Your First AI Workflows
Five copy-paste workflows that turn messy inputs into a clear next step. The goal is not to do more. The goal is to carry less in your head.
Who this is for
- You want practical examples, not hype, and you want to know where AI actually helps.
- You are new to ChatGPT, or you use it casually but not yet as a repeatable workflow.
- You want a few low-risk routines you can review, not full automation.
The problem it solves
Most AI advice is either hype or prompt-engineering homework. This skips both. Each workflow is a prompt you paste, with bracketed blanks you fill in, and a quick way to test it on something real this week.
What's inside
- Email triage: sort a noisy inbox into urgent, reply, delegate, waiting, and ignore, with draft replies where useful.
- Weekly review: turn messy notes into wins, open loops, and your top 3 priorities for next week.
- Life admin checklist: pull dates, decisions, and actions out of any school, health, or household message.
- Meeting prep: a sharper objective, the questions to ask, and the tensions to watch before you walk in.
- Decision memory: a structured log of what you decided and why, so you never reconstruct it later.
- What not to automate yet: the boundaries that keep AI preparing while you stay in control.
- Your first reusable assistant: how to stop rewriting prompts and turn a workflow into something saved.
How to use it
- Open ChatGPT or Claude and pick one workflow.
- Copy the prompt block and replace the bracketed text with your real situation.
- Review the answer, ask one follow-up if you need it, and keep AI preparing while you approve anything that matters.
- Use that one workflow three times. If it still helps, make it part of your weekly routine.
Why I made this
I run a $0.8bn global portfolio, and the AI that changed my weeks was simple: a handful of plain routines that took load off my head. I wrote them down the way I use them, for someone who has never touched prompt engineering and has no wish to start.
Questions
Do I need to know prompt engineering?
No. Use the prompts exactly as written and replace the bracketed text with your own situation. That is the whole method.
ChatGPT or Claude?
Either works. The workflows are written to run in both, free or paid.
Is my data safe to paste in?
Keep sensitive financial, medical, confidential, or children-related details out unless you are comfortable with the tool you use. There is a boundary-check prompt inside for exactly this.
How long until this helps?
Pick one workflow and use it three times this week. If it still earns its place, keep it.