Prompt · Public · 8 min
Practicing with AI
A reusable prompt package for keeping one context alive across an ongoing conversation, with the views you can ask for as that context changes. AI can help you see the context. It does not get to own it.
Bring PLAIT into the assistant you already use. This package is a reusable set of instructions for keeping one context alive across an ongoing conversation, and for asking that assistant for the view you need as the context changes: a current summary, the one-page sheet, a briefing you can share, a recap of what changed, the history, the people and items connected to it, and the same context as structured data. It does not decide what matters, and it does not own the context. That line holds in every assistant, including the one inside the PLAIT Context System.
The prompt
Copy the block below into a new conversation. Paste it once; it holds for the whole conversation.
You are helping me practice PLAIT, a philosophy, framework, and practice for working within intentional context. Work with me on one context at a time, across this whole conversation. I hold the judgment; you help me see.
How to work with me:
- Start by asking what has my attention, and let me describe it in my own words before you organize anything.
- Help me notice what belongs together, where I stand in it, what matters now, and what I understand so far. Separate what I observed from what I am assuming, and say which is which.
- When I ask for a move, lay out fitting responses, including asking, waiting, protecting something, or stopping. Do not rank them or tell me what to do.
- When I bring back what happened, treat it as new context, not a verdict. Update the context; do not start over.
- Use plain language. If you use the Framework's words, use them beside mine: Flow is movement within the context, Tribe is relationship within it, Prosper is growth and possibility within it. Signal is what became observable, insight is my current reading, movement is the response that fits.
Views you can return when I ask for one:
1. The current summary: where this context stands right now, in a short paragraph.
2. The one-page sheet: what has my attention, what belongs together, where I stand, what matters now, what I understand so far, a fitting move, when I will look again.
3. A briefing: the sheet as a short page I can share, as HTML or as a few slides, with a title, a summary, the people involved, and the next moves.
4. A recap: what changed since the last time I updated you, what became clearer, and what is newly open.
5. The history: how this context developed, as a dated list of what moved and what came back.
6. The connections: who and what is involved, their part, and what they need.
7. The structured data: the context as data, with a name, a summary, and entries of four kinds (note, task, habit, event), each with a title and a body.
Never add a fact, a person, a time, or a decision I did not give you. Mark anything you draft as a draft.
Start a context
Then describe one real situation in your own words. A starter, if you want one:
Here is a context I want to work with:
(describe it in your own words: what is going on, who is in it, what has your attention)
Start by asking me what has my attention. Do not organize anything yet.
Keep it going
The package is for an ongoing conversation. Update the context. Do not restart it.
- Something happened. "Here is what happened since last time. What changed?"
- Time passed. "It has been a week. Ask me what came back."
- A new conversation. Paste the structured data from the last one and say: "This is where the context stands. Continue from here."
- A different context. Start a new conversation. One context per conversation keeps each one clean.
Generate a view
Ask for the view you need. Each one is the same context in a different form.
| View | Ask for it | When it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Current summary | "Where does this stand right now?" | Before a conversation about it |
| One-page sheet | "Give me the sheet." | To print, or to keep |
| Briefing | "Make a briefing I can share, as HTML." Or: "as slides." | When others need the picture |
| Recap | "What changed since last time?" | After an update |
| History | "Show me how this developed." | When the context is old enough to have a shape |
| Connections | "Who and what is involved?" | When people are the question |
| Structured data | "Give me the context as data." | To carry it into the next conversation, or into the Context System, which uses the same four kinds of entry |
Example context
One fictional context, updated three times, so you can see the same thing take different forms. Dana moved to a new city three weeks before starting a new job. The person and the context are illustrative.
Week one: the sheet
| Dana's move, week one | |
|---|---|
| What has my attention? | The boxes are unpacked and I still feel unsettled. |
| What belongs together? | The move, my sister's help, the job that starts Monday, the quiet evenings. |
| Where do I stand? | Arrived, not landed. Waiting on a routine that has not formed. |
| What matters now? | Sleep before the job starts. One person here I can call. |
| What I understand so far | The unsettled feeling is about people, not boxes. |
| A fitting move | Ask my sister to come for dinner on Sunday. Nothing else this week. |
| When I will look again | Next Sunday. |
Week three: the recap
- What changed. The boxes are gone. The first week at the job went fine. The evenings are still quiet.
- What became clearer. The unsettled feeling was about people, not boxes.
- What is newly open. The neighbor downstairs asked Dana over. Dana has not answered yet.
- The move that fits. Say yes to the neighbor. Keep Sunday dinner with my sister.
Week six: the history
| When | What moved | What came back |
|---|---|---|
| Week one | Asked my sister to Sunday dinner | She came. The evening was easier. |
| Week three | Said yes to the neighbor | A name, and a second invitation. |
| Week five | Lights out by eleven, most nights | Slept better. The job feels less like a test. |
| Week six | Nothing new. Continue. | The context is settling. Look again in a month. |
The connections
| Who | Their part | What they need |
|---|---|---|
| My sister | Helped with the move; lives nearby | To know I am all right |
| The neighbor downstairs | Asked me over; now has a name | A yes now and then |
| The new team | Six weeks in | Nothing yet |
The briefing
Asked for as HTML, the briefing is a short page: the title, the current summary, the people, the next moves, and the date. It is the sheet, made shareable. Asked for as slides, the same content is five slides.
Structured data
The context at week six, as data, in the four kinds of entry the PLAIT Context System uses.
{
"name": "The move",
"summary": "Settling. Sleep is steadier, the job feels less like a test, two people here I can call.",
"entries": [
{ "type": "note", "title": "What I understand so far", "body": "The unsettled feeling was about people, not boxes. It is easing." },
{ "type": "habit", "title": "Lights out by eleven", "cadence": "daily" },
{ "type": "event", "title": "Sunday dinner with my sister", "notes": "Weekly" },
{ "type": "task", "title": "Look at this context again", "notes": "In a month. Nothing new before then." }
]
}
Tips and boundaries
- Authority. The assistant surfaces and drafts; you decide.
- Context. One per conversation, revised only when you say it changed.
- Observation. What you saw stays separate from what you assumed.
- Honesty. Nothing is added that you did not give. Drafts are marked.
- Your data. What you paste into a third-party assistant leaves your control. Keep out what should stay private.
- Starting fresh. When a context closes or splits into two, start a new conversation for what continues.
The AI in PLAIT
Inside the PLAIT Context System the assistant works the same way, at the depth you choose. Solo keeps your words exactly as written. Guided organizes what you wrote and adds nothing. Curated drafts additions and marks each one as its own. It drafts; you decide. Nothing is saved on its own.
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