Boot Camp Week 3: AI for Work

Use AI to turn a messy work email thread into a clear list of actions, owners, and unresolved questions, without letting it quietly fill in the gaps.

Hey there,

Week 3 of the AI, Eh? Summer Boot Camp is here. This week is AI for Work, without the jargon. Whether you work in an office, a shop, or run your own thing, one problem is universal: messy back-and-forth communication that buries the actual point.

The shape stays the same. Run a detailed prompt. Fix what misses. Make it personal. Save the result as Prompt Card 3.

Six things every good prompt needs

Watch for all six of these in the prompt below:

Give it context. Explain who you are and what is actually going on.
Be specific about the task. Ask for exactly what you want it to produce.
Set your real constraints. Include tone, length, and anything else that limits the answer.
Tell it the format you want back. A list, a table, short sections, or another format you will actually use.
Ask it to flag uncertainty. Make AI identify anything unclear, contradictory, or unresolved.
Protect your privacy. Keep real work details anonymous and leave out names, companies, and identifying information.

Step 1: Run it

Open ChatGPT, Claude, or the AI tool you already use. Paste the full prompt below and run it exactly as written.

“Here’s a work email thread. Summarize it into a clear list of what needs to happen, who’s responsible for each thing, and anything still unresolved. Keep it to short bullet points, plain language, no corporate phrasing. Flag anything unclear, contradictory, or left hanging, so I know what to follow up on before the day arrives.

From: Dave
To: Priya, Mark
Subject: Client visit Thursday

Just confirming Thursday’s visit is still on for 10 a.m. Priya, can you book the meeting room? Also, should we order lunch or just do coffee? And does anyone know if the client needs parking passes? I don’t want to forget that again.

From: Priya
To: Dave, Mark
Subject: Re: Client visit Thursday

Room’s booked. Heads up though, I’ve got a dentist appointment Thursday morning and might not be back until 11. Mark, could you cover the intro if I’m not there yet?

On lunch, it might be worth checking the budget first before we commit. I’ll ask about parking passes when I confirm the room.

From: Mark
To: Dave, Priya
Subject: Re: Client visit Thursday

Sure, I can cover if needed. What time is the client actually arriving though? I thought it was 11, not 10.

Also, I don’t have the budget numbers. Dave, do you have those? If not, I can dig them up tomorrow before this goes further.

From: Dave
To: Priya, Mark
Subject: Re: Client visit Thursday

Good catch. Let me double-check the actual arrival time and get back to you both. I’ll also track down last quarter’s event budget tonight so Mark doesn’t have to.”

Step 2: Fix it

You will probably get a clean, confident-looking summary back. Look closely at how it handles the meeting time. The thread never settles whether it is 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. Dave said one thing, Mark thought another, and it was unresolved at the end.

AI often smooths over gaps like this and quietly picks one answer. This is the moment to push back with one clear sentence in the same conversation.

“The summary picked 10 a.m. as the meeting time, but the thread never actually settles that. Mark thought it was 11. Can you flag that as unresolved instead of choosing one?”

One sentence, pointed at the exact gap. Always compare a summary against the source, especially when a time, number, responsibility, or commitment is involved. AI is built to sound complete, even when the source material is not.

Step 3: Make it yours

Choose something real from your own work this week: a messy email thread, meeting notes, a string of texts about a shift, or another jumble of information that needs to become clear.

Explain what is going on, what you want back, your real limits, the format you need, and what AI should double-check before you trust it. Keep it anonymous, then paste the messy content underneath and run it.

Review the answer. If something is not quite right, correct it with one clear follow-up sentence.

Step 4: Card it

Open your toolkit document and add a heading called Prompt Card 3. Save these four pieces:

What this is for. One plain-language sentence describing your real situation.

The prompt. The full paragraph you wrote and tested.

The fix that got it there. The follow-up you used to correct or improve the result.

When to use it again. A reminder of when this prompt will be useful next time.

That is Prompt Card 3 complete. You now have three practical prompts in your toolkit, each tested against your own life or work.

Coming up next week

Week 4 is Learn Something New. Same four steps, pointed at anything you have been meaning to figure out.

AI assisted. Human led.

Always read it, verify it, and make it sound like you. AI is the first draft. Your judgment, voice, and values are the final layer.

Talk soon,

Chris
Founder, AI, Eh?
theaieh.ca 🍁