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Make a start
One step at a time.
4 steps
Start with the synthetic worked example or other non-sensitive inputs. Run one prompt at a time in your chosen AI tool. Replace any bracketed placeholders with the requested material, check each reply, and supply the source or earlier outputs that step needs. Paste them again if the tool lacks that context.
Set up the worked example
Open
Open a chat AI that accepts pasted text and start a new conversation. Keep this guide and a calculator or paper beside it for adding minutes and costs. The exercise needs no live location or booking account.
Add the sample
In step 1, replace [paste] under MY NOTES with the complete “The starting point” (Synthetic input), from “Synthetic example: fictional weekend options for one adult.” through “not provided.” Keep the availability, budget scope, goals, all routes, all three options, lunch plan and unknowns together. Send later prompts in that same chat after checking each answer. “The intended result” (Illustrative output) is one example to compare with, not a timetable you need to paste.
Start with the synthetic example, then adapt each prompt to your task.
01
Turn the shortlist into constraints
Use the information you already have. Distinguish advertised times from opening hours and mark anything stale or incomplete.
Your starting prompt
Read my availability, budget and supplied options. Extract fixed times, durations, costs, travel times, preferences and unknowns. Use only supplied facts. Do not browse for new options or invent opening hours. Flag information that needs checking for the actual date.
MY NOTES:
[paste]
Expect
A list of fixed times, travel durations, activity costs, preferences and missing facts.
Check
Saturday is available 10:00–17:00 and Sunday 13:00–16:00. The £25 limit includes activities and transport, but excludes food. The exhibition’s fixed slot is Saturday 11:00–12:00; that does not establish Sunday opening hours.
If it differs
If a boundary or missing fact disappears, send: “Re-extract the supplied availability, budget scope, routes and options. Keep transport fares, actual weekend dates, Sunday hours, weather, path conditions and access needs unknown.”
02
Build one realistic draft
Include travel and meals. Keep optional activities out if they break a budget or make the day rushed.
Your starting prompt
Create one draft plan that fits the supplied availability and must-haves. Include stated travel and break durations. Show start and end times for each part. Exclude options that exceed the budget or conflict with fixed times. If something depends on unknown weather, access or availability, label it conditional.
Expect
A draft with the exhibition, a 45-minute lunch break, the conditional 60-minute canal walk and all travel. The £28 workshop is excluded because it alone exceeds the £25 budget.
Check
Check home-to-library 30 minutes, library-to-path 10 minutes and path-to-home 30 minutes. The illustration starts at 10:15 and finishes at 14:25 with a 15-minute arrival buffer. Other starts, including 10:00 itself, are allowed if every fixed slot, duration and availability limit is kept; added slack can also change the finish time.
If it differs
If travel or a break is missing, send: “Rebuild the timeline with all three supplied travel legs, the full lunch break and the fixed exhibition slot. Keep the canal walk conditional. Show each start and end time and identify any unmet goal.”
03
Account for money and missing facts
A free activity can still require paid travel. Show known costs without pretending they are the complete outing cost.
Your starting prompt
Calculate known activity charges from the draft. List excluded and unknown costs separately, including travel if not provided. Say whether the full total can actually be confirmed against my budget. List only the missing facts that could change feasibility. Do not assume unknown costs are zero.
Expect
Known activity charges of £0, with transport fares unknown and food outside the stated budget. The full cost is therefore unconfirmed.
Check
Free activities do not make the whole outing free. The excluded workshop is £28, which is £3 above the entire £25 allowance before any transport. No fare or saving has been supplied.
If it differs
If the answer declares the outing within budget, send: “Keep known activity charges separate from unknown transport and excluded food costs. Do not treat unknown fares as zero or confirm the full total.”
04
Check the route and fallback honestly
Recheck current official information before going. If no workable fallback was supplied, say so.
Your starting prompt
Audit the timetable minute by minute using the supplied durations. Check for overlaps, missed fixed times and travel omitted between activities. Explain what happens if the conditional activity falls through. Do not invent a substitute venue, indoor opening time or guaranteed reservation. Return a corrected plan and a check-before-going list.
Expect
A checked timetable and a short check-before-going list covering the actual date, listing, travel/fare information, weather, path/access conditions and a suitable lunch place.
Check
Use the worked-example checks to compare the illustration, whose 10:15 start plus 250 minutes ends at 14:25. For another draft, recalculate its times rather than requiring that exact finish. If the canal walk is unsuitable, the outdoor goal is unmet; no supplied fallback or Sunday opening is established.
If it differs
If it invents a fallback or claims live checks were made, send: “Remove unsupported alternatives and live-verification claims. Keep the outdoor goal unmet if the walk is unsuitable, and list what I need to verify.” For a real outing, check current official venue and route information yourself before relying on the draft.
Optional: improve the result
Revise only what a real update changes
Keep the original constraints and replace assumptions with checked facts as they arrive.
Advanced prompt
Revise this draft using only the verified updates below. Preserve my budget, availability and preferences. Show what changed, recalculate affected times and costs, and keep unresolved facts labeled unknown. If the updates make a goal impossible, explain the conflict and ask which constraint I want to relax. Do not book anything.
CURRENT PLAN AND CONSTRAINTS:
[paste]
VERIFIED UPDATES:
[paste]
Optional: use your own input+
Plan from your own shortlist
Open a new conversation in a text chat AI. Use non-sensitive option text you may share; broad place labels are enough for a draft, so omit your home address and private location details. Replace all bracketed sections below with your own dates, availability, costs, route durations, goals and budget rules together. After checking the extracted constraints, send: “Build one draft using only my supplied options. Include every travel leg and break with start/end times. Respect fixed slots and availability. Exclude known over-budget options; label unresolved feasibility conditional.” “Total known costs separately from unknown and excluded costs. Say whether my full budget can actually be confirmed. List missing facts that could change feasibility.” “Audit the timetable using my durations and constraints. Correct overlaps and omitted travel. If a conditional activity fails, state which goal remains unmet. Return the checked draft and a short list for me to verify; do not invent a fallback.” Check current official information for your actual date yourself. These personal checks replace the worked-example checks; the original advanced extension is sample-only unless adapted to your own constraints, checked plan and verified updates.
Your own-input prompt
Help me plan from my supplied shortlist, without finding new activities. First extract fixed times, durations, travel, breaks, costs, budget scope, must-haves, preferences and unknowns. Distinguish an advertised event slot from general opening hours. Keep missing dates, fares, access, availability and conditions unknown. Do not build the timetable yet; we will check the constraints before scheduling and auditing it. Return written text only. Do not browse for substitutes, book, buy, contact venues or change my calendar.
MY AVAILABILITY AND RULES
[State actual dates or mark them unknown, available hours, budget and what it includes, essential goals, preferences and break needs.]
COMPLETE OPTION DETAILS AND ROUTES
[Paste each option’s supplied times, duration, cost, location label, source date/link if available and unresolved conditions. Include travel time for every relevant leg. Mark missing information unknown; do not include private addresses.]
Check your own result
Every fixed slot, travel leg and break fits your actual availability, with no overlapping parts or unexplained travel gaps.
The budget uses your currency and inclusion rules; known, excluded and unknown costs remain separate.
Conditional activities stay conditional, and missing options or opening hours are not invented as a fallback.
You verify current official details for your own date before relying on the plan; no booking or real-world availability is implied.
Show, then try
See the shape of the result.
This input is synthetic. The output is a written illustration of the intended result, not a verified AI-tool run.
01 / The starting point
Synthetic input
Synthetic example: fictional weekend options for one adult.
Available Saturday 10:00–17:00; Sunday 13:00–16:00. Budget: £25 for activities and transport combined; food costs excluded. Goal: one indoor activity and one outdoor walk. Prefer no rushing.
Home to town library: 30 minutes each way. Library to canal path: 10 minutes on foot. Canal path to home: 30 minutes.
Option A: town library exhibition, Saturday 11:00–12:00, free; no booking needed according to the supplied listing.
Option B: canal walk, allow 60 minutes, free. Path condition and weather not checked.
Option C: craft workshop, Saturday 12:30–14:00, £28; availability not checked.
Allow 45 minutes for a lunch break. Bring lunch from home; food costs are outside the supplied budget.
Sunday opening times for the exhibition are not provided. Transport fares, specific weekend dates and access requirements are not provided.
Copies text only. For image or file tasks, use the source files named in the steps too.
SATURDAY DRAFT
10:15–10:45: travel from home to the town library.
10:45–11:00: arrival buffer.
11:00–12:00: library exhibition. Listed activity cost: £0.
12:00–12:45: lunch break with food brought from home.
12:45–12:55: walk to the canal path.
12:55–13:55: canal walk, only if weather and path conditions are suitable. Listed activity cost: £0.
13:55–14:25: travel home.
The draft finishes before the 17:00 availability limit.
BUDGET
Known activity charges: £0. Transport fares are unknown, so the full outing cost is not confirmed against the £25 budget. Lunch costs are excluded from the supplied budget.
The £28 craft workshop exceeds the £25 budget on its own, so it is not included.
SUNDAY
Leave unscheduled. The indoor and outdoor goals fit Saturday if the walk is suitable. No Sunday venue hours were supplied.
CHECK BEFORE GOING
- Confirm the library listing applies to your actual Saturday date.
- Check weather, canal path conditions and any access needs.
- Confirm transport fares and the planned travel times.
- Confirm a suitable place for the lunch break.
If the walk is unsuitable, the outdoor goal remains unmet. Choose another supplied option or get current alternatives before replacing it.
These checks use the worked example and its particular facts. With your own material, check your actual names, numbers, sources and rules; do not reuse the sample’s values as the answer.
Unsaved checks stay in this tab and reset when you reload. If you choose Save guide, its current example checkmarks are kept in this browser when storage is available.
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A few things to watch for.
Stacking activities back to back without travel, breaks or fixed-start constraints.
Presenting an attractive backup plan for a venue whose hours or availability you do not have.