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Plan a summer week of camp drop-offs and pickups for two kids
Practice: Keeping the AI to your sources. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
You and your partner split summer camp driving. Write exactly 5 numbered lines, Monday to Friday, each in the form "Day - drop-off: who, time - pickup: who, time", plain text, under 100 words. Use the camp's schedule change for Wednesday and follow who can drive when. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- No fixed shape. The AI makes a table or a day-by-day narrative with tips. Try: Be exact: "Exactly 5 numbered lines: Day - drop-off: who, time - pickup: who, time."
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 100 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead: "each line under 18 words."
- Ignoring who can drive. The AI puts Dana on Thursday drop-off or uses Grandma when a parent is free. Try: Add: "Follow each person's days, and prefer a parent over Grandma."
- Missing the schedule change. The camp update is a separate email; the AI keeps regular times on Wednesday. Try: Add: "Wednesday is 7:45 AM drop-off and 5:30 PM pickup."
- Adding extras. The AI adds the swim lesson and sunscreen reminder. Try: Add: "Only the 5 lines."
What a strong prompt includes
- Uses the Wednesday change
- Follows who can drive
- Prefers parents
- Shows the line shape
- Sets a word limit
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