**Subject: Issue 22: Smarter by Thursday**

Maggie in Toledo has a home office that has slowly turned into a holding area for everything except work: printer paper on the floor, old folders in a basket, chargers in a kitchen junk drawer, and a desk she avoids sitting at because it always feels unfinished. Meanwhile, James in Charlotte is doing solid work, but his pay has not kept up with the responsibility he has taken on, and he keeps rewriting the same raise email because he does not want to sound needy or awkward. These two problems matter because both are really about reducing friction: one makes it harder to think and start, the other makes it harder to ask clearly for what you have earned.

Try at least one before Sunday. That is the whole assignment.

Use Case 1 of 2

**Use Case 1: organizing a home office overhaul**

On Saturday morning at 9:15, Maggie stands in the doorway of her home office with a coffee gone cold and a very familiar feeling: where do I even start? The room is not dirty, exactly. It is just divided into piles - tax papers from last spring, a webcam she bought and never mounted, two notebooks with half-finished lists, and a desk surface that has become a permanent staging area. She works from home three days a week, and every time she sits down, she loses ten minutes looking for things she knows she owns. That slow drip of wasted time is what finally pushes her to ask AI for help. She does not need a perfect interior-design fantasy. She needs a practical reset that fits real life, one that tells her what to do first, what to keep, and what to stop pretending she will use. That matters because a better workspace is not about aesthetics; it is about making it easier to begin the day without friction.

Here is the exact prompt to use:

Copy and paste this into ChatGPT or Claude:

```text Act like a practical home office organizer for a real person with limited time and no interest in perfection.

My home office is cluttered, and I want to do a realistic overhaul in one weekend. Help me make a simple plan that assumes I have 3 - 4 hours total, not a full day.

First, ask me up to 7 questions that will help you understand: - the size of the room - what I do in the office - what items are cluttering it most - what I need to keep within reach every day - what I can store elsewhere - whether I have filing cabinets, shelves, drawers, or boxes already

Then, after I answer, give me: 1. A step-by-step cleanup plan in the order I should do it 2. A “keep, relocate, donate, toss” sorting guide for papers, office supplies, and tech 3. A simple layout suggestion for the room 4. A list of cheap fixes if I only want to spend under $50 5. A final 15-minute weekly maintenance routine so the clutter does not come back

Be specific, realistic, and gentle. Do not give generic organizing advice. Base your suggestions on my actual situation, and explain why each step matters. ```

Why this prompt works: It works because it gives the AI a real job, a time limit, and clear categories to sort by. It also asks for questions first, which prevents the model from guessing wrong about the room or the clutter. The request for a cleanup plan, room layout, budget fixes, and weekly maintenance turns one vague problem into several concrete outputs that are easier to use.

Use Case 2 of 2

**Use Case 2: asking for a raise via email**

On Tuesday at 4:40 p.m., James sits in his car outside the grocery store after work, reading an email draft he has rewritten five times. He has taken on more responsibility over the past year, including training a new teammate and handling a client issue that used to go to his manager. His review was positive, but the raise conversation never quite happened, and now he wants to send a short, professional email that opens the door without sounding tense or over-explaining himself. This matters because many people freeze at the exact moment they need to be direct. A good prompt can help him write a message that is calm, specific, and respectful - without drifting into apology language or vague hints. The goal is not to “convince” with drama. The goal is to make the request easy to understand and easy to respond to.

Here is the exact prompt to use:

Copy and paste this into ChatGPT or Claude:

```text Write a professional email asking for a raise.

Use this context: - My name is [Your Name] - My role is [Your Job Title] - I have worked here for [length of time] - Over the past year, I have taken on [specific responsibilities or achievements] - My manager is [Manager’s Name] - I want the tone to be confident, respectful, and calm - I do not want the email to sound angry, desperate, or too casual

Please do the following: 1. Draft a short email I can send directly 2. Give me 3 subject line options 3. Include one version that is more direct and one that is slightly softer 4. Keep it under 200 words 5. Make the request clear without over-explaining 6. If there is any wording that sounds weak or apologetic, replace it with stronger language

Before writing the email, list the 5 details you need from me if they are missing. ```

Why this prompt works: This prompt works because it gives the AI the ingredients that actually matter in a raise request: role, tenure, achievements, and tone. It also asks for two versions, which is useful because many people want one draft that is firmer and one that is a little more diplomatic. The instruction to flag weak wording is especially helpful because AI often drifts into “just checking in” language that softens the ask too much.

Know someone who spends too long on things AI could do in two minutes? Forward this to three people who subscribe and I will send you my free AI Prompt Starter Pack: 20 ready-to-use prompts for everyday life.

By Dr. Rowan Hayes