Ask Claude for one thing at a time, explained by monkey
When you pile everything into one message (the website, the logo, the posts, the emails), you get a lot back and none of it is great. Ask for one piece, get it right, then move on. Here's a message you can copy to start, a few ways to use it, and the one thing to watch for.
A big list in one message means Claude has to split its effort across every item, so each piece comes out a bit rushed. Anthropic's own help page puts the fix in one line: "Break down complex requests into substeps." Their guide for builders has long given the reason: each smaller step "gets Claude's full attention, reducing errors."
How to do it
- Write down everything you want, but don't send it all as the job. Send it as the plan.
- Ask Claude to help you put the pieces in a sensible order.
- Ask for the first piece only. Read it, ask for changes until you like it.
- Only then say "great, next one". The next piece can build on the one you just finished, so the logo you picked shapes the website.
The message to copy
Paste this at the start of a new chat, then swap the brackets for your own things:
I need help with a few things for [my small business / my project]: [list them, e.g. a logo idea, a simple website, three social posts, a welcome email]. Don't do them all at once. First, put them in a good order and tell me the order. Then do only the first one. Wait for me to say it's good before you start the next one.
Ways to use it
- Opening a shop: name ideas first, then the logo idea, then the opening post, then the email to your first customers.
- Planning a trip: pick the city first, then the hotel area, then a day-by-day plan, then the packing list.
- A school or work report: the outline first, then one section at a time, then the summary at the end.
- Fixing up your CV: your top three wins first, then the summary line, then each job, then the cover letter.
- Party planning: guest list and budget first, then the menu, then the invite message.
The one gotcha
Don't start a new chat for every step. Keep going in the same chat, so Claude still remembers the logo when it gets to the website. And one thing at a time doesn't mean tiny questions: "write my welcome email" is one thing, but "write the email, the posts and the flyer" is three.
My prompt isn't giving me a helpful answerAnthropic's help page: "Break down complex requests into substeps."Prompting best practicesAnthropic's prompting guide, including chaining a big job into steps
Monkey believe in you. Now go build.
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