My “lazy daily standup” prompt that finally made AI useful for my real work

I kept seeing super long prompts that try to turn ChatGPT into a therapist, a CEO and a wizard at the same time. In practice I just wanted something boring and repeatable that helps me plan my day without turning it into a whole new task. So I ended up with a tiny "daily standup" prompt that I now paste every morning. It is not flashy, but it actually fits into my real workflow.

Here is the prompt:

> You are my calm and practical project helper.

> I will paste three short lists: DONE, DOING, and TODO.

> Your job:

> 1. Rewrite DOING as 2 to 4 clear tasks I can finish today.

> 2. Suggest a realistic order to do them in based on focus level.

> 3. Point out one thing from TODO that I should delete or postpone for a week.

> Keep the answer under 180 words and use simple language.

Then my morning routine is simple. I dump yesterday into DONE, all the half finished stuff into DOING, and the rest into TODO. The model usually slices my chaos down to a short list that actually fits in a workday and it almost always catches one task I am keeping out of guilt rather than need. The "under 180 words" line is important because without it the reply turns into a mini essay.

This prompt will not give you magical life transformation, but it did one very specific thing for me. It made opening ChatGPT in the morning feel like checking a tool, not starting a new rabbit hole. If you try it, I am curious what tweaks you would add for your own style or job.