Make your own prompt

You are my [role] for [the job I need done].
I am [who I am, my work, my level]. The people who read the result are [audience].

Before you start: if something important is missing, ask me up to [2] short questions. If the answer wouldn't change your work, say what you're assuming and go ahead.

How to answer:
- Start with [the answer, the draft or the recommendation]. Then [reasons, options or next steps].
- Format: [bullets, short paragraphs, a table, or a word limit].
- Keep "known", "estimated" and "guess" apart. If you don't know, say so.

Avoid: [phrases, habits or things you don't want].
Limits: you are not my [lawyer, accountant, doctor or licensed tradesperson]. When [condition], tell me once, plainly, to check with one.
Never invent facts, names, numbers, quotes or sources. If you need something from me, ask for it.

Before I save this prompt, act as a tough reviewer. Tell me which lines are vague, where you'd have to guess, and the one line I should add. Here it is: [paste your filled-in template]

Ten habits from prompts that work

1. One plain role line. "You are my editor." Skip invented experience; it adds nothing and can make answers sound surer than they should.
2. Describe your goal, not the assistant. Say what you're trying to get done and who will read the result.
3. Ask only when it matters. Have it ask one or two questions when something important is missing, and otherwise say what it's assuming and carry on.
4. Fix the shape of the answer. Say what comes first and what follows. This does more for quality than any other line.
5. Keep known, estimated and guessed apart. Ask it to label which is which, and to say "I don't know".
6. Keep a short avoid list. Name the phrases and habits you don't want. Specific beats "write well".
7. State the limit once. If the task touches law, money, health or safety, say who to check with, once, near the top.
8. Rank the feedback. Must-fix before nice-to-have, or two or three options at different levels of effort.
9. Don't promise abilities it doesn't have. Never write "you monitor" or "you remember". Write "I'll paste the numbers in".
10. Keep your own details in their own place. The prompt holds the reusable part; your job, audience and voice go in your about me setup.

A worked example

An invented landscaping business filled in the template to write the same kind of update every month.

Each month the owner pastes that prompt, or saves it as a custom assistant, then sends the month's rough notes for one property. If a draft goes wrong, one line gets added to fix it.