You don't need to understand how AI works to get value from it today. You just need a good prompt — a specific instruction that tells it exactly what to do.
Here are five you can use this week. Each one takes under two minutes and replaces something that used to take much longer.
1. Turn a messy email thread into a clean summary
You know the feeling: 22 emails deep in a thread, no idea what was actually decided. Paste the whole thing into ChatGPT and type:
"Summarize this email thread in bullet points. Pull out any decisions made, action items, and who's responsible for each."
What used to take 15 minutes of re-reading takes 20 seconds. You get a clean list you can paste into a doc or forward to your team.
2. Write a first draft of anything
Blank page paralysis is real. Whether it's a client proposal, a team update, or a social media post — AI is a first-draft machine.
"Write a first draft of a [type of document] for [audience]. The main point I want to make is [your point]. Keep it [professional / friendly / brief]."
You're not outsourcing your thinking. You're skipping the hardest part — starting — and editing from something instead of nothing.
3. Prep for a meeting in three minutes
Before your next important call, try this:
"I have a meeting with [person or role] about [topic]. What are three questions I should ask to make sure the conversation is productive? What should I be ready to explain on my end?"
It sounds simple. It's surprisingly good. You'll walk in more prepared than you usually do with twice the time to get ready.
4. Rewrite something that sounds too stiff (or too casual)
You've written something and it doesn't quite sound right. Hand it to AI for a tone adjustment:
"Rewrite this to sound more [warm / professional / direct / conversational]. Keep all the same information — just change the tone. Here's the original: [paste your text]"
This is one of the most underrated uses of AI. You keep your ideas, you just get a better version of them.
5. Make sense of something confusing
New software. A legal document. A technical report from your IT team. Instead of pretending you understood it:
"Explain this to me like I'm not technical. What does it actually mean and what, if anything, should I do about it? Here's the text: [paste it]"
This one alone is worth the price of admission. You'll stop nodding along at things you don't understand and start actually knowing what's going on.
One thing to remember
These prompts work because they're specific. The more context you give — who you are, who the audience is, what you want — the better the output. Vague in, vague out.
If a result isn't quite right, just reply: "Make it shorter" or "Make it more casual" or "Try again, but this time focus on X." You're having a conversation, not filling out a form.
That's it. Five prompts. Pick one and try it before Friday.
If you want to go deeper on any of these — and learn how to write prompts that work every time — that's exactly what the Clearly, AI course covers. Plans start at $15/mo — see what's included.
Ready to go further?
The full Clearly, AI course goes deep on everything in this post — with hands-on exercises, real prompts, and new modules launching regularly.
See plans — from $15/mo