THE USEFUL RESULT
A draft day plan with one main outcome, explicit buffers, and tasks that can wait.
Before you start
- A task list you can share
- Fixed appointments and available hours
- Real deadlines and any non-negotiables
Here’s the workflow
Capture, without tidying
Write down the unfinished work in one place. Remove customer details you do not need to share. Mark hard deadlines yourself; do not ask the assistant to guess them.
Ask for a capacity check
Give your assistant the actual work time remaining. Ask it to separate commitments from preferences and identify the first question it needs answered.
Make the plan smaller
Request one main outcome, two supporting tasks at most, and protected buffers. Ask which items do not fit and why, rather than accepting an impressive-looking overloaded schedule.
Put the approved plan where you work
Copy the final plan into your own calendar or task list. This recipe does not create events or read your calendar automatically.
Close the loop
At the end of the day, record what was completed and what took longer than expected. Reuse that observation tomorrow instead of pretending the estimates were exact.
MAKE THIS PROMPT YOURS
Help me draft a realistic day. Available work time: [hours]. Fixed commitments: [times]. Tasks and real deadlines: [list]. Ask about missing constraints. Suggest one main outcome, up to two supporting tasks, and buffers. Mark what does not fit. Do not invent deadlines, change my calendar, or make commitments. I will choose the final plan.
Replace the bracketed context with approved information. Prompt wording is not a security boundary.Check before you rely on it
- Do the time blocks fit the available hours?
- Are deadlines supplied by you, not invented?
- Is there a clear first action for the main outcome?
When it does not work
Use the same three headings—main outcome, supporting work, not today—in a plain document.
Only automate more when it helps
After several useful manual runs, add a recurring planning reminder. A reminder is not automatic access to today’s tasks.