奇创岛

From «Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less»

Build Your Own Essentialism Daily AI Toolkit

You'll transform the core judgment tools from *Essentialism* — a 90% scoring assistant, a graceful-decline generator, a weekly-plan simplifier, an information-diet assistant, a to-do filter prompt, a social-invitation evaluator, a project-priority ranker, and an extracurricular evaluator — into ready-to-use prompt templates that run directly in ChatGPT or Claude. You'll test each tool against your own real scenarios and compile everything into a personal "Essentialism AI Toolkit Handbook" you can reach for anytime.

Final work

A complete *Essentialism Daily AI Toolkit Prompt Pack*

Estimated time

1.5–2.5 hr

Submitted

…

Your final work

Purpose:Turn the seven core judgment tools from *Essentialism* into prompt templates you can invoke directly in any AI chat window, so essentialist thinking activates whenever you face overload, decision paralysis, or the pressure to say yes — not only during the inspiring moments of reading the book.

Parts:

  • Toolkit preface: write a one-sentence 'usage agreement' between you and this toolkit — specifying in which situations you commit to using it
  • 90% Scoring AI Assistant prompt (includes system prompt + user input template + output format)
  • Graceful-Decline Generator prompt (includes scenario categories + polite-refusal logic + copy-paste-ready response output format)
  • Weekly Plan Simplifier prompt (includes current-task input format + Three Essential Questions review + simplified weekly plan output format)
  • Information Diet Assistant prompt (includes subscription list input + value/anxiety scoring + unsubscribe/mute recommendation output format)
  • To-Do Filter prompt (includes full to-do list input + 90% Rule auto-sorting + 'only three things today' output format)
  • Social Invitation Evaluator prompt (includes invitation details input + energy-value judgment + Yes/No decision + graceful-decline script — all in one)
  • Project Priority Ranker prompt (includes multi-project list input + Explore–Eliminate Three Questions batch review + single priority-order output)
  • Extracurricular Evaluator prompt (includes extracurricular list + child's genuine interest + family energy cost + keep/drop recommendation output)
  • One real test record: choose one tool from the pack, write out your actual input + the AI's output + the decision you made as a result

Use cases:

  • · During weekly planning, run the Weekly Plan Simplifier and To-Do Filter prompt to cut 20 tasks down to 3
  • · When an invitation or new commitment arrives, run it through the 90% Scoring Assistant or Social Invitation Evaluator before replying
  • · When you feel information anxiety, invoke the Information Diet Assistant to batch-clear low-value subscriptions
  • · When you need to decline something, run the Graceful-Decline Generator to get polished, copy-ready wording
  • · When juggling multiple projects simultaneously, use the Project Priority Ranker to arrive at a single ranked order

Pick a topic

Pick the topic closest to you, or write a custom one when you submit.

Personal Life

Family & Parenting

Work & Projects

Communication & Relationships

Tools you'll use from the book

90% Scoring System Prompt

Encode the principle 'if it's not a clear Yes, it's a No' into the AI's system role, so the AI evaluates any item you input from an essentialist standpoint.

How to use it here:

Design a system prompt that has the AI play the role of an 'Essentialism Review Officer': for any item the user inputs, it scores it 0–10 (below 9 = recommend No) and provides the scoring rationale + what you'll lose if you say No + what you'll give up if you say Yes. During testing, input a real option you're currently facing and see whether the AI's output helps you see the trade-off more clearly.

Boundaries:

The AI only helps you see the trade-off clearly — final decision authority belongs to you. Don't reflexively decline because the AI gave a score of 8; the quality of the information you provide as input determines how useful the output is as a reference.

Graceful-Decline Prompt

Design a prompt that takes your description of an overstepping request and generates 2–3 graceful refusal scripts you can copy and send directly (no apology, no over-explaining, preserves the other person's options).

How to use it here:

The prompt needs to tell the AI: (1) who the other person is, (2) what they are asking, (3) your real reason for not wanting to agree, and (4) the closeness of your relationship. The AI should output: a soft version (for close relationships) / a neutral version (for colleagues) / a formal version (for professional contexts), each with a 'key phrase analysis' explaining why it works.

Boundaries:

The decline scripts are here to help you express your boundaries, not to have the AI fabricate excuses on your behalf. The reasons you write in the prompt must be genuine, and you should filter the AI's output yourself before sending anything.

Subtraction Analysis Prompt

Design a structured analysis prompt — usable for both weekly plan simplification and information-diet reduction — that applies the Three Essential Questions to batch-filter any list.

How to use it here:

Prompt structure: user inputs a list → AI evaluates each item on 'necessity / timing / replaceability' → outputs a three-zone result: 'essential list / can-be-postponed list / can-be-deleted list,' plus an overall reduction rate (e.g., from 15 tasks → 3 essentials). Applicable scenarios: weekly plan simplification, to-do list cleanup, subscription audit.

Boundaries:

Batch subtraction can cause collateral damage. The prompt should include a 'retention boundary': instruct the AI to flag any item it recommends deleting as 'suggest confirming with user' before finalizing, to prevent cutting important things due to insufficient context.

Explore–Eliminate Three Questions Prompt

Embed essentialism's three core questions — 'Is this necessary? Is this the right time? Am I the right person to do this?' — into a prompt so the AI runs every input item through all three gates.

How to use it here:

Best suited for the 'Project Priority Ranker' and 'Extracurricular Evaluator' scenarios: the user inputs multiple options with background context, and the AI answers all three questions for each option individually. Items where all three answers are Yes enter the 'Essential List'; items with any No receive a specific explanation. Final output: items that passed the Three Questions (in unique ranked order) + items that did not pass (with suggested handling).

Boundaries:

The Three Questions are not a veto tool — they're here to help you see why a given item simultaneously satisfies 'necessary + right timing + only I can do this.' The prompt should instruct the AI: for items where the Three Questions are ambiguous, guide the user to provide more information rather than defaulting to a No judgment.

Buffer Zone Design Assistant

The core of essentialism's 'execution' chapter: build buffer time around what matters most so that essentialist behavior happens through system design, not willpower.

How to use it here:

Design a prompt that takes the user's 'core goal + current schedule' and outputs a 'buffer zone protection plan': (1) identifies which calendar slots can be protected as deep-work time, (2) recommends a 'pre-emptive decline mechanism' to keep meetings from encroaching, and (3) outputs a 'this week's buffer zone design' (specific to time blocks).

Boundaries:

Buffer zone design requires real schedule information as input. The prompt should remind the user: 'Please provide an actual week's schedule (rough time blocks are fine — no need for minute-level precision).' Without this, the AI's output plan cannot be implemented in practice.

Work rules

Your work MUST include

  • At least 5 complete prompt templates, each containing a system prompt or role setup + a user input template + an expected output format
  • Each prompt template mapped to a specific essentialism scenario drawn from real life (not a vague 'help me prioritize')
  • At least one real test record: pick one prompt, write out your actual input + the AI's full output + the decision you made based on it
  • A 'Toolkit Usage Agreement': state the contexts in which you commit to using this toolkit, and what the cost is when you skip it
  • The toolkit preface must include at least one example of a 'non-essential decision' you made in the past when you didn't have this kind of tool

Your work CANNOT just be

  • Don't just quote the book's tool descriptions without converting them into working prompt templates
  • Don't let the AI generate 'your real-life experience' — the test records in the toolkit must come from scenarios you actually entered
  • Don't turn the toolkit into a knowledge summary; the core deliverable is the prompt templates themselves, not reflections on your understanding of essentialism
  • Don't omit a 'usage boundary' note — every prompt needs one sentence explaining when it should NOT be used
  • Don't write all the prompts with identical structures; different tools have different trigger scenarios and output formats

AI can help you here

Round 1: Help me choose which tool to build first

When to use: You're not sure which prompt tool to start with, or you have too many scenarios in mind and can't decide which to prioritize.

I'm working through the route “{{route name}}” from *{{book title}}*, with the goal of building an Essentialism AI Toolkit of prompt tools.

Based on my situation, please help me identify 1–2 of the following tool scenarios that I should build first, and explain why.

My situation:
[Fill in your background: what scenario most often triggers a feeling of overload in your daily life? Is it hard to say no to people, a chaotic to-do list, or too many projects at once? Which scenario would deliver the most immediate value if you had an AI tool for it?]

Available tool scenarios:
[Paste the list of topics from this route]

Please output:
1. The 1–2 tools you most recommend building first (with reasoning)
2. Which everyday decision-making scenario will improve immediately once these 1–2 tools are built
3. What information I need to prepare before building these tools (e.g., clarifying my primary goal, listing all current projects)
4. The most common quality pitfalls in toolkit projects (help me avoid them)

Yellow placeholders need you to fill in before using the AI.

AI can help you organize ideas, but cannot make final judgments for you. Don't let AI fabricate experiences, cases, or misleading content.

Round 2: Help me refine a prompt template

When to use: You've already written a draft prompt but it doesn't feel quite right, or you're unsure how to write the system prompt.

My project is the route “{{route name}}” from *{{book title}}*.

My chosen topic is:
{{topic}}

Here is my draft prompt:
[Paste your draft prompt here]

Please evaluate and refine this prompt across the following dimensions:
1. Does the system prompt clearly define the AI's role and the criteria it should use to judge?
2. Is the user input format structured enough so the AI receives the information it needs to make a decision?
3. Is the output format specific enough to copy and use directly?
4. Is the connection between this prompt and the core essentialism tools (the 90% Rule / Three Essential Questions) clear?
5. Is the usage boundary stated (i.e., when should this tool NOT be used)?

Please output:
- An evaluation summary (what's already working well)
- Specific suggestions for what to add or revise
- A refined version of the prompt that I can use as a direct replacement

Yellow placeholders need you to fill in before using the AI.

AI can help you organize ideas, but cannot make final judgments for you. Don't let AI fabricate experiences, cases, or misleading content.

Round 3: Help me review my completed toolkit

When to use: You've finished all the prompt templates and the real test record and are ready to submit.

I'm submitting my Shufang Island project work.

Book: *{{book title}}*
Route: {{route name}}
My topic: {{topic}}

My draft work:
{{draft work}}

Please review this toolkit against the following criteria:
1. Does it include at least 5 complete prompt templates (each with a role setup + input format + output format)?
2. Does each prompt correspond to a specific essentialism application scenario (not just a vague 'help me prioritize')?
3. Does the real test record include actual input content + the AI's actual output + the decision the user made as a result?
4. Does the toolkit preface include a 'usage agreement' and at least one past non-essential decision as an example?
5. Are each prompt's output formats 'copy-and-use-ready,' or are they just suggestions?
6. Does the toolkit clearly differentiate from other Essentialism routes (the character profile, decision matrix, refusal script library, 30-day plan) — the core of this route is 'callable AI prompts,' not another log of applying the book's tools?
7. Is it ready to submit?

Please output:
- Overall assessment
- What's already well done
- What must be revised
- What could be strengthened
- A suggested structure for the revised work

Yellow placeholders need you to fill in before using the AI.

AI can help you organize ideas, but cannot make final judgments for you. Don't let AI fabricate experiences, cases, or misleading content.

Submit my work