The trick with ChatGPT (or Claude, or Gemini) isn't learning prompt engineering — it's having a set of 15 saved prompts you paste in whenever the same annoying task shows up. That's the whole secret.
Here are the 15 we use every week. Copy them into a note on your phone or a saved list in your favorite AI tool. Every one is written so a non-technical person can adapt it in seconds.
Email & communication
1. Reply to a long email in your tone
"Reply to this email in a warm, professional tone. Keep it under 100 words. My goal is [what you want to happen]. Here's the email: [paste it]."
Paste your inbox reply into ChatGPT, tell it your goal, done. If the tone feels off, add "written by a friendly but direct person, avoid corporate cliches" to the prompt.
2. Draft a polite decline
"Write a polite, warm email declining this request. Don't apologize excessively. Suggest [alternative, if any] and keep it under 80 words."
The single most-used prompt in our office.
3. Follow up without being annoying
"Write a short, friendly follow-up email to someone I sent this message to two weeks ago. Assume they're busy, not ignoring me. Include a soft deadline. My original message: [paste]."
Meetings & notes
4. Summarize a long meeting transcript
"Summarize this transcript into: 1) top 3 decisions made, 2) action items with owners, 3) any open questions. Keep it scannable. Transcript: [paste]."
Pair this with any transcription tool (Zoom's built-in works, or use Otter). Fifteen minutes of meeting compressed into 30 seconds of reading.
5. Turn scribbled notes into a proper recap
"Turn these messy notes into a clear meeting recap I can send to my team. Fix grammar, keep my voice, and add a short 'next steps' section. Notes: [paste]."
6. Prep for a hard conversation
"I need to have a difficult conversation with [role/relationship] about [topic]. Play the role of a skeptical version of them. Ask me the toughest questions they might ask, one at a time."
Not a productivity hack — but a therapist-adjacent one. Great for tough performance chats.
Spreadsheets & data
7. Get a spreadsheet formula without googling
"I'm in Google Sheets. I have [describe the data]. I want a formula that does [describe what you want]. Give me the exact formula I can paste."
Replace "Google Sheets" with "Excel" if that's your poison. Works with 95%+ accuracy for common formulas.
8. Explain what a spreadsheet formula is doing
"Explain what this formula does in plain English, step by step: [paste formula]."
For inheriting messy spreadsheets from colleagues.
9. Clean up a copy-pasted mess
"Turn this jumbled text into a clean table with columns: [list your columns]. Data: [paste]."
Research & learning
10. Explain anything at three levels
"Explain [topic] at three levels: 1) like I'm 10 years old, 2) like I'm a curious adult, 3) like I have a graduate degree in a related field."
11. Get a decision framework
"I'm trying to decide between [option A] and [option B]. Give me a table comparing them across these dimensions: cost, time, risk, upside, downside. Then ask me three clarifying questions to help me choose."
12. Prep a presentation from scratch
"I need to give a 10-minute presentation to [audience] on [topic]. Give me a slide-by-slide outline with one key point per slide and a suggested visual for each."
Personal admin
13. Plan a trip in ten seconds
"Plan a 4-day itinerary for [city], traveling with [who] in [month]. Interests: [list]. Budget: [amount]. Include one 'off the tourist track' suggestion per day."
14. Turn a grocery list into a meal plan
"Here's what's in my fridge: [list]. Give me 3 dinner ideas using mostly what I have, plus a short shopping list for anything missing."
15. Write the tricky message you've been avoiding
"Help me write [text/email/message] to [person] about [situation]. I'm feeling [emotion] about it. Draft three options: 1) direct, 2) warm, 3) diplomatic. Under 60 words each."
The magic isn't in the AI, it's in the reusable prompt. Once you have your 15, you stop reinventing the wheel every time.
Which AI tool should you actually use?
For most people, the free tier of ChatGPT is enough. If you want a more thoughtful writing partner, Claude (from Anthropic) is our team's daily driver — the free tier is genuinely useful, and Claude Pro at around $20/month is the best-value paid AI subscription we've tested.
Avoid the wrapper apps that charge $9.99/month for "ChatGPT prompts" — you're paying for a list like this one. Except we gave it to you for free.
Need help getting started?
If setting up AI tools feels overwhelming, book a 30-minute session and we'll get you fully set up with the right tool, your first 15 saved prompts, and a workflow that fits your job. From $29 flat.