{"id":17,"date":"2026-09-24T20:18:28","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T20:18:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nmi.cool\/ai\/?page_id=17"},"modified":"2026-09-28T04:38:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T04:38:34","slug":"03-give-it-a-brief","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nmi.cool\/ai\/03-give-it-a-brief\/","title":{"rendered":"03 Give it a brief"},"content":{"rendered":"

LESSON 03 \/ 10 MINUTES<\/strong><\/p>

\u201cBuild me a planner\u201d will probably get you a planner. Whether it\u2019s the planner you wanted is another question. Before you ask Codex to build, give it a short brief.<\/p>

Build a brief from four parts<\/h2>
  1. The goal.<\/strong> What should someone be able to do?<\/li>
  2. The context.<\/strong> Who is it for, and what does Codex need to know?<\/li>
  3. The boundaries.<\/strong> What should it use, avoid, or leave alone?<\/li>
  4. The finish line.<\/strong> What will you try to decide whether it works?<\/li><\/ol>

    These four parts are a useful starting point for most requests to Codex. Together, they should tell Codex what action to take. You don\u2019t need special phrases or a long speech about being an expert. Plain language works. Specific details help more than extra enthusiasm.<\/p>

    BEFORE<\/strong><\/p>

    Make an awesome productivity app.<\/p><\/div>

    A BETTER BRIEF, PIECE BY PIECE<\/strong><\/div>

    01 \u00b7 GOAL<\/strong><\/p>

    First, suggest a short plan for a task planner that lets me add tasks with due dates and estimated minutes.<\/p><\/div>

    02 \u00b7 CONTEXT<\/strong><\/p>

    I\u2019m a college student who wants to choose what to do during a 30-minute break between classes.<\/p><\/div>

    03 \u00b7 BOUNDARIES<\/strong><\/p>

    Use one local index.html file. No accounts or external libraries. Don\u2019t create files yet.<\/p><\/div>

    04 \u00b7 FINISH LINE<\/strong><\/p>

    The finished planner should let me add and complete a task, then find an unfinished task that fits my 30 minutes.<\/p><\/div>

    Read the four parts together: they form one complete request Codex can act on.<\/figcaption><\/figure>

    Decide what your planner is for<\/h2>

    Our shared project is My Week, Unstuck<\/strong>. Its job is to make it easier to choose a next task. The prompt below already supplies the technical boundaries: one local file, no accounts, and no external libraries. To make the other three parts your own, take two minutes to answer:<\/p>