| Feature | Limit |
|---|---|
| Daily messages | ~25-30 |
| Scheduling | Today only |
| Workspaces | 10 |
| Hobbies | 3 |
| Automations | 1 (from starter set) |
| Pending reminders | 3 |