Report which close tasks are late and by how many days

About this exercise

It's Friday, Nov 6, 2026 and you owe the controller a close status. Write a prompt for plain text of at most 5 lines. Line 1 is exactly "Close status: ON TRACK" if nothing is past due, else "Close status: AT RISK". Then one line per late task, formatted "Owner - Task - N days late", most days late first. A task due today is not late. Finish with a line starting "Blocker:" if a late task is waiting on someone else.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

• Listing every open task. The AI lists all not-done tasks, including ones due today or later. Try: Say: "A task due today is not late. Done tasks are never listed."
• Wrong day counts. The AI counts from the kickoff date or gets the arithmetic off. Try: Add: "N days late = today (Nov 6) minus due date."
• Soft status line. The AI writes 'The close is mostly on track' instead of the exact label. Try: Quote the exact line: "Close status: AT RISK" or "ON TRACK".
• Markdown report. The AI builds a table with a summary paragraph. Try: Say: "Plain text, at most 5 lines, nothing before or after."
• Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting and runs past word limits. Try: Ask for fewer words than the real cap and keep each line short.

What a strong prompt includes

• Gives today's date
• States the late rule
• Gives the line format
• Orders the lines
• Asks for status and blocker lines

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