You've got a big job: where do you even start? — Making a plan
Planning isn't knowing the right answer — it's breaking a big lump into small pieces.
1 · Think first
When you feel stuck, don't ask AI for the answer — ask it to break the job down. Planning isn't about knowing the right answer; it's about deciding what to do first.
There's a set shape for breaking things down: goal → split → order → check. Fill in those four boxes and you've got a plan.
AI research uses the same trick. When AI was made to break a hard problem into small ones and solve them in turn, it did much better than when it was asked all at once.
2 · Experiment · Put it in order
Try it — Tap the four boxes in order
Tap the mixed-up pieces in plan order. Swap even one box, and you'll see right away why the plan falls apart.
Tap the pieces below in the order you think is right.
Figure
The four boxes of a plan
Fill these four boxes and any job becomes a plan — leave one out, and that's exactly where things go wrong.
3 · Quiz
Quick check
Three questions. Pick an answer and it's marked right away, with the reason why.
Today in one line
Today in one line
Planning isn't knowing the right answer —
it's breaking a big lump into small pieces.
Learn more
- A method that has AI break a hard problem into smaller ones and solve them in turn — Least-to-Most Prompting Enables Complex Reasoning in Large Language Models (2022)
- A study where making AI plan first and then solve cut down on calculation mistakes — Plan-and-Solve Prompting (2023)
- Where this whole line of ideas started: have AI write out its thinking one step at a time, and the answers get better — Chain-of-Thought Prompting Elicits Reasoning in Large Language Models (2022)