Stop retyping the same instructions. Build prompt templates with blanks, keep a personal prompt library, set custom instructions the assistant always follows, and use projects or custom assistants for recurring work.
By the end of today you can
- Turn a prompt that worked into a reusable template with blanks
- Keep a small prompt library for tasks you repeat
- Set custom instructions so the assistant knows your preferences
- Use projects or custom assistants for recurring work
- Review what the assistant remembers about you
If you use an assistant regularly, you'll notice you type the same things again and again: "use British spelling", "keep it short", "I'm a nurse", "format it as a table". Today you'll learn to set things up once and reuse them.
Prompt templates
When a prompt works well, save it with blanks in square brackets for the parts that change:
Write a follow-up email after a meeting with [who]. Friendly and professional, under [number] words.
Thank them for [what they did]. Summarise the decisions:
[paste decisions]
List next steps with owners and dates as bullet points:
[paste actions]
End by confirming the next meeting on [date].Next time, copy it, fill in the blanks and send. You'll get the same quality every time.
Build a small prompt library
Keep your best templates in one place: a notes app, a document or a spreadsheet. Group them by task:
| Task | Template name |
|---|---|
| Polite chase-up · Meeting follow-up · Saying no nicely | |
| Summaries | Report for my manager · Meeting actions table |
| Learning | Explain [topic] simply, then quiz me |
| Home | Weekly meal plan from what's in my fridge |
Ten good templates will cover most of what you do. Improve them whenever a follow-up keeps being needed, by adding that instruction to the template.
Custom instructions: preferences for every chat
Most assistants let you tell them about yourself and how you like answers, once, in Settings (it may be called custom instructions, personalisation or profile). These instructions are added to every new chat.
About me: I'm a secondary school science teacher in Manchester. I'm comfortable with science but not with technology jargon.
How I like answers: British spelling. Get to the point; short answers unless I ask for detail. Use bullet points for steps. If my request is unclear, ask me one question before answering. When you're not sure about a fact, say so.Projects and custom assistants: one place per recurring job
For work you repeat (a weekly newsletter, a course you're studying, a small business's customer replies) many assistants let you create a dedicated space with its own instructions and files. ChatGPT has Projects and custom GPTs, Claude has Projects, and Gemini has Gems; names and features change, but the idea is the same.
For example, a "Customer replies" project for a small shop might contain:
- Instructions: "You help me reply to customer emails for my online plant shop. Warm, brief, sign off as 'Jo at Leaf & Pot'. Never promise refunds; say I'll check and reply within a day."
- Files: your returns policy, delivery times and a product list.
Every chat in that project then starts with the right background, and answers stay consistent.
Memory: what the assistant knows about you
Some assistants can remember details from past chats ("you mentioned you're vegetarian") to personalise future answers. That can be handy, but:
- Look at what's stored, usually in Settings, and delete anything wrong, outdated or too personal.
- Turn it off if you'd rather each chat starts fresh.
- Use a temporary or private chat for one-off topics you don't want remembered.
Recap
- Save prompts that work as templates with
[blanks], and keep them in a prompt library. - Custom instructions set lasting preferences for every chat; keep them general and non-sensitive.
- Projects and custom assistants hold instructions and files for one recurring job.
- More specific instructions win: your message beats the project, which beats general preferences.
- Review memory regularly, and use temporary chats when you don't want things remembered.
Tomorrow you'll bring it all together in a practice project: a complete job application.
Knowledge check
Test what you learned
5 questions · pick an answer to see if you're right
- 1
What is a prompt template?
- 2
Which belongs in custom instructions?
- 3
What's the main benefit of a project space or custom assistant?
- 4
Your custom instructions say "always answer in bullet points", but today you need a flowing paragraph. What should you do?
- 5
Why check what an assistant has remembered about you?
Finished today's lesson?