Free prompts

Stuck with AI? Take one small step.

If you are stuck with AI, you are probably in one of two places. You never really started. Or you started, got a few bland answers, and let it slide.

These seven prompts are for exactly that moment. Copy one, paste it into Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini, fill in the brackets, and see what comes back.

They are free. If one helps you, send this page to someone who is stuck too.

See the prompts Talk it through

“Use AI to do the legwork, not to make the decision. That part is still yours. That’s what makes you the leader, not the tool.”
Boubacar Barry

The prompts

Seven prompts, in the order to use them

Start at the top if you have never really used AI at work. If you already tried and stalled, start with the second one.

How to use this page

Press copy on any prompt. Open Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini in a new chat and paste it in.

Replace everything inside the square brackets with your own details. Honest and specific beats polished. Then send it and read what comes back.

You do not need an account here. Nothing you type is saved on this page.

// 01

Find your first task

For: you have barely used AI at work and do not know where to begin.

How to use this

Describe a normal week honestly, including the boring parts. The boring, repeated tasks are usually where the first win is hiding.

Answer its questions before it gives you the list. Then try the lowest-risk task first, today if you can.

I have barely used AI at work and I want to start small.

Here is what a normal week looks like for me:
[describe your week: the meetings, reports, emails, and the tasks you keep putting off]

If you need more detail, ask me up to five questions first.

Then give me three tasks from my week where AI could save me time right away. For each one:
- what I would actually type in
- what a good result looks like
- one thing I should double-check before I use the result

Rank them from lowest risk to highest. Keep it plain, no jargon.

// 02

Find out why you stalled

For: you tried AI, it felt clunky or wrong, and you drifted away.

How to use this

Be honest about what happened. "It gave me generic stuff" and "I never had time" are both good answers.

Let it ask one question at a time. Do not rush to the end. The small thing it gives you at the end is the part to act on this week.

I tried using AI for [what you tried to use it for] and I stopped.
Here is what happened: [what went wrong, or why you drifted away]

Interview me one question at a time to find the real reason I stalled. It could be the output, trust, time, the way I asked, or a task that was a bad fit. Do not jump ahead of my answers.

When you have enough, tell me the real reason in two sentences. Then give me one small thing to try this week that gets around it.

// 03

Make it sound like you

For: the drafts it writes sound like nobody in particular.

How to use this

Paste three things you actually wrote, like everyday emails or messages. Skip your most polished piece. Your normal writing is what it needs to learn.

Save the style rules it gives you. Paste them at the top of any new chat where you want it to write for you.

Here are three things I wrote myself:

[paste sample 1]

[paste sample 2]

[paste sample 3]

Study how I write: sentence length, the words I use, the words I never use, how direct I am, and how I open and close.

Give me a short list of style rules I can paste at the top of any future chat. Then rewrite this draft using those rules:
[paste a draft that sounded generic]

// 04

Check its work before you use it

For: any answer you are about to send, publish, or decide on.

How to use this

Paste the whole answer, not a summary of it. Works best in a fresh chat, so it reviews the answer instead of defending it.

Anything it marks as possibly made up, check yourself before you use it.

Here is an answer an AI gave me:
[paste the full answer]

Go through it and list every claim that is a fact, a number, a name, or a date. For each one tell me:
- how confident you are that it is right
- whether it could be made up
- how I can check it quickly

Then tell me which parts I can use as they are, and which I must verify first.

// 05

Think with it, not just ask it

For: a plan or problem you keep chewing on.

How to use this

Describe the plan or problem in a few sentences. Then answer each question like you would answer a sharp colleague.

Pay the most attention to the part it calls your weakest thinking. That is usually the real work.

I am working on this:
[the plan, problem, or decision]

Do not give me advice yet. Ask me one question at a time to help me think it through. Push on anything vague.

After about six questions, sum up what I seem to believe, where my thinking is weakest, and the one thing I should figure out next.

// 06

Turn one win into a habit

For: something worked once and you want it to stick.

How to use this

Name the task where AI actually helped you. Be specific about what it saved you.

Put the day and the trigger it suggests into your calendar before you close the chat. Check back in four weeks.

AI helped me with [the task where it worked]. I want this to become a habit, not a one-off.

Design a weekly routine that takes 15 minutes or less. Tell me:
- which day, and what existing habit to attach it to
- the exact prompt I will reuse each time
- how I will know after four weeks whether it is saving me time

Keep it realistic for someone who is busy and a little skeptical.

// 07

Take the next step up

For: the easy wins feel routine now and you want to go further.

How to use this

Be honest about how you use AI today, even if it is only once a week. It picks a better next step when it knows your real starting point.

Do the step it gives you once, with it walking you through, before you decide whether it is worth keeping.

Here is how I use AI today: [what you use it for now, and how often]
My role is [your role]. The part of my work that still takes the most time is [the time-eater].

Suggest my next step up: one task that is harder than what I do now but still realistic.

Walk me through doing it the first time, step by step, and tell me where people usually go wrong with it.

Coaching

What coaching with me looks like

I coach people one on one. It fits best if AI feels like it is moving faster than you are, at work or in your career. I use AI every day to run my own business, on a custom AI system I built, so what I share comes from doing it.

Years ago I wrote an internal newsletter called "What the HR Is." This page runs on the same instinct, just pointed at AI instead of HR: plain answers, no jargon, one small step you can actually take this week.

Is this for me?

Probably yes if you keep meaning to get better with AI and it keeps slipping down the list, or if you tried and do not trust what it gives you.

Probably not if you want someone to do the work for you. Coaching is you doing the work, with me alongside.

// 01
We start with you. Where you are now, and what a good outcome looks like to you.
// 02
We find what is really in the way. Sometimes it is the tool. More often it is time, trust, or not knowing where to begin.
// 03
You leave with next steps. Small ones you can take that week, plus the prompts that fit your situation.
// 04
You get it in writing. After each session I send a short summary and your action items, so nothing lives only in memory.

I will not tell you AI fixes everything. I will help you use it where it helps, and leave it out where it does not.

Talk it through

Book a free 30-minute intro call

Leave your email and I will show you my open times. On the call we look at where you are stuck, and whether coaching is the right fit for you.

What happens next

Enter your email and press the button. My calendar opens right here with your email already filled in. Pick a time that works and Calendly sends you the invite.

Your email also puts you on my newsletter. You can leave it with one click from any issue.