A good data work prompt isn't a magic trick. It's a checklist you don't have to remember, run by something that never gets bored.
Name the failure modes
Lock the parts that never change and leave one slot for the variable. Now every run shares a family resemblance instead of starting from scratch.
- Keep one ask per prompt — chaining beats cramming
- Ask for three angles, then cut to the one worth shipping
- Name the audience and the single goal before you generate
Anchor to one reader
Write down what you never want as explicitly as what you do. The exclusions often do more work than the instructions.
Treat the first output as a draft, not a verdict. The prompt does the typing; you keep the judgment about what ships.