The 5 Prompts I Use Daily to Save 10 Hours a Week

1. The "research → outline" prompt

You are a senior researcher. Given the topic "[X]", produce:
1. 5 distinct angles a journalist would cover
2. 3 counterintuitive facts most articles miss
3. A 7-section outline ordered by reader value

2. The "draft → polished" rewrite

Rewrite the text below in [target style]. Constraints:
- Cut filler words by 30%
- Lead each paragraph with the verb
- No corporate jargon

3. The "code review" prompt

Review this code as a senior engineer. Format:
- 🔴 Critical (must fix)
- 🟡 Improvement (should consider)
- 🟢 Nice-to-have

4. The "meeting prep" prompt

I'm meeting [name] from [company]. Their LinkedIn says [paste].
Generate:
- 3 questions that show I did homework
- 2 mutual connections worth name-dropping
- 1 surprising insight about their industry this quarter

5. The "inbox triage" prompt

Categorize these emails into:
- Reply today (one-line summary + suggested response)
- Reply this week
- Read-only
- Delete

Be ruthless. Default to "Read-only".

Where I store them

Plain text file synced via iCloud. Tried fancy prompt managers — they all add friction. Speed wins.