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Who’s it for
This template is ideal for busy professionals, students, or anyone with a dynamic schedule who wants to optimize their brief periods of free time. If you frequently find yourself with unexpected gaps between meetings and wish for intelligent, personalized suggestions on where to grab a coffee or get some work done, this workflow is for you.
How it works / What it does
The workflow begins by checking your Google Calendar for your next event at a scheduled time. It then calculates the travel time from your current location to your next event's venue using Google Maps. This allows it to determine your actual "gap time" – the usable free time before you need to start moving.
If you have a sufficient gap (e.g., 30 minutes or more), the workflow fetches your preferred cafe criteria from a Google Sheet and searches for nearby cafes using Google Places. An AI agent then processes this information, along with your available gap time, to recommend the best cafe suited to your needs. This recommendation, complete with ratings and a Google Maps link, is sent directly to your Slack channel.
Conversely, if the gap time is too short to comfortably visit a cafe, the workflow sends an urgent Slack alert, reminding you to prepare for your next appointment and providing essential details.
How to set up
Import the Workflow: Import this workflow into your n8n instance.
Configure API Keys:
In the "Workflow Configuration" node, replace the placeholders for googleMapsApiKey and googlePlacesApiKey with your actual API keys. Ensure these keys have access to the Google Maps Distance Matrix API and Google Places API (Nearby Search).
Also, update currentLocation with your default or most frequent starting location (latitude/longitude or address).
Google Calendar Credentials: Authenticate the "Get Next Calendar Event" node with your Google Calendar account. Select the calendar you wish to monitor.
Google Sheets Credentials: Authenticate the "Get User Preferences" node with your Google Sheets account.
Create a Google Sheet to store your cafe preferences (e.g., "Likes quiet places", "Prefers espresso", "Needs Wi-Fi"). Update the "Document ID" and "Sheet Name" in this node to point to your preference sheet.
OpenRouter Credentials: Authenticate the "OpenRouter Chat Model" with your OpenRouter API key.
Slack Credentials: Authenticate both "Send Slack Notification" and "Send Urgent Move Alert (Slack)" nodes with your Slack account.
In both Slack nodes, update the channelId to your desired Slack channel where you want to receive notifications (e.g., #general, or a specific DM channel).
Activate the Workflow: Once all configurations are complete, activate the workflow.
Requirements
An n8n instance (self-hosted or cloud).
Google Account with Google Calendar and Google Sheets.
Google Cloud Project with activated Google Maps Platform APIs (Distance Matrix API, Places API) and corresponding API Keys.
An OpenRouter API Key.
A Slack Workspace and API Token (or Webhook URL).
How to customize the workflow
Scheduling: Adjust the "Schedule Trigger" node to run at different intervals or specific times that best suit your daily routine.
Minimum Gap Time: Modify the minimumGapMinutes variable in the "Workflow Configuration" node to set a different threshold for cafe recommendations.
Cafe Search Radius: In the "Search Nearby Cafes (Google Places API)" node, you can change the radius parameter to search for cafes within a larger or smaller area.
User Preferences: Expand your Google Sheet with more detailed preferences to give the AI agent better context for recommendations (e.g., "vegan options," "good for meetings," "strong coffee").
AI Prompt: Refine the prompt in the "AI Agent" node to guide the AI towards specific types of recommendations or output formats.
Slack Message Customization: Edit the text fields in the Slack nodes to personalize the notification messages.