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Rewrite vague goals into measurable ones
Practice: Showing an example of what you want. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
Your report Theo drafted his Q1 goals, and they're too vague to review in 3 months. Rewrite them as exactly 3 numbered goals, each with a number to hit and a deadline, under 70 words, plain text. Use only targets and baselines from the notes, using the corrected baseline, and drop the goal the two of you agreed to cut.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Asking to 'improve these goals'. The AI keeps all 4 goals and adds SMART headings and sub-bullets. Try: Be exact: "Exactly 3 numbered goals. Plain text."
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it. Try: Cap each goal instead: "each goal under 18 words."
- Inventing targets. Without your notes as the source, the AI makes up nice-sounding numbers. Try: Add: "Use only the targets in my notes: under 4 hours by Mar 31, 12 articles by Mar 15, solo by Feb 28."
- Using the old baseline. 9 hours appears first, so the AI may use it. Try: Add: "The baseline is 7 hours (corrected), not 9."
- Keeping the cut goal. The AI rewrites every draft goal, including the one you agreed to drop. Try: Add: "Drop the AI tools goal. Simple words, no corporate language."
What a strong prompt includes
- Asks for numbers and dates
- Uses the corrected baseline
- Drops the cut goal
- Sets the number of goals
- Asks for plain text
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