Write a weekly status update in 10 minutes

Steps

1. Dump everything you did this week into a list. Do not tidy it.
2. Paste the prompt below with the list.
3. Check the "blocked" and "need" sections carefully. Those are the parts people act on.
4. Send it at the same time each week, so people learn when to expect it.

The prompt

Copy it, then replace the [highlighted parts] with your own details.

Here is everything I worked on this week, unsorted:
[PASTE YOUR NOTES OR TASK LIST]

The update goes to [WHO READS IT, e.g. my manager].

Write a weekly update with three short sections:
1. What moved forward, as results, not activities ("Supplier contract signed", not "Had calls with supplier")
2. What is stuck, and why
3. What I need, from whom, by when

Maximum 120 words. Leave out anything routine that the reader would not miss.

What a good result looks like

An illustrative example. The company and figures are made up.

Make it better

• Tell it who the reader is. An update for a director should be half the length of one for your team.
• Ask it to flag anything that has appeared in "stuck" for more than one week.
• Keep last week's update in the same chat, so it can show what changed since then.

Faster with

Before you paste anything, remove details you would not share outside your company, such as customer names, contract terms or personal information. How to use AI at work safely