A clear task says what action to perform, on what material, for which result.
Do now: Rewrite one broad goal as a single verb-object-outcome sentence.
One prompt can support a big project by completing one clear step.Clear tasks reduce wandering output and make success easy to judge.
Begin with a strong verb
Use verbs that describe visible work: extract, compare, rank, explain, draft or critique. Avoid verbs whose meaning is hidden, such as improve or optimise, unless you define the metric.
Name the object: these notes, this policy, five interview responses or the attached table.
If two people cannot agree whether the task is finished, the task is not yet clear.
Separate goal from step
‘Grow the business’ is a goal. Interviewing ten former customers is a step. Ask AI to support the step and keep the business decision with the owner.
For multi-part work, number the steps or handle them in separate turns so mistakes are visible.
Add a success condition
State how you will recognise a useful result: each theme has two source examples; every action has an owner; calculations preserve the supplied values.
A success condition improves both generation and review.
Specific does not mean long. It means judgeable.