How to master AI in one day (the exact steps):

____

Step 1: Open your worst email from last week.

Paste it into Claude. No instructions yet.

See what it does with 0 context. It's the baseline.

____

Step 2: Paste the email again with this prompt:

Rewrite this email. It's for [name], a [role] who [what they care about]. Tone: [how you'd talk to them]. Never say [what would annoy them].

The gap between the two outputs is the entire skill.

____

Step 3: Find the task you've been avoiding all week.

Finish it in 5 mins, what you've dodged for 2 weeks.

Prompt:

I need to [task]. It's for [who]. The tricky part is [what's blocking you]. The deadline is [when]. Give me a first draft I can edit.

____

Step 4: Do the same with your 4 hardest tasks.

Describe each task like you'd tell a coworker.

Because you'll see exactly where AI goes wrong.

____

Step 5: Describe the context (not the task).

90% of prompting is context you didn't include.

Use my prompt guide: ruben.substack.com/p/yo…

Bad → "Write me an email".

Better → "Write a follow-up to a CFO who ghosted my last 2 emails, hates small talk, needs to approve $50K by Friday, and only reads the first line."

____

Step 6: Reject any average answer that AI gives you

Copy this critic prompt: ruben.substack.com/p/yo…

Bad → "Shorter."

Better → "Cut everything that sounds like a consultant wrote it."

Best → "Now make the first line something my CEO would actually read."

____

Step 7: Stop prompting. Let AI prompt you.

AI asks better questions because it doesn't assume.

Copy-paste my interview prompt

From this guide: ruben.substack.com/p/i-…

Prompt:

Interview me about [your project]. Ask me 10 questions one by one. Then write the deliverable yourself.

____

Step 8: Create a Project (stop using blank chats)

Go to Claude → Click "Projects" → New Project.

Add custom instructions: tone, audience & goal.

Upload 1-3 reference files (download as .md file).

Use this set up guide: ruben.substack.com/p/i-…

____

What happens next:

→ Tasks that took 2 hours take 20 minutes

→ You stop rewriting 80% of AI output

→ You stop Googling "best AI prompts 2026."

→ You start asking better questions to AI (core skill)

____

What changes after:

✦ You stop saying, "I should learn AI."

✦ You stop saving tutorials you'll never watch.

✦ You open a chat with a task, not a hope.

✦ You switch from ChatGPT to Claude.

✦ You are now 3x faster and more efficient.