The Workflow, On One Page

The Workflow, On One Page

The Workflow, On One Page

A simple operating system for working with AI, made of folders and text files you control. Any helper, human or artificial, can walk in cold, read the Brain, follow the map, and be useful in five minutes.

The three layers

THINKING. Conversations where ideas get shaped. Ramble, argue, change your mind. The AI restates, asks, and waits for your go-ahead.

EXECUTION. Turning talk into work: lists become outlines, outlines become drafts, drafts become versions you edit and own.

STORAGE. Folders and context files where the truth lives. Every session ends with the file, not the chat, holding the truth.

The shape of the system

0 Brain · master context: who this belongs to, the map, house rules, priorities
Work / Personal
Each project: 0 Instructions · 1 Sources · 2 Working · 3 Final · 4 Archive
Each project's context file points to the projects it touches

Every project's memory

WHAT THIS IS · STATUS RIGHT NOW · KEY FILES · RULES · NEXT ACTION · LOG (one dated line per session)

The three house rules

  1. Never overwrite. New versions get new files, dated. Highest number is the truth.
  2. Never delete. Move dead things to Archive and write down the move.
  3. Private stays private. Marked folders are off limits unless you say so, one request at a time.

The master prompt

"Here is the context file for one of my projects. Read it, then do three things. One, tell me what you understand this project to be, in your own words. Two, ask me the three questions that would most improve your understanding. Three, suggest the next concrete step and wait for my go-ahead."

It makes the machine prove it understood, ask instead of assume, and keep you the boss. Prevent, detect, and mitigate wearing casual clothes.

No paid tools? No problem

A free chat window works: build the folders, write the context files, and paste the context into the chat each session. The shell is made of folders and text, not subscriptions.

The first afternoon

  1. Make the home (10 min): one folder, numbered skeleton per project.
  2. Add memory (20 min): a context file in every project.
  3. Build the Brain (15 min): master context, house rules, the map.
  4. First session (30 min): master prompt, talk, draft v1, save it.
  5. Close the loop (5 min): one dated line in the LOG.

The full method, and the story behind it, live in the book: Where AI Fits: Part 1, $9.99 on Amazon.