The idea
Two things go wrong on any project you do with AI. It “improves” things you'd already settled, and new ideas keep making the job bigger. The fix is three short lists at the top of your request: what you've decided (follow exactly), what's the AI's call (choose and say what you chose), and what's for later (write it down, don't do it).
Why it works
An AI can't tell a firm decision from a passing preference unless you say so, and it's built to be helpful, which often means suggesting more. Labelling your decisions makes them rules. Naming what's its call stops it asking you about everything. A parked list lets you say “not now” without losing the idea, which makes it far easier to say.
How to do it
- Write the three lists before you start. A few lines each is enough.
- Put only real decisions under DECIDED: budget, deadline, things that can't change.
- Put choices you're happy to delegate under YOUR CALL, and ask it to tell you what it picked.
- Tell it to put any new idea under LATER instead of acting on it.
- Paste the lists at the top of every new chat on the project, and update them as decisions change.
- Look at LATER when the current job is done. Some of it will still be worth doing.
For this task, decisions are split three ways. DECIDED (follow these exactly; don't suggest alternatives): - [e.g. "Budget is $3,000, no more"] - [ ] YOUR CALL (choose, then tell me what you chose and why): - [e.g. "Three paint colour options"] - [ ] LATER (don't act on these; just keep the list): - [e.g. "New flooring"] If a new idea comes up while you work, add it to LATER instead of doing it. At the end, show me the updated LATER list. The task: [describe it]
Worked example
A kitchen refresh
Ben and Alice are refreshing their kitchen on a $3,000 budget. In their first chat, the AI kept suggesting new cabinets, which they'd ruled out, and a budget for flooring they hadn't asked about. The second time, they started with three lists. DECIDED: $3,000 total, keep the cabinets and paint them, done before the holidays. YOUR CALL: three paint colours that suit the oak floor, the order of the work. LATER: new flooring, a pantry shelf. The plan came back inside the budget, with the colours it picked and why. While planning, it suggested under-cabinet lighting and added it to LATER instead of the budget. They're doing the lighting in spring.
Common mistakes
- Putting everything under DECIDED. Then the AI can't help you choose anything.
- Leaving the lists out of a new chat. The new chat doesn't know them.
- Letting a LATER idea sneak into the work because it's a good one. Good ideas are what LATER is for.
- Never updating DECIDED. When a decision changes, change the list, or it will keep following the old one.
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