Write it down once

⏱ 40 min7 steps

Most small businesses run on what's in the owner's head, until the owner is out sick or someone new starts on a Monday. Claude will interview you about one job, one question at a time, and turn your answers into a checklist a new hire can follow. Some people call this an . Pick a job you do often. Explaining something you could do half asleep is harder than it sounds, and you'll go blank at least once. Claude's next question usually gets you going.

SOP Short for standard operating procedure. The written steps for how a job is done, so anyone can do it the same way. All words

Steps

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Pick one job to write down
Start with a job that's done often, or one only you know how to do. For an electrician, that might be checking the van before a job. A store might write down opening up, from the alarm to the register. An office might write down sending the month's bills, and a one-person bookkeeper how a new client gets set up.
1. Write the job's name in a few words, like Open the store or Check the van.
2. Write what starts it, like 8:30 on weekdays or a new booking comes in.
That's not what I see
Every job feels too big.
Pick a smaller piece of it. "Open the store" is one checklist. "Run the store" is twenty.
Start a new chat and have Claude interview you
This has Claude ask you about the job one question at a time, the way a new hire would, before it writes anything.

drafts and sorts; a person approves anything with a price, a date or your name on it. Claude writes the checklist from your answers. You check every line before anyone uses it.

Talk about people by their role, like the customer, the site lead or the Saturday staff, never by name. Leave out door codes, alarm codes, safe combinations and passwords. Write ask the manager for the code instead.
1. Open the or claude.ai and start a new chat.
2. Copy the prompt below.
```
I own a small business, [what you do]. I want to write down how we do one job, as a checklist a new hire could follow on their first day. The job: [the job]. Interview me about it. Ask one question at a time, and wait for my answer. Find out what starts the job, what's needed before you begin, each step in order, how you know each step is done right, what usually goes wrong and what to do then, who to ask when stuck, and how you know the job is finished. Ask a follow-up question when my answer skips something. Don't write the checklist yet. Never invent a step, a tool, a time or an amount I haven't told you. I'll use roles like "the customer" or "the manager" instead of names.
```
1. Paste it into the chat. Replace the parts in square brackets with what you do and the job's name.
2. Send it.
prompt What you type to Claude. A good one says what you want, how to work and what never to do. All wordsAI Short for artificial intelligence. Here it means a program like Claude that reads what you write and writes back in plain words. All wordsClaude app Claude on your phone or computer, where you chat with it by typing. claude.ai is the same thing in a web browser. All words
You should see:
Claude asks its first question about the job, and only one.
That's not what I see
Claude asked me everything at once.
Type this and send it: One at a time, please. Then answer the first one.
I typed someone's name by mistake.
Reply: From now on, call them the customer (or their role). When you've saved the checklist, delete the chat. In the left sidebar, hover over it, click **⋮**, choose **Delete**, then **Delete** again. On iPhone, touch and hold the chat, tap **Delete**, then **Delete** again.
Answer until Claude runs out of questions
1. Answer each question in your own words, the way you'd explain it to someone standing next to you.
2. When you're not sure, say I don't know yet. Don't let Claude fill the gap.
3. When Claude stops asking, or you've covered it all, type That's everything and send it.
That's not what I see
Claude keeps asking, and it's going on too long.
Type this and send it: Ask your three most important questions left, then stop.
Have Claude write the checklist
This prompt turns your answers into a checklist, one action per step, and keeps any step Claude thinks you missed in a separate list for you to decide.
1. Copy the prompt below.
```
Now write the checklist from my answers only. Use these headings: the job's name; when it's done and who does it, as a role; what you need before you start; the steps, numbered, each starting with a verb, one action per step; how you know it's done right; what usually goes wrong and what to do; and who to ask, as a role. Write FILL IN for anything I didn't answer, and I DON'T KNOW YET where I said I didn't know. Don't add steps, tools, times or amounts I didn't give you. If you think I missed a step, list it at the end under ASK THE OWNER and keep it out of the checklist.
```
1. Paste it into the same chat and send it.
2. Read the ASK THE OWNER list, and decide whether each one belongs in the checklist.
You should see:
A numbered checklist under those headings, with FILL IN where you didn't answer and an ASK THE OWNER list at the end.
That's not what I see
A step has two or three actions in it.
Reply: Split step [number] so each step is one action.
Have someone follow it
You wrote it, so you'll fill the gaps without noticing. Someone else won't.
1. Give the checklist to someone who doesn't usually do this job, like a newer staff member or a family member who helps out.
2. Watch them follow it, without helping.
3. Write down every spot where they stop, ask a question or do something different.
4. Write the change for each spot in your own words.
That's not what I see
There's nobody else to try it.
Follow it yourself next time you do the job, doing exactly what each line says and nothing more. Mark every spot where you did something the checklist doesn't say.
Save the checklist and the template
This prompt saves the finished checklist, a blank one for the next job, and the interview prompt so you can do this again.
1. Copy the prompt below.
```
Give me three things on one page. First, the checklist again with the changes I give you below, with Last checked: FILL IN under the title. Second, a blank template with the same headings and blanks in square brackets, for the next job. Third, the interview prompt from the start of this chat, with the job as [the job], so I can use it again. Add nothing else. My changes: [your changes, or NONE]
```
1. Paste it into the same chat. Replace the part in square brackets with your changes from Step 5, or NONE.
2. Send it.
3. Copy the page into a document called How we do it, and fill in the date.
You should see:
The finished checklist, a blank with the same headings, and the interview prompt.
template A starting point with blanks to fill in, so you don't start from nothing every time. All words
That's not what I see
The page looks messy when I paste it.
Ask Claude for it as plain text, with a blank line between sections. Then copy it again.
Put it where the job happens
1. Print the checklist, or put it in the shared your staff already use.
2. Put a printed copy where the job is done, like by the register, in the van or by the office printer.
3. Add a reminder in your calendar for three months from now called Check the checklist and the job's name.
folder A place on your computer that holds files and other folders, like a drawer in a filing cabinet. All words
That's not what I see
Nobody has reported a snag on this step yet. Getting stuck is normal. Read the step again one line at a time, and compare your screen with the video.

Your challenge

Write down one job this week that only you know how to do. Have someone else follow the checklist while you watch without helping, and fix every spot where they stopped.

Last checked 2026-10-20

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