Free guide · works with ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini
How to use ChatGPT: a starter prompt for beginners
Turn blank-page anxiety into reliable outcomes for emails, planning, learning, writing and decisions by running a clear 13-step workflow that produces named artefacts at every stage. You’ll finish with safe, accurate outputs you can send, plus a reusable personal system.
Step 1, free.
Copy this, paste it into your AI, and swap the [BRACKETS] for your own details.
Setup: Getting started
[WHO YOU ARE] [CURRENT SITUATION] [TOP 3 OUTCOMES] [PAIN POINTS] [TIME AVAILABLE PER WEEK] [TOOLS YOU USE] [EXAMPLES OF EVERYDAY TASKS] [NON-NEGOTIABLES] [SUCCESS BY 30 DAYS] Act as a practical coach and convert this into a sharp one‑page plan for using AI that avoids fluff and sets measurable expectations. Work through it like this: 1) Translate [TOP 3 OUTCOMES] into SMART goals and define “done” for each. 2) Map [PAIN POINTS] to fast, low‑risk AI uses (emails, planning, learning, writing, decisions). 3) Note [NON-NEGOTIABLES] as hard boundaries and failure conditions. 4) Set a weekly rhythm from [TIME AVAILABLE PER WEEK] (sessions, minutes, checkpoints). 5) Identify 3–5 everyday tasks from [EXAMPLES OF EVERYDAY TASKS] to pilot first. 6) Define success evidence and where it will live (docs, inbox, calendar, files). Give me the output as: - Goals Snapshot (sections): Purpose; Top 3 SMART Goals; Success Metrics Table (columns: Metric | Baseline | 30‑day Target | Evidence Location); Pilot Tasks (bullets); Guardrails & Non‑negotiables (bullets); Weekly Cadence (when, duration, review); - Tools Map (tools from [TOOLS YOU USE] and how they’ll be used with AI, bullets); - Risks & Mitigations (top 3, one‑line mitigations); - Archive & Reuse Plan (where outputs will be stored and named pattern). Quality bar: Concrete, testable and brief; any colleague could run a week from it without asking you questions. If any field is missing or vague, ask up to 5 crisp questions; if unanswered, mark MISSING and proceed with safe defaults.
How to get a good answer.
- 01Fill every [BRACKET] with real detail. Vague in, vague out.
- 02Read the answer, then reply with what's wrong or missing. The AI fixes it in seconds.
- 03Check facts, prices and anything legal or safety-related yourself before you use it.
The rest of the workflow.
Step 1 gets you started. The full ChatGPT Starter Kit for Beginners takes you all the way, 13 steps in order:
- 01Setup: Getting started (free above)
- 02Setup: Choose your assistant and guardrails
- 03Capture: Context intake worksheet
- 04Plan: The good-prompt formula
- 05Plan: Everyday task menu
- 06Production: Draft with the formula
- 07Production: Clarifying Q&A loop
- 08Production: Personalisation pass (your voice)
- 09Review: Checking the answers
- 10Review: Red flags and fixes
- 11Delivery: Package and send
- 12Reuse: My personal toolkit
- 13Maintenance: Level up
Pay once, keep it. Delivered instantly with a copy button on every prompt.
Questions
Does this work with the free version of ChatGPT?
Yes. The prompt works in the free versions of ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, on a phone or a computer.
What do I put in the [BRACKETS]?
Your real details: notes, numbers, names, whatever the bracket asks for. The more specific you are, the better the answer.
Is the AI's answer always right?
No. Treat it as a strong first draft: check facts, figures and anything legal or safety-related before you use it.
What's in the full ChatGPT Starter Kit for Beginners?
13 steps run in order, a system prompt that sets the AI up for the job, worked examples, fix-it prompts and a quality checklist. It's NZ$9.50 once, no subscription.
Know someone who'd use this?
Send them the free prompt: