Getting useful AI help
Turn messy notes into a clear AI task brief
Sort your notes into five parts: the result you want, the facts you supply, the limits that apply, the format you need back, and what is still undecided. Put each fact on its own line so nothing hides inside a paragraph.
A text to start with
Here are my raw notes about [topic]: [paste notes]. Turn them into a task brief for an AI assistant. Separate the goal, the facts I supplied, the constraints, the format I want back, and any open questions. Do not add facts I did not give. If two notes conflict, list the conflict and do not choose one. Return the brief only.
Example request. Change the details to fit your situation.Task brief worksheet
Goal in one sentence: [ ] Who will use the result: [ ] Facts I am supplying: Fact 1: [ ] Fact 2: [ ] Fact 3: [ ] Constraints that must hold: Limit or rule: [ ] Exact wording or spelling required: [ ] Things to leave out: [ ] Format wanted back: [ ] Length or detail level: [ ] Notes that conflict: [ ] Open questions I cannot answer yet: [ ] What I will check in the result: [ ]
What messy notes tend to lose
Check side comments for a budget ceiling, word limit, audience or required spelling that the brief may have omitted. Compare the brief with the original notes line by line. Look for hopes written as facts, such as a date you only wanted. Check that conflicting notes were flagged and not merged. Make sure the format is stated once, clearly, and that every question you could not answer is marked open.
Ask another agent to check the result
Compare this brief with my original notes. Identify each missing input that would materially change the answer, such as a dropped constraint, an unstated audience, or a guess written as a fact. For each gap, quote the note it came from and say how the answer would change without it.
Test the brief before relying on it
Read the brief as if you had never seen your notes and ask whether the task is unambiguous. Answer the questions you can, keep relevant unknowns visible and remove questions that do not affect the task. Send the brief with a short request for the output, then compare the result with your constraint list. If a detail is wrong, correct it in the brief so the next request starts from the improved version.