Work — AI Family Cheat Sheet

The hard email

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Say no without burning the bridge

Use when: declining meetings, requests, opportunities

Help me decline this politely but firmly. I want to keep the relationship warm but be clear that the answer is no — not a maybe.

The situation: [who's asking, what they're asking, why I have to say no]

Draft three versions: warmer, more direct, and a 'short text' version. Don't apologize too much.

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The 'I dropped the ball' email

Use when: missed deadlines, late replies, mistakes

I need to apologize for [what happened] to [who].

Draft a short, honest email. Rules:
- No corporate-speak ("circle back", "touch base")
- Own it without groveling
- Say what I'll do differently — only if I actually will
- Two sentences would be better than ten

Meetings

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Prep for a meeting in 60 seconds

Use when: any meeting you didn't have time to prep for

I have a meeting with [who] about [topic]. Here's all I know:

[paste invite, agenda, or your scattered notes]

Give me:
1. The 3 most likely topics that will come up
2. 2 questions I should be ready to answer
3. 2 questions I should ask THEM
4. One thing that, if I forget to mention it, I'll regret

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Turn rambling notes into action items

Use when: after any meeting

Here are my messy meeting notes:

[paste]

Give me back:
1. The decisions that were made
2. The open questions
3. Action items, with owner and (best guess) deadline
4. What I should follow up on this week

Hard conversations

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Plan a difficult talk with a coworker

Use when: performance issues, boundary problems, disagreements

I need to talk to [coworker] about [issue]. Here's what's going on:

[5-6 sentences of context — be honest about your own role in it]

Help me prep:
1. What's the goal of this conversation? (Be honest — venting? change? closure?)
2. How might they see it? Give me the most generous read.
3. The first sentence I should open with
4. Two phrases to have ready if it gets heated

Decisions

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The 'should I take this job?' framework

Use when: any big work decision

I'm weighing [decision — job offer, role change, project commitment].

What I know:
- The role: [details]
- What I'd be leaving: [current]
- What matters to me right now: [3-4 things]
- What I'm worried about: [be specific]

Don't just list pros and cons. Help me:
1. Find the question behind the question (what am I actually deciding?)
2. Name the assumption I'm making that, if wrong, would flip my answer
3. Suggest one thing I can do this week to test that assumption

Next stop

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