Send providers the holiday coverage schedule after swaps

About this exercise

As office manager, you're emailing the holiday coverage schedule to your providers. Write exactly 4 numbered lines in date order, each in the form "Day, Date - provider - hours", under 60 words, plain text. Apply the approved swap and leave out the swap that was only requested. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

• No fixed shape. The AI writes a friendly email with the schedule in a table and notes. Try: Be exact: "Exactly 4 numbered lines: Day, Date - provider - hours."
• Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 60 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead: "each line under 12 words."
• Missing the approved swap. The draft lists the old assignments first, and the AI copies them. Try: Add: "Apply the approved Dec 24/Dec 31 swap."
• Applying a pending swap. The AI treats every request as done, or mentions it as "pending." Try: Add: "Don't apply or mention the pending Dec 26 swap."
• Adding extras. The AI adds the closed days, the answering service and the potluck. Try: Add: "Only the 4 coverage lines."

What a strong prompt includes

• Applies the approved swap
• Ignores the pending swap
• Sets the number of lines
• Shows the line shape
• Sets a word limit

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