# How I AI: The prompting mistake almost everyone makes

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/how-i-work-960132/how-i-ai-the-prompting-mistake-almost-everyone-makes
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/how-i-work-960132/how-i-ai-the-prompting-mistake-almost-everyone-makes.md
Podcast: [How I Work](https://stenobird.com/podcast/how-i-work-960132)
Published: 2026-08-16T20:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://omny.fm/shows/how-i-work/slop-fixing-2026-08-final
Audio file: https://mgln.ai/e/187/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/fa326977-3de5-4283-9b8b-af3500c58607/190bd54e-82e6-43fb-8f6a-af46001792de/1f1d8aa7-3567-4708-8507-b49b0058b806/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=71f0c47d-eac4-4e42-b713-af46001792ec
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/how-i-work-960132/episodes/how-i-ai-the-prompting-mistake-almost-everyone-makes
Duration seconds: 711

## Resource

How much of your week goes into fixing what AI just handed you? Not writing from scratch, just cleaning up, correcting, and nudging a draft that looked fine for about ten seconds before you actually needed it to work.  That endless back and forth has a name. We call it slop fixing, and there is research suggesting it is quietly eating close to a full day of our working week.  In this How I AI episode, Neo and I get into why this happens and the two very different ways of working with AI that decide whether it does. You will hear the difference between gunslinging and architecting, what a proper brief actually sounds like, and how to have a conversation with AI before you ask it to build anything. By the end, you will be getting version one at 90 percent instead of 20.  What you'll learn:  What actually separates AI slop from work that lands  The difference between gunslinging and architecting with AI  What a proper brief for AI actually sounds like  How to have a real conversation with AI before asking it to build anything  Why version one can land at 90 percent instead of 20  Practical AI tools for productivity and focus  Real-world AI workflows used by high performers  How to use AI at work without burning out  Smart shortcuts for managing time and mental load    Connect with Neo Aplin on LinkedIn ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/neoaplin/ ) and via inventium.ai ( https://inventium.ai ), where he leads Inventium's AI training and upskilling work with organisations and teams.  How I AI is a special series within How I Work where Neo and I explore how high performers are using AI at work to boost productivity, make better de…

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