Spring cleaning and giving feedback to a team member are not glamorous uses for AI, which is exactly why they matter. These are the kinds of tasks that quietly eat up time, energy, and attention, and a good prompt can make both feel more manageable and less emotionally draining.

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

Use Case 1 of 2

**Use Case 1: Spring cleaning with a checklist AI creates**

On a Saturday morning in late April, Maria, 58, stands in her kitchen with a mug of coffee gone cold and a feeling she knows too well: she wants the house back, but she does not know where to start. The closets are half-full of things she meant to sort last year. The guest room became the “put it there for now” room. Her knees ache if she kneels too long, and she has no interest in spending the whole weekend making a grand plan that never turns into action. What she needs is not inspiration. She needs a realistic checklist that fits her home, her energy, and the fact that she will only have about 45 minutes at a time after errands and lunch with her sister. AI can be useful here because it can turn a vague burden into a sequence of concrete, room-by-room tasks that are easier to start and easier to finish.

Here is the exact prompt to use:

Copy and paste this into ChatGPT or Claude:

I want you to act as a personal household project planner and create a realistic, room-by-room spring-cleaning checklist for my home.

Ask me 5 to 8 clarifying questions first about: - how many rooms I have - whether I live in a house, condo, or apartment - how much time I realistically have per day - any physical limitations I should plan around - whether I will have help from other people - my priorities, such as which rooms matter most and which can wait - any areas I want to ignore this season

After I answer, create: 1) a 7-day schedule with specific tasks for each day, grouped by room 2) a single master checklist I can print, with checkboxes and simple, concrete actions 3) a short “start here” list of no more than 5 tasks I can do in 30 to 45 minutes if I get overwhelmed

Make sure the tasks are realistic for my time and energy, in a logical order, and specific enough that I do not have to guess what each one means. If a task is too big, break it into smaller steps. At the end, ask: “Would you like me to break any day into smaller 15-minute chunks?”

Why this prompt works: It gives the AI enough structure to be useful without assuming your house looks like anyone else’s. The clarifying questions force the system to learn the important details first, and the three outputs give you both the plan and the fallback option. The request for concrete actions matters because “clean the kitchen” is vague, while “wipe cabinet handles” or “clean inside microwave” is doable.

Use Case 2 of 2

**Use Case 2: Giving feedback to a team member**

On Tuesday afternoon at 3:10, David, 63, is staring at a draft email he has rewritten three times. He needs to tell a capable team member that the last few reports were late and missing important details, but he does not want to sound harsh, vague, or like he is suddenly judging the person’s character. He knows from experience that “We need to talk about your performance” can land badly if he has not thought through the actual examples, the outcome he wants, and the tone he needs to use. This is a good AI use case because the hard part is often not the idea itself but the wording, the structure, and the discipline of staying specific. A well-built prompt can help him prepare feedback that is direct without being careless, and clear without turning into a lecture.

Here is the exact prompt to use:

Copy and paste this into ChatGPT or Claude:

I want you to act as a communication coach to help me give clear, kind feedback to a team member about their work.

First, ask me these questions and wait for my answers before drafting anything: - What is the team member’s role and how long have they been in it? - What specifically is not working in their recent work, with 1 to 2 concrete examples? - What is working well that I genuinely appreciate? - What outcome do I want from this feedback in the next 4 to 6 weeks? - Do I plan to give this feedback by email, in a meeting, or both? - What is my natural tone, such as straightforward, diplomatic, or warm?

After I answer, do the following: 1) Draft a brief feedback message I can use as a script or email with this structure: - one sentence acknowledging something they are doing well - 2 to 3 sentences describing the specific issues in plain language, with examples - 1 to 2 sentences explaining the impact on clients or the team - 2 to 3 sentences being clear about what better looks like in the next 4 to 6 weeks - one sentence expressing confidence in their ability to improve 2) Suggest 3 to 4 open-ended questions I can ask them in conversation to invite their perspective 3) Offer 2 to 3 alternative phrasings for the tougher sentences so I can choose the one that sounds most like me

Keep the tone respectful but honest, specific rather than vague, and focused on behaviors and outcomes, not personality. At the end, ask: “Would you like this to sound more direct, more gentle, or stay as is?”

Why this prompt works: It does the opposite of what bad feedback does. Instead of letting the AI write a generic “please improve” message, it gathers the facts first, names the purpose, and forces the response to stay anchored in behavior and impact. That structure is important because good feedback is not just about being nice; it is about being understandable, usable, and fair.

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