From goal to tasks
Describe the goal, the deadline and your constraints. Ask for a list of tasks grouped by phase, each small enough to finish in a day or less.
Estimate and sequence
Ask for rough time estimates and dependencies: what must be done before what. Then adjust with your own experience; AI estimates are a starting point, not a promise.
Look for risks early
Ask "What could make this project late or fail?" and "What would you check first?" You will often get two or three useful warnings worth acting on now.
Review every week
Each Friday, compare plan and reality, update the next week and remove tasks that no longer matter. A plan that is never updated quickly becomes fiction.
Example
Launching a newsletter in 4 weeks
Week 1: audience and topic, tool set-up. Week 2: three issues drafted. Week 3: sign-up page and first 50 subscribers from network. Week 4: first send and review. Main risk: no time to write; fix: batch-write on Mondays.
Prompt to try
Replace the [brackets] with your own details and review the result before using it.
My goal: [goal] by [date]. Constraints: [time, budget, people]. Break it into tasks by phase, each under one day, with time estimates and dependencies. List the top 5 risks and how to reduce each.
Exercise
Turn one goal into a four-week plan.
