The workflow card

Plan, write and test a repeatable AI workflow: five tests, steps, standing instructions, a checklist and a test log.

Time: About 45 minutes
Version: 1.1, updated 11 Nov 2026
From the guide: Build your first repeatable AI workflow

How to use it

1Fill in the card for one task you do every week.
2Run your standing instructions on three past examples (one easy, one messy, one tricky) and log what went wrong.
3Keep the card where you'll find it next week, and re-test when your tool or model changes.

Prefer a file?Designed PDF (blank, with example answers)Plain text, for copying into an AI tool

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1. Task

What this workflow does, in one sentence

How often you run it

What a good result looks like (so you can judge it in two minutes)

2. Five tests

Tick all five before you build it.

This task is a good fit because

It repeats (weekly or more)
The input looks similar each time
I know what a good result looks like
Mistakes are cheap to catch, and I'll check every output
I'm allowed to paste this data into the tool I'll use

3. Steps

Mark who does each one.

Steps

	What happens
1. Prepare the input (me)
2. Draft (AI)
3. Check (me)
4. Send, file or use it (me)

4. Standing instructions

Paste these at the start of a new chat each time, or save them in your tool if it supports saved instructions. Keep the two rules below in every version.

Goal

Rules

Start with: Use only the input below. Don't add facts, names or dates that aren't in it. If something I need is missing, write NOT IN INPUT. Never guess.

Output format (exact)

5. Checklist

Run it on every output before you use it.

Every time

Every item can be traced to the input
No invented names, dates or numbers
Nothing important missing

Checks specific to your task

6. Test log

Run three past examples before you rely on it: one easy, one messy, one tricky.

Test log

	What went wrong	Rule I changed
Easy example
Messy example
Tricky example

7. Version

Tool and model used

Versions

A workflow makes results consistent and easy to check. It doesn't make them right: the check does. Don't paste confidential or personal information into a tool your organisation hasn't approved.

How to use it

One useful email a week.