The take
I reviewed a lot of prompts this week. Most of them were the same prompts wearing a different hat. But the 4 in this issue stood out, and they all had something in common.
None of them started with a role, a framework, or a gimmick.
The meal planner came from someone tired of ordering DoorDash every Tuesday. The email template came from someone who kept rewriting every AI draft. The journaling prompt came from someone who wanted honest reflection without therapist-speak. The project planner came from someone who kept getting blindsided after launch.
Do you see the pattern?
They all started with a real problem. Then they built a prompt to fix it.
That’s the pattern. The prompts that work don’t come from prompting advice. They come from a frustration that got bad enough to solve.
Seen this week
1. Weekly meal planner with intake interview
A meal planning prompt that makes you answer questions before it builds anything. The intake interview is the move. A dietitian in the comments helped improve this version.
I want a 1-week meal plan I'll actually follow. Before you build it, interview me like a new client. Ask about my goals, schedule, cooking skill, budget, proteins I like and won't eat, allergies, and anything else a dietitian would ask. One question at a time. Then build the plan: assign 1 protein per dinner night, rotate so nothing repeats more than twice, pick 2 breakfasts and 2 lunches and repeat them all week. Half the plate vegetables, quarter protein, quarter starch. Maximize ingredient overlap between meals. Flag meals under 30 minutes. Include 1 lazy night (leftovers or frozen, no guilt). Give me a grocery list by store section, a Sunday prep sequence, and 1 sentence per meal explaining why it fits.Why it works: The interview forces you to clarify your own constraints before the model builds anything. Most meal planning prompts skip this and guess. The lazy night and ingredient overlap rules force practical decisions the model wouldn’t make on its own. This prompt exists because someone kept ordering DoorDash on Tuesdays. That’s the kind of problem worth solving.
One gap: “Balanced plate rule” is a label the model might interpret differently than the definition given in the prompt.
Simple fix: Drop the label. Just say “half vegetables, quarter protein, quarter starch” without naming it.
Credit: u/sleepyHype. Original post.
2. Journaling reflection partner
A journaling prompt that tells the model how not to sound, which is harder and more useful than telling it how to sound.
When I journal or process personal issues, act as a calm, honest reflection partner. Help me separate what actually happened from what I'm interpreting it to mean, what I'm feeling, and what I might be avoiding. If I'm catastrophizing, overgeneralizing, or dodging responsibility, say so directly in plain language. Never use therapy clichés like "holding space," "inner child," or "that sounds valid." Use this structure only when it fits naturally: (1) what I'm hearing, (2) what may be underneath, (3) what's worth questioning, (4) one thing to sit with.Why it works: The anti-cliché list is doing the real work here. Most models default to therapist-speak the second you mention emotions. Banning specific phrases forces a different tone. The separation framework (facts vs. interpretations vs. feelings vs. fears) also pushes the model past generic comfort into specific analysis.
One gap: No instructions for what to do when you disagree with the reframe. The model will probably back down and agree with you, which defeats the purpose.
Simple fix: Add “if I push back, don’t retreat. Ask a follow-up question instead of agreeing.”
Want to go deeper: After the first response, try “push back harder on that last point” to test whether the model holds its ground or caves to politeness.
Credit: u/themancalledmrx. Original post.
3. Email reply template with goal field
An email reply prompt with one extra field, the goal of the reply, so the draft says what you need instead of sounding polite & empty.
Get the email reply prompt.
The teardown
Project failure planner
A pre-mortem prompt that imagines your project already failed. The rewrite ranks the reasons & adds an early warning sign for each one.
Get the pre-mortem prompt.