--- title: "A little AI practice, every day" description: "Twenty-one practical AI challenges with a request, success check, and deeper variation. Save your progress on this device." author: Graham date: 2026-09-06 url: https://powerofai.ca/practice --- # A little AI practice, every day Twenty-one practical AI challenges with a request, success check, and deeper variation. Save your progress on this device. Choose a challenge at your own level. The daily pick rotates through this authored library using your device's local date; it is not a newly generated lesson every day. Completion records are saved in this browser. There are no streaks or qualifications. ## Bring one real task 5 minutes of suggested practice. Choose a small thing you need to do tomorrow and turn it into a short conversation. ### Request to adapt Help me with [task]. Here is my situation: [two relevant facts]. Suggest three options and tell me what information would change your recommendation. ### Check your attempt Choose an option for a reason you can explain. Correct an assumption before using it. ### A harder variation Add a new constraint and see which parts of the answer need to change. [Related lesson](/learn/ai-beyond-search) ## Rescue a disappointing answer 5 minutes of suggested practice. Find a reply that missed the point. Fix one specific problem with a follow-up. ### Request to adapt Keep [part that works]. Change [specific problem] because [reason]. Show only the revised section. ### Check your attempt The revision fixes your issue without altering a detail you wanted to preserve. ### A harder variation Write a second follow-up for a different kind of problem: factual, structural, or stylistic. [Related lesson](/learn/better-follow-up-questions) ## Catch the unsupported leap 5 minutes of suggested practice. Read a short generated answer and identify its most consequential factual claim. ### Request to adapt Identify the claim here that most needs verification. What source passage would establish it, and what would remain uncertain? ### Check your attempt Open the source yourself. If none is available, leave the claim unresolved. ### A harder variation Find a claim that is plausible but not established by the supplied evidence. [Related lesson](/learn/check-ai-answers) ## Explain it without the chat 10 minutes of suggested practice. Practice a small idea you want to understand, then explain it in your own words. ### Request to adapt Ask me one question about [topic]. Wait for my answer and give a hint before showing a solution. Then ask a different question using the same idea. ### Check your attempt Close the chat and answer a new example without help. ### A harder variation Explain the concept to a friend without using the original analogy. [Related lesson](/learn/learn-with-ai-without-outsourcing) ## Rehearse the difficult minute 10 minutes of suggested practice. Practice introducing an idea or answering a question you find awkward. ### Request to adapt Role-play a colleague asking about [project]. Ask one realistic question at a time. After three answers, give feedback on clarity and one thing to improve. ### Check your attempt You finish with a clearer answer you could actually say aloud. ### A harder variation Ask the partner to misunderstand one point so you can practice clarifying it. [Related lesson](/learn/ai-beyond-search) ## Ask for a decision, not a bigger list 5 minutes of suggested practice. Use your constraints to narrow an ordinary choice. ### Request to adapt Compare these three options against [two criteria]. Explain the tradeoff in each. Ask for any missing fact that would materially change the choice. ### Check your attempt Your choice follows your criteria, rather than simply picking the first option. ### A harder variation Change one priority and see whether the recommendation should change. [Related lesson](/learn/better-follow-up-questions) ## Teach a format with one example 10 minutes of suggested practice. Build a reusable format for a message or update you write regularly. ### Request to adapt Use this example only for structure: [short fictional example]. Apply it to these new notes: [notes]. Use “not stated” for missing facts. ### Check your attempt Names, dates, and numbers come from the new notes, not the fictional example. ### A harder variation Try a note with a missing owner and another with a cancelled action. [Related lesson](/learn/prompt-with-examples) ## Make a one-page context pack 15 minutes of suggested practice. Write the background you repeatedly explain for one project. ### Request to adapt Help organize my project context into goal, audience, approved facts, constraints, example output, and open questions. Flag conflicting or outdated information. ### Check your attempt Remove obsolete facts and identify which source governs each important detail. ### A harder variation Give the pack to a fresh conversation and see what it still needs to ask. [Related lesson](/learn/context-that-actually-helps) ## Keep your favorite sentence 10 minutes of suggested practice. Improve a draft while protecting the part that sounds most like you. ### Request to adapt Keep this sentence unchanged: [sentence]. Edit the surrounding draft for clarity. Preserve qualifications and list any changes in meaning. ### Check your attempt Read the revision aloud and undo at least one change if it weakens your voice. ### A harder variation Supply a short voice sample and name two features that should carry over. [Related lesson](/learn/ai-writing-with-your-voice) ## Find an agreement and a disagreement 15 minutes of suggested practice. Compare two short public sources on a topic you care about. ### Request to adapt Using these sources, show one agreement, one difference, and one question they cannot answer. Cite the relevant passage for each observation. ### Check your attempt Check that the differences are not simply different dates or definitions. ### A harder variation Explain what additional evidence would resolve the disagreement. [Related lesson](/learn/research-with-your-own-sources) ## Run a fair tool comparison 15 minutes of suggested practice. Try the same small task in two tools you already have access to. ### Request to adapt Complete [task] using only these inputs. The result must satisfy [three observable criteria]. Flag missing information. ### Check your attempt Record the corrections each result needs, including work required to use the output. ### A harder variation Try an awkward second input to see whether the initial difference holds. [Related lesson](/learn/compare-ai-tools) ## Improve a brief by removing something 5 minutes of suggested practice. Find a reusable prompt with redundant or conflicting instructions. ### Request to adapt Review this brief. Identify one instruction that conflicts with the goal or repeats another instruction. Explain the effect before proposing a smaller version. ### Check your attempt Test the shorter version on the same task and see whether any useful instruction was lost. ### A harder variation Add back only a rule tied to a failure you can demonstrate. [Related lesson](/learn/context-that-actually-helps) ## Explore three different premises 10 minutes of suggested practice. Find distinct directions for a small creative project. ### Request to adapt For [project], propose a practical direction, a story direction, and a surprising-question direction. Include audience fit, a sample, and one drawback for each. ### Check your attempt The directions differ in their underlying idea, not just their adjectives. ### A harder variation Choose one and make a rough sample before polishing the wording. [Related lesson](/learn/creative-directions) ## Give an image somewhere to live 10 minutes of suggested practice. Build a brief for an actual banner, invitation, or illustration. ### Request to adapt Create [subject] for [placement]. Use [composition], [light], and [medium]. Keep [area] clear for text. Avoid embedded lettering. ### Check your attempt Inspect at the intended size and check whether the layout leaves room for its purpose. ### A harder variation Keep the subject fixed and compare two compositions. [Related lesson](/learn/image-prompts-that-work) ## Change one thing in an image 10 minutes of suggested practice. Direct a revision while keeping the useful parts intact. ### Request to adapt Preserve [three visible details]. Change only [one feature]. Use the attached image as the reference for everything else. ### Check your attempt Compare the whole image, including details outside the requested edit. ### A harder variation Make a simple version log showing which details changed unexpectedly. [Related lesson](/learn/iterate-on-ai-images) ## Make a tiny creative package 20 minutes of suggested practice. Combine a direction, image brief, and short message for one event. ### Request to adapt Develop this chosen direction into a headline, a 60-word invitation, and a visual brief. Use only the confirmed facts below and flag any missing event details. ### Check your attempt All three pieces express the same idea and agree on the practical details. ### A harder variation Show someone the sample and ask what action they think it invites. [Related lesson](/learn/creative-directions) ## Delegate one inspectable artifact 15 minutes of suggested practice. Turn a broad project into one useful piece an agent can complete. ### Request to adapt Produce [artifact] from [sources] in [workspace]. You may [actions]. Stop before [review point]. Completion means [observable checks]. ### Check your attempt Open the artifact and check it against the stated completion criteria. ### A harder variation Record one ambiguous instruction and revise the brief before repeating the task. [Related lesson](/learn/from-chat-to-agent) ## Draw the action boundary 10 minutes of suggested practice. Separate what an agent can prepare from what you want to review. ### Request to adapt For this workflow, list actions required to prepare a draft, actions that change external state, and the exact artifact I should review before those changes. ### Check your attempt Compare the proposed boundary with the actual application permissions. ### A harder variation Remove one unnecessary permission and confirm the task still works. [Related lesson](/learn/agent-permissions) ## Build a five-case test 20 minutes of suggested practice. Challenge a recurring workflow with ordinary and awkward inputs. ### Request to adapt Test this workflow on ordinary input, missing information, conflicting facts, a cancellation, and empty input. Score [criteria] and show failures before suggesting changes. ### Check your attempt Keep one extra case aside and use it only after revising the workflow. ### A harder variation Repeat a variable result and record whether the same failure recurs. [Related lesson](/learn/test-an-ai-workflow) ## Measure the whole task 15 minutes of suggested practice. Find out whether a workflow helps after preparation and review. ### Request to adapt Help me create a time log for preparation, generation, review, corrections, and export. Keep estimates separate from observed times. ### Check your attempt Measure an actual run rather than relying entirely on the initial estimates. ### A harder variation Use the workflow calculator to find the break-even point under a slower-review scenario. [Related lesson](/learn/test-an-ai-workflow) ## Leave a project ready to resume 10 minutes of suggested practice. Write a handoff for a task you will return to. ### Request to adapt Summarize the goal, current artifact, confirmed decisions, completed checks, unresolved issues, and next action. Distinguish work done from ideas proposed. ### Check your attempt Check the handoff against the actual files or artifact before saving it. ### A harder variation Resume from it in a fresh conversation and note what was missing. [Related lesson](/learn/handoff-a-long-project)