a practical guide for people who actually want to get stuff done
"type question, get answer, done"
basically a fancy search engine with extra steps
a thinking partner that can write, code, analyze, design, research, and build alongside you
it's not about asking better questions, it's about learning how to work with it
the skill that changes everything
AI doesn't read your mind. the more context you give, the better the output.
that's it. that's the whole framework.
write me a marketing email
vague, no context, the AI is just guessing at this point
write a launch email for our new project management tool.
audience: small business owners who are frustrated with complexity.
tone: casual, friendly, not salesy.
include: one pain point, the solution, a single CTA.
length: under 150 words.
do not use the phrase "game changer" or any corporate buzzwords.
specific, constrained, tells the AI exactly what good looks like
click each card to see the example
"you are a..."
give the AI a specific persona with expertise relevant to your task
click to see exampleyou are a senior UX researcher with 10 years of experience in B2B SaaS. analyze this user flow and identify friction points.
"think step by step"
force the AI to reason through problems instead of jumping to answers
click to see examplebefore giving your answer, think through this step by step: 1) what's the actual problem? 2) what are the constraints? 3) what are 3 possible solutions? 4) which is best and why?
"like this, but..."
show the AI what you want by giving it examples of the format
click to see exampleconvert these to catchy headlines. example: "new update" → "the update that changes how you work". now do: "pricing page redesign" →
what to use and when to use it
general writing, brainstorming, analysis, conversation
code generation, debugging, refactoring, full projects
image generation, mockups, visual concepts, logos
research with sources, fact checking, market analysis
video generation, motion graphics, short clips
docs, wikis, marketing copy, team knowledge bases
quick UIs, prototypes, full-stack apps from a prompt
data analysis, charts, spreadsheets, number crunching
don't use one tool for everything. use ChatGPT for the outline, Claude for the writing, Midjourney for the visuals, and Perplexity when you need facts. chain them together. that's the workflow.
where the real power is
here's how i'd actually do it, step by step
perplexity: "what are the top 5 trends in [topic] this month? give me sources"
claude: "take these research notes and create a blog outline. audience is [X]. tone is casual. include a hook, 3 sections, and a strong ending"
claude: "write section 1 based on this outline. match this writing style: [paste example]. keep paragraphs short."
midjourney: generate a header image. canva AI: create social cards.
paste the final draft back into claude: "review this blog post. be brutally honest. what's weak? what would you cut?"
things people don't tell you
the first answer is rarely the best one. iterate. push back. say "that's not quite right, try again but..." and give it more direction.
if you wouldn't be able to do the task with only the info you gave the AI, the AI can't either. give it everything relevant.
AI hallucinates. don't trust it for facts without sources. don't ask it for today's news. don't let it make decisions that need human judgment.
every tool has power features most people never touch. custom instructions, system prompts, temperature settings, @mentions in Cursor. learn them.
keeping it honest
for when you want to go deeper
this is how you create an AI that works exactly how you want, every single time
you are my writing assistant.
rules:
- never use corporate buzzwords or filler phrases
- keep sentences short. max 15 words each.
- always suggest a stronger word when my vocabulary is lazy
- if i ask you to "make it better" that means: tighter, punchier, more specific
- match this tone: [paste a paragraph of your own writing]
when i paste text, improve it silently. don't explain what you changed unless i ask.
set this once in Custom Instructions and every conversation starts with your rules already loaded
output of tool A becomes input of tool B
save your best prompts. build a library. the more you reuse and refine, the faster you get. i have prompts i've been tweaking for months that now produce exactly what i want in one shot.
don't try to learn everything. start here.
don't spread yourself thin. pick Claude or ChatGPT. use it every day for a week. for everything.
tell the AI who you are, what you do, and how you like things done. this alone will 3x the quality of outputs.
when something gives you a great result, save the prompt. build your library. this compounds fast.
once you're comfortable, add a specialized tool. if you write, try midjourney. if you code, try cursor. chain them.