Prompts that work
The difference between vague and specific asks, and the patterns that get real work out of the assistant.
The assistant is doing real retrieval against your real notes — so the more your ask sounds like a task you’d give a person, the better the result.
Specific beats vague
| Works | Why |
|---|---|
| ”Summarize Acme’s objections from the last two calls.” | Names the account, the source, and the shape of the answer |
| ”List open tasks in /Projects/Website launch, grouped by owner.” | Scoped to a folder, concrete output format |
| ”Draft a status update from the last team meeting.” | One meeting, one deliverable |
| ”Update the account plan with what changed in today’s call.” | An edit with a clear source and target |
| Struggles | Why |
|---|---|
| ”Tell me about Acme.” | About what? For what purpose? |
| ”What’s going on?” | No scope at all |
| ”Make this better.” | Better how? |
Patterns worth stealing
Scope with @. Mention a folder or note in the composer and the conversation is grounded in it: “@Acme draft an agenda for Thursday’s call based on open items.”
Ask for the receipt. Answers cite their sources as links. When something matters, click through — the transcript line is one click away, and “quote exactly what they said about pricing” is a fair ask.
Reformat-only. When you want cleanup without rewriting: “Reformat only — fix spelling and structure, don’t change any words.” Without the instruction, models improve prose you didn’t want improved.
Draft, then adjust the voice. “Draft the follow-up email” then “shorter, drop the second paragraph, less formal.” Iterating on a draft beats specifying everything up front.
Delegate the follow-through, not just the answer. “Create a note in /Work/Acme called ‘Security review prep’ with the open questions from today’s call” — the assistant can do it, not just tell you what would go in it.
Make the good ones permanent
When you find yourself repeating an instruction — “always include next steps”, “keep my voice short and direct” — move it into your workspace instructions so every future conversation starts with it.