I Packed 3 Years of ChatGPT Experience Into 3 Minutes
Why prompting right matters more than anything else with AI.
I was one of those people who jumped on ChatGPT as soon as it became available.
Since then, I’ve been using it virtually every day, for business, content creation, research, personal activities, and occasionally just to explore its capabilities.
In the last three years, I’ve witnessed people either fall in love with AI or write it down as “overrated” too quickly. And that’s what made me want to write this post.
I even wrote a post in the community a few days ago asking individuals how they use AI in their daily lives. Most of the answers were very similar: “I want to use it, but I don’t know how.”
If you’re a student or a working adult and you don’t use AI yet, I’m going to be really honest with you: you’re behind.
I’m not trying to scare you; I’m just trying to warn you. AI isn’t simply another tool; it’s like the internet all over again.
The sooner you learn how to utilize it correctly, the better off you’ll be in the future.
The Biggest Mistake People Make With AI
The first thing I notice is that most people make mistakes when using ChatGPT, often due to lazy prompting.
This is a brief example. If you type, “Make me a gym plan.”
What goes on? ChatGPT gives you a generic fitness plan. People then say, “AI is useless.” This doesn’t even make sense to me.
But you’re the one with the problem, not AI. The way you ask.
Every prompt has three main parts:
Context — your current location and situation.
Task: What do you want AI to do?
Examples — Specifics that guide the AI toward your style or preference.
Let me illustrate this by revisiting the gym example. Instead of saying, “Make me a gym plan,” let’s say:
“I want to acquire 5 kg of muscle in four months. I’m 25 years old. Four times a week, I go to the gym for an hour. These are the foods that provide me with protein: [list them]. “Now give me a plan for the gym and my diet to reach my goals.”
Do you see the difference? This time, you provided background information (your age, your aim, your gym routine, and your protein sources) and then made the assignment clear.
Now look at the two outcomes side by side. The first one is not specific. The second is individualized, which is lot more like what you really desire.
And you can go even further. You may also say, “I do push-pull-legs workouts.” This lets the AI fit the fitness plan into your current schedule.
A study plan is the same. If you only say, “Please make me a study plan,” You’ll get a general schedule.
But if you say:
“I’m in 12th grade and studying commerce. I have four months to get ready for my board exams.” I learn best in the morning and need a break every hour. “Make me a realistic study plan for the week.”
Boom! The idea now seems like it was made just for you.
The more information you give, the better the results.
But a natural question is, “How much information should I give?”
Do you also need to tell ChatGPT, “My life is stressful, I keep thinking too much, and my mind is not right”?
No. That’s not in the proper context. You need to provide information that is relevant to the task at hand.
4 Prompting Hacks I Wish I Knew Earlier
Over time, I developed some hacks that make prompting much easier and more effective. Let me share four of them.
1. Add: “Ask me further questions.”
Just put this at the end of your prompt:
“Ask me more questions so I can give you a more personalized and detailed answer.”
This is like magic. ChatGPT will first offer you an answer, but it will also ask follow-up questions to refine the answer and make it more accurate.
In the case of the gym plan, it can ask:
Are you hurt?
How much money do you have to spend on supplements?
Do you like vegetarian dishes or not?
Answering these questions makes the output even more personal.
2. Talk to AI like you talk to a friend.
Think about asking a friend for a new phone. Could you just say, “Bro, suggest a phone”?
No. They would ask right away, “How much do you want to spend?” Do you worry about how good the camera is? “How long does the battery last?”
The same is true here. The AI can help you better if you explain things wholly and naturally.
3. Beat your laziness with voice prompts.
I understand.
It feels like homework to write long, thorough prompts. Indeed, being lazy can make you less productive.
But there is a way to fix it: utilize voice mode. AI will write down what you say when you speak your cue. Additionally, ChatGPT can converse in several languages, including Hindi.
So, if you don’t want to type, simply talk. It feels like talking to a person.
4. Let ChatGPT become your prompt creator.
If you’re still having trouble writing good prompts, make ChatGPT into a prompt generator.
Say this: “You are the person who makes my prompts.”
Then it goes through four steps:
It wants to know what the prompt is about.
It makes three outputs:
Draft prompt.
Ideas for providing context.
Questions to make things more straightforward.
You get better by answering.
You keep going over and over again until you get the correct prompt.
This is a relatively potent trick, especially when you’re stuck.
3 Hard-Earned Tips From My Experience
Beyond hacks, here are three profound lessons I learned by trial and error.
Tip 1: Your first prompt will rarely work.
The initial answer is only a rough draft. You need to examine it closely, identify any issues, clarify any confusion, and revise your prompt. Continue this process until you’re satisfied with the output.
Tip 2: Tone matters — a lot.
Don’t forget about tone when using AI for work.
For example, when I ask ChatGPT to write a script for me, I typically say, “Write it like me.”
And because I’ve taught it over time, my approach now sounds a lot like me.
It could be for you:
Professional tone
Casual tone
Conversational tone
Alarmed but light tone
Always specify the style you want. It changes a lot.
Tip 3: Use tables and steps for clarity.
It’s tougher to understand when AI gives you big paragraphs.
If you want AI to create plans, checklists, or processes, instruct it to do so in stages or in a table format.
Saves time and makes things less confusing.
Where Can You Actually Use AI?
Now that you know how to construct better prompts, the next thing you need to know is, “Where do I actually use AI?”
Of course, you already know the essentials, such as how to write an email and summarize notes. But let’s go further.
For example:
Planning a diet that won’t break the bank → “Here are my workouts, my budget, and the protein sources I have available.” Please tell me how to obtain enough protein.
“I’m starting a food stall” is one of my business ideas. Could you please provide me with some catchy names and a one-liner in Hinglish?
Gift ideas: “My best friend is a Marvel fan and is turning 20.” Give five creative gift ideas that cost less than ₹1000.
It seems like there are unlimited options, but I know that sometimes you just can’t conceive of them. Here’s a simple tip: Instead of Googling what you usually do, ask AI.
For example, instead of typing “Places to visit in Manali” into Google, try asking ChatGPT or Perplexity. It will not only save time, but it will also yield more direct and organized outcomes.
Beyond ChatGPT: Other AI Tools I Use
There are other tools besides ChatGPT. Different tools work best for various situations.
Perplexity is the best place to find the most recent news and sources.
Claude is great at handling large PDFs or lengthy files.
Notion AI is great for helping you take notes and write.
Gemini features a live-stream Q&A that allows you to resolve issues in real-time.
Hugging Face/Hezen is for more advanced AI tests.
And don’t forget that smartphones today also have built-in AI functions that you may use.
If you have an iPhone, you should install Perplexity. Siri is not as good.
The Dark Side: AI’s Limitations
As much as I love AI, let me be clear: it’s far from perfect. You must understand its flaws to avoid mistakes.
1. Hallucinations
AI never says, “I don’t know.” Instead, it confidently makes up responses that are often inaccurate. That’s why confirming facts is so important.
Answer: “Give sources” or “Say ‘I don’t know’ if you’re not sure” should be added to your prompt.
2. Cutoff Dates
There is a training cutoff for every AI model. ChatGPT and Gemini, for instance, only know things that happened before June 2024.
If you ask about things that happen after that, they’ll need to be able to connect to the internet (if it’s turned on), or they’ll assume.
3. Bias
AI thinks the way it was taught. The outcome will be biased if the dataset is biased.
For example, if you ask for a “CEO photo,” it might only show white men and not women or people of other races.
Answer: Write things like, “Give me an unbiased opinion.” List the good and bad things about the circumstance.
Wrapping It Up
I had no idea that ChatGPT would become such a big part of my business when I initially started using it three years ago.
It has steadily become my co-pilot, whom I rely on every day for everything from creating content to getting things done to generating new business ideas.
But I’ve also learned that AI is like a mirror. You’ll get vague, half-baked replies if you ask vague, half-baked inquiries.
If you ask clearly, with context, and with a purpose, the answers can change your life.
So, if you only learn one thing from this site, let it be this: how to ask questions well. That one skill will make AI worth a lot more to you.
I hope you found this in-depth look helpful. This post has all of the tips and tricks I’ve tried over the past three years.
Really helpful 🙌