Molly’s ChatGPT Cheat Sheet

Ask well

Talk to it like a smart friend who knows nothing about your situation.

Say what you want. Name the task in a sentence.

Give the background. Who it’s for, what matters, what you’ve tried.

Describe the answer. Length, tone and shape, like “a table comparing cost, length and hours.”

Show an example. Paste one you like and say “write mine like this.”

Instead ofWhat job should I do?

Try

Which careers use the skills a server builds, like staying calm under pressure, juggling tasks and looking after people? Give me five, with the training each needs, how long it takes and the usual hours.

Instead ofFix my résumé.

Try

Turn these server duties into three résumé bullet points for jobs outside restaurants: taking orders on a busy floor, handling complaints, training new staff and closing out the till. Use plain, confident words.

Then keep going. Ask for more, or say what to change, instead of starting over:

“Tell me more about the second career.”
“What’s a normal day like in that job?”
“Put these in a table.”
“What did you assume about me?”

Two more to try. Paste them as they are:

“Help me practise for a job interview. Ask me one question at a time, then tell me how to make each answer stronger.”
“Help me plan a week with time for work, study, rest and family. Ask me about my week first.”

Keep chats separate

ChatGPT does its best work when each chat sticks to one thing.

New topic, new chat. Tap New chat when you change subject, so topics don’t muddle each other.

Long chats drift. A chat can only hold so much, and early details start to slip. Ask for “a summary of what we’ve decided,” then paste it into a new chat.

Projects keep related chats together. A project is a folder of chats with its own files and instructions, like “Career change.” Tap New project in the sidebar.

What ChatGPT knows about you

Memory: It can remember things from earlier chats. See, change or turn it off in SettingsPersonalizationMemory. You can also ask “What do you remember about me?” or say “Forget that…”
Custom instructions: Tell it once how you like answers, like “Keep it short and plain.” Find them in SettingsPersonalization, or SettingsCustomize ChatGPT in the phone app.
Temporary chat: A clean slate that stays out of your history and memory. In a new chat, tap Temporary. Pick Unpersonalized first if you want it to ignore what it knows about you.

Chat, co-work, code

Three ways to use AI, and ChatGPT has all three. In its phone and desktop apps, pick Chat or Work at the top of the screen.

Chat

Everyday questions

You ask, it answers, you steer.

For questions, ideas, explanations and first drafts.

In ChatGPTChat, the usual mode.

Co-work

Jobs with many steps

You hand it a job, and it does the steps.

It plans, works through your files, apps and the web, and hands back finished work, like a spreadsheet comparing training programs. It asks before important steps, so read what it plans before you say yes.

In ChatGPTWork. Any plan in the desktop app; Plus or higher on the web and phone.

ElsewhereClaude Cowork, Microsoft Copilot Cowork.

Code

Programmers

It writes and runs software.

You can skip this one.

In ChatGPTCodex, in the desktop app. ElsewhereClaude Code.

“Co-work” is a product name more than a settled term. ChatGPT calls it Work; Claude and Microsoft call it Cowork.

Trust, but check

It sounds just as sure when it’s wrong.

Use it for a first draft. It can get facts and quotes wrong, and even invent sources.

Ask for sources, then open them. For pay, course costs or job requirements, say “Search the web and link your sources,” then check the links say what it claims.

Ask it to check itself. “What might be wrong with that answer?”

Keep private things out. No passwords, card or ID numbers, and take your address and phone number off a résumé before you paste it.

Choose whether your chats help train it. If you’d rather they didn’t, turn off SettingsData controlsImprove the model for everyone.