Library › Productivity AI › Marketing and content
Turn a messy marketing standup into Done, Doing, Blocked
Practice: Asking for a format you can use. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
You run the content team's Monday standup and post a 3-line summary for your director. You want exactly 3 lines labeled Done:, Doing:, and Blocked:, under 60 words, plain text. One task someone called done was sent back by legal, so it can't be listed as done, and leave out the side chatter. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Not giving the labels. The AI writes a paragraph by person. Try: Add: "Exactly 3 lines labeled Done:, Doing:, Blocked:."
- Counting reopened work as done. Tasha first says the email is done. Try: Add: "Legal sent the email copy back, so it's Doing, not Done."
- Hiding the blocker. The AI mentions the photos as a side note. Try: Add: "Blocked: what's missing and who it's holding up."
- Keeping chatter. The AI includes lunch and the cat. Try: Add: "Skip side chatter. Plain text."
- 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 10 words."
What a strong prompt includes
- Gives the labels
- Catches the reopened task
- Names the blocker
- Limits the sentences
- Sets a word limit
Related exercises
- Announce a new weekend rotation in three clear rules (Productivity AI · Managers and team leads)
- Announce a referral bonus with the steps to claim it (Marketing AI · HR and recruiting)
- Announce a team meeting change people will actually follow (Writing AI · Managers and team leads)
- Answer a 'found an error' question in STAR order (Writing AI · Finance and accounting)
- Answer a wholesale inquiry with clear terms (Writing AI · Small business owners)