A few months back, I was using AI every day, and every morning started the same way.
I'd open a new chat and retype who I am, what I do, who I'm writing for, how I want the answer. Then I'd do the actual task. Next morning, new chat, same retyping. The long chats were worse. Forty messages in, it had forgotten the tone we set at message three.
The context never had a place to live, so I kept rebuilding it from scratch. Every day.
You told me the same thing, in different words. "I lose important chats and files." "When a chat gets long, they lose their marbles." "Context loss kills flow."
🧘 The fix: let AI interview you, then give the profile a home
You don't have to write your context profile from a blank page. The model pulls it out of you.
Step 1: run the interview (5 minutes)
Paste this into ChatGPT:
I want to create a reusable context profile for my work
so I stop re-explaining myself in every chat.
Don't write the profile yet. First,
interview me one section at a time,
wait for each answer before the next question.
Cover: my role, who I serve,
my current main goal, the tools I use,
the tasks I keep coming back to, my tone, my decision style,
and what a genuinely useful answer looks like for me.
When we're done, write TWO versions:
1. A short version (5-6 lines)
I can paste at the top of any normal chat.
2. A full version I can save and upload into a Project.
Include a "don't assume" section
and a "verify before answering" section.
Keep it practical, cut the fluff,
and don't add personal details I didn't give you.Answer the questions like you're talking, not writing a resume. Five minutes.
Mine came out messy the first time. I rambled, repeated myself, said the same preference three different ways. It still worked. The model sorts the mess into something clean.
Step 2: give it a home (2 minutes)
Projects are free now in both ChatGPT and Claude.
Create a Project called My Work Context.
Upload the full version the interview gave you.
Paste this as the Project instruction:
Use my uploaded context profile
as background for everything in this Project.
Don't repeat it back to me.
Use it to understand my role, goals, audience,
tone, tools, constraints, and quality standards.
If a task conflicts with the
profile, say so and state your assumption.
Don't invent missing facts.Now anything tied to your work, you start inside that Project. No re-explaining. It already knows you.
Step 3: keep one backup (30 seconds)
Save the full version as a file you control. My_Work_Context_Profile.md in Drive, iCloud, Notion, wherever your files already live. If you ever work in a normal chat outside the Project, paste the short version at the top. That's your fallback.
Why this works
The interview asks the questions, so you just answer. The profile lives in a Project, so you stop re-explaining. The "verify" instruction rides inside every answer.
Your 5-minute win
Run the interview once today. Save the full version into a Project called My Work Context. The next work task you'd normally open a blank chat for, open the Project instead. That single habit is what turns the mess into a desk.
Do the interview on this page, right now. Five minutes today saves you the same five-minute re-explaining every chat this week.
How was today's issue?
🪜 One honest caveat
Your profile isn't the place for sensitive information. Keep client secrets, passwords, or anything confidential out of it. Save it for the context that helps ChatGPT understand how you work.
A Project carries your profile into every new chat, but it doesn't remember the conversations you've already had. If an older chat contains something important, you'll still need to bring that information into the new conversation.
Your profile also isn't something you write once and forget. As your work, role, or goals change, update it. An outdated profile can slowly make your answers less useful without making it obvious why.
Build your profile this week and start one Project from it. Next week I'm opening a room where people read each other's profiles and lift the first lines worth keeping, which sharpens yours faster than writing it solo.
Dan Rice · AI Signal Read once. Use AI better all week.