Lesson 1
The five-prompt library
Five reusable prompts that cover most writing at work.
Random prompting is why the time savings disappear. Build five prompts once, reuse them for months.
The five
- The meeting summary. "Here are my notes. Produce a summary with decisions, owners and deadlines. Do not invent anything not in the notes."
- The difficult email. "Turn this into a short, calm email to a colleague. Keep it under 120 words. No exclamation marks. State the request clearly at the end."
- The one-page proposal. "Structure these notes as a one-page proposal: problem, proposal, cost, next step. Use my wording where you can."
- The proofread. "List the three weakest sentences and fix only grammar and clarity. Do not change my tone."
- The halving. "Cut this in half without losing any fact."
Why these five
Between them they cover summarising, tone, structure, editing and compression — nearly all of the mechanical work in workplace writing.
Make them yours
Adjust the wording until the output stops annoying you. Add one constraint at a time: length, audience, register, what must not change.
Do this now
Save the five prompts in a note you can reach in two clicks. Rewrite one of them in your own words so it feels like an instruction to a person, not a spell.