ChatGPT prompt to replace a meeting with an async update

This is the prompt we run to replace a status meeting with a written update. Its core rule: it structures your notes into a status you can read at a glance, and marks “TBC” any date your notes did not contain, instead of inventing it.

The prompt to copy

Turn my notes into an async status update for {Slack channel / email}. Structure:
🟢 Done/shipped · 🟡 In progress (with expected dates) · 🔴 Blocked (what I need and from whom) · 📌 Decisions needed (tag {names}) · FYI.
One line per item. Use only what I gave you; mark missing dates as "TBC" — do not invent them.
Notes: {paste}

Replace the fields in curly braces (the channel, the people to tag), then paste your notes as-is.

When to use it

Whenever a status meeting only exists to move information around, with no real decision to make together. The written update replaces the round-table: everyone reads when they want, blockers get addressed to the right person, and the meeting hour goes back to everyone.

What you get back

1. A status you can read in three seconds, by color-coded dots.
2. What’s done, what’s moving with its dates, what’s blocked.
3. The decisions needed, addressed by name to the right people.
4. Missing dates marked “TBC”, never invented.

Real example: raw notes → status update

Input: Tom’s notes, at Brightside, for the weekly update on the Fernhill Coffee project. An excerpt, as-is:

site mockups delivered ok. content in progress, Léa aiming for end of week I think. blocked on HD photos, still don't have them from the client. need Maya to approve the palette before we move on dev. launch pushed but no new date

Output, the part that matters:

Fernhill Coffee project update 📊

🟢 Done/shipped
- Site mockups: delivered.

🟡 In progress
- Page content: Léa, date TBC ("end of week" mentioned).

🔴 Blocked
- HD photos: still not received from the client. I need them to integrate.

📌 Decisions needed
- @Maya: approve the palette before we start dev.

FYI
- Launch pushed, new date TBC.

Notice what the AI did not do: it invented neither the content-completion date nor the new launch date, because the notes did not give them. It wrote “TBC” in both places. That is the prompt working: you fill what’s missing, the update stays honest.

The full playbook, with the status-update template and examples per channel, ships inside the kit.