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Turn board minutes into action items with real dates

Practice: Giving the right context. About 5 minutes.

About this exercise

You're the coordinator at a food bank and need the action items from Thursday's board meeting for the staff task list. You want exactly 4 numbered lines, each written as Owner - task - due date, with every due date as a calendar date (month and day) rather than 'in two weeks', under 70 words, plain text. Leave out the motion that failed. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Copying relative dates. The AI repeats 'within two weeks' or 'next Friday', which means nothing on a task list a week later. Try: Add: "Turn every deadline into a calendar date, counting from Thursday, Oct 9."
  • Not giving the line format. The AI writes full sentences and some lose the owner or the date. Try: Add: "Write each line as Owner - task - due date."
  • Treating the motion as a task. The failed motion looks like an action, so the AI may list it. Try: Add: "Skip the motion that failed and items with no action."
  • Letting the AI pick the layout. The AI adds headings and bold names that don't paste into a task list. Try: Be exact: "Exactly 4 numbered lines, plain text."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 70 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead: "each line under 12 words."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Says how many lines
  • Gives the line format
  • Asks for real dates
  • Skips the failed motion
  • Sets a word limit

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