From the HOW TO // AI newsletter · howtoai.com
Most people use AI to help with tasks they still do themselves. Delegation is different: the task leaves your plate entirely, and you keep only the checkpoint. This kit is the system for deciding what to hand over, the three prompt templates that do the handover, and the guardrails that keep quality up.
Three long prompts I keep in a note on my phone and paste in whole. Fill in the brackets, send.
| Prompt | Use it when |
|---|---|
| ✂️ The editor | You wrote something and it's too long |
| 📬 The extractor | Someone sent you a wall of text |
| 🎓 The explainer | You need to actually learn something |
Long prompts open the door. Once the AI has context, go back to short ones ("Shorter." "Are you sure?" "What am I not asking?").
Edit this. Keep my meaning and my voice. Don't make it sound like you.
Cut it by about 30%. Remove any sentence that restates the one before it. Kill filler words ("just," "really," "I think"). Break up any paragraph longer than four lines.
Then give me a short list of what you changed and why, so I can put anything back.
Here it is:
[paste]
The change-log line is the part people skip. Without it the AI quietly changes your meaning. With it, you stay the author.
Read this and give me:
1. The 5 most important points, one line each.
2. Decisions that were made.
3. Decisions that are still open.
4. Anything I owe someone: what, to whom, by when.
5. Anything that looks wrong, risky, or missing.
Be blunt. If a section is empty, say "none."
Here it is:
[paste]
Section 4 catches what you owe people. Section 5 catches the thing buried in paragraph six.