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Plan an event backward from the date with the right lead times
- For Office and admin
- You practice Catching mistakes and made-up facts
- Time about 5 minutes
About this exercise
You're organizing the holiday party on Friday, Dec 12. Write exactly 6 numbered milestones in date order, each as 'Date - task (Dec 12 minus N days)'. The venue changed its headcount deadline in a later email, so use the venue's number. Plain text, under 90 words.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Using last year's lead time. The checklist says 7 days, and the AI misses the venue's email. Try: Add: "The venue now needs the headcount 10 days before."
- Silent date math. The AI lists dates without the working, so mistakes slip through. Try: Add: "Show the math on each line: (Dec 12 minus 10 days)."
- Ideas instead of milestones. The AI adds photo booths and contests to the plan. Try: Add: "Only the 6 milestones from the checklist."
- Markdown timeline. The AI writes a table with bold weeks. Try: Add: "Plain text, one line per milestone."
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting words, so a total word cap usually lands over. Try: Cap each line: "each line under 12 words."
What a strong prompt includes
- Uses the venue's deadline
- Asks for the math
- Sorts by date
- Sets the count
- Caps the length
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