Okay, real talk. I’ve been living inside ChatGPT for work for months—coding, long-form writing, deep research, planning… basically glued to it.

And here’s what surprised me most:

The biggest productivity boost didn’t come from chasing some “magic prompt.”
It came from having workflows that make ChatGPT easier to think with.

These 6 frameworks completely changed how fast and cleanly I work:

1. Separate “Test Kitchens” (Parallel Threads)

Forget that one massive, weeks-long chat where everything gets tangled.
Every task gets its own fresh thread.

Why:
Better context → better output.
ChatGPT stops being confused by stale instructions, and I stay sane.

Think of them as project folders for your brain.

2. The “Ready-to-Go” Prompt Templates

When a prompt works well, I save it. System prompts, reusable templates, tone set-ups, everything.

Why:
Copy → paste → tweak one variable → instant flow.
It eliminates the daily “reinvent the wheel” fatigue.

3. The “Project Briefing” Start

Before asking for the actual task, I give a short briefing:
What the project is, who it’s for, the constraints, the goal.

Why:
It anchors ChatGPT.
The output is more accurate, consistent, and “on-brand.”

4. Direct Formatting Mandates

I never let it dump a wall of text.
I tell it exactly how I want the output:

• “Format this as a markdown table.”
• “Structure it as an outline with H2s.”
• “Rewrite this into bullet-point steps.”

Why:
It removes 80% of the manual cleanup afterwards.

5. The “Research → Structure → Draft → Refine → Format” Train

I never ask: “Write X about Y.”
I break tasks into stages:

1. Research → just facts
2. Structure → outline
3. Draft → rough version
4. Refine → tone, depth, clarity
5. Format → final presentation

Why:
Quality comes from iteration.
This keeps control in your hands while still moving fast.

6. Tab Triage (Fast Context Switching)

I group browser tabs so related chats stay together—research in one, writing in another, refining in another.

Why:
You can jump between tasks without losing flow or mixing contexts.

I’m constantly tweaking these and trying to make them even smoother.
I actually built a small system for myself to manage all of this.

If there’s interest, I can share a quick rundown of that setup.

Let me know which of the 6 you’re going to try first, curious if this helps anyone else!