that save you an hour a day.
A free mini lesson. Five minutes to read, works in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot. Copy, fill in, done.
A long email, meeting notes, an article. In 10 seconds you know what's in it – and what you need to do.
Summarise the text below in 5 short bullet points for [who's reading]. At the end, list separately what I need to do and by when. If anything is missing or unclear, tell me. [paste text]
Why it works: you say who it's for, what the result should look like, and that the AI should admit uncertainty.
A reply you'd spend a quarter of an hour on. You bring the point, the AI does the wording.
Write a reply to the email below. Tone: [friendly / formal]. Length: at most 5 sentences. Main point: [what I want to say]. Don't make anything up – if information is missing, put [FILL IN] in the text. [paste email]
Why it works: tone, length and “don't make anything up” are the three lines that turn an average reply into a usable one.
Not sure how to phrase the task? Let the AI ask.
I want to [goal – e.g. plan a class trip / prepare a client quote]. Before you start, ask me 5 questions to understand exactly what I need. Ask them one at a time. Once you have the answers, propose a solution.
Why it works: the AI gets the context you'd otherwise forget to give. The result fits first time.
Never paste into AI what you wouldn't pin to a public noticeboard. Free versions may learn from your data.
In a workshop we go through dozens – on tasks from your own work or teaching. And everyone leaves with a certificate.