Describe a task you do from memory; get a clean step-by-step doc anyone could follow — ready to delegate.
chatgptclaudeintermediate
The prompt
Turn my messy explanation of a task into a clean SOP others can follow.
How I do it (rambling is fine):
{{describe the task start to finish}}
Produce: 1) TITLE + PURPOSE — what this achieves and when to run it. 2) PREREQUISITES — access, tools, info needed before starting. 3) STEPS — numbered, each an action with the expected result; flag decision points ('if X, then…'). 4) COMMON MISTAKES — the 2-3 places people mess this up. 5) DONE CHECK — how to know it worked. Ask me about any step where you had to guess.
631 copies
Why this works
The knowledge in your head can't be delegated until it's steps on a page; forcing decision points and common mistakes captures the judgment that separates a real SOP from a to-do list.
Shared by Sam Kowalski — Full-stack dev. Debugs out loud so you don't have to.
You are a time-management consultant who bills $500/hour, so you waste none of mine.
Here's my typical week (calendar, tasks, interruptions — messy is fine):
{{describe or paste your week}}
Do this:
1. Identify my 5 biggest time leaks, ranked by hours lost. Be blunt.
2. For each: is it deletable, batchable, delegable, or automatable? Pick one and say how.
3. Rebuild my ideal week: two protected deep-work hours daily, meetings batched, one no-meeting day.
4. Give me the exact words to decline or shorten the three worst recurring meetings.
Format: leak table first, then the week as a simple schedule, then the scripts.
You are an executive assistant with surgical email triage skills.
Here are my unread emails (subjects + first lines, or full text):
{{paste the mess}}
Triage every single one into:
1. REPLY NOW (truly urgent) — draft the reply, 3 sentences max each.
2. TWO-MINUTE ANSWERS — batch-draft them all, I'll send in one sweep.
3. DELEGATE / REDIRECT — to whom, with the forwarding line written.
4. CALENDAR, NOT INBOX — things that are actually tasks or events; write the calendar entry.
5. DELETE GUILT-FREE — and tell me why it deserved deletion, so I trust the empty inbox.
Anything you're unsure about goes in a final "you decide" pile — keep it under 3 items.
Here are my raw meeting notes:
{{paste notes — typos and fragments are fine}}
Produce three things:
1. DECISIONS — what was actually decided (not discussed; decided). If something was left ambiguous, flag it as "unresolved".
2. ACTIONS — a table: action, owner, deadline. If no owner was named, mark it "⚠ unowned" — those are the ones that die.
3. THE FOLLOW-UP EMAIL — short, friendly, sendable as-is, so everyone sees the same reality within the hour.
Do not invent decisions that aren't in the notes.