Lesson 26 of 32
The Law of the Loop
Prompt, Read, Refine
The first prompt is the opening move, not the whole game. Work in a loop instead: decide what you want before you type, send a good-enough prompt, read the answer against that aim, then tell the model exactly what to keep, cut, add or change - and when the answer is finally right, save the prompt as a template so tomorrow you start where today you finished.
This chapter transfers properly here, because research is the one task that is genuinely a loop: a first query returns a broad answer, you read what it actually sourced, and you narrow. The levers are different, though. Instead of Keep, Cut, Add, Change, you refine by tightening the question - adding the city, the year, the price band - by switching Focus mode when the sources are the wrong kind, and by following up inside the same thread so earlier findings stay in play. The Reuse step is a Space: save the project there with your standing context and the loop picks up where you left it next week, rather than starting cold. Read the citations, not just the summary, and let what you find in them drive the next round.
- Refine by narrowing the question, not by saying "make it better".
- Follow up in the same thread so earlier findings stay in context.
- Switch Focus mode when the sources are the wrong kind.
- Keep a project in a Space so next week's loop starts warm.
- Loop here for facts; take the writing to another tool.
Instead of
Make me a study plan for science.
Perplexity version
Research step first - I will build the timetable myself afterwards. I am a Class 10 CBSE student in Patna with four weeks until the Science board exam on [exam date]. 1. What is the current CBSE Class 10 Science syllabus and the published chapter-wise or unit-wise mark weightage for this academic year? Cite the CBSE source directly, not a coaching site summarising it. 2. Has anything been removed or rationalised from the syllabus this year? Link the official circular. 3. For chemical reactions and carbon compounds specifically, what do the last three years of board papers and official sample papers suggest about question types and marks? Cite the papers. 4. Where are the official sample papers and marking schemes published? Give me the links. If the weightage is not officially published and only coaching sites claim it, say so clearly and tell me which claim came from where. I need to know what is official and what is someone's guess.
Then loop it
- Narrow it: for carbon compounds only, what do the official marking schemes say about how marks are split between nomenclature, reactions and numericals? Cite the marking schemes themselves.
- Now compress everything you have found that is officially sourced into a short brief - weightage, removed topics, question patterns, links. I am going to paste that into another tool to build the four-week timetable, and I want it saved in my Space called "Class 10 boards" so I can come back to it.
Why it worksThe loop here narrows the research until the facts are official and sourced, so the timetable built from them rests on the real paper rather than on a guess.
Instead of
Write a message for my customers about Eid orders.
Perplexity version
Be clear about what this tool is for: writing a warm WhatsApp message in your own voice is not its strength, and asking for one gets you something that reads like an advertisement with footnotes. Use it for the facts behind the message, then write the message elsewhere. I run a small ladies' tailoring shop in Aminabad, Lucknow, and I am sending my regular customers a message about Eid orders. 1. What are the expected dates of Eid-ul-Fitr this year in India, and how firm is that date? Cite the source and explain the moon-sighting uncertainty in one line, since my last order date depends on it. 2. What is the current going rate for ladies' suit stitching in Lucknow - any reported ranges from local market coverage or listings? Cite what you find, and say plainly if the data is thin. 3. When do tailors in north Indian markets typically close new Eid orders relative to the festival, according to any reported coverage? Cite it. Then stop. Give me a three-line fact brief - likely Eid date, sensible last order date, price range - that I will take to another tool to write the actual Hindi and English message.
Then loop it
- The stitching rate data is thin. Search again for recent news or market reports on tailoring charges in Lucknow or comparable north Indian cities, and tell me honestly if there is nothing reliable - I will use my own rates.
- Good. Save this thread in a Space called "Shop - festival seasons" so that for Diwali and the wedding season I start from these sources instead of searching again. Then list the three facts I should check fresh each festival, since those are the ones that change.
Why it worksThe loop ends with Reuse in a different form: the sourced fact brief and the Space become the template, so the next festival begins from verified dates rather than from zero.
Instead of
Plan a trip to Varanasi for us.
Perplexity version
Of the three examples in this chapter, this is the one that genuinely belongs here: almost every open question is a current fact that ought to arrive with a link. Two travellers in their late sixties, Coimbatore to Varanasi, five days in [month]. Priorities: Kashi Vishwanath darshan, one Ganga aarti, one boat ride. Not Sarnath. Take each of these separately, cite everything, and give me a comparison wherever a comparison is possible. 1. Coimbatore to Varanasi - set rail against air in a table: total door-to-door hours, number of changes, and which is kinder to older passengers. Cite timetables and airline pages, not travel blogs. 2. Darshan as it currently works - what is bookable online, what each category costs, and whether any senior-citizen provision exists. Link the temple's own website, and tell me the date shown on the page you used. 3. Dashashwamedh aarti - current start time, and whether anything seated or boat-side exists that avoids standing in a crowd. Point out where your sources contradict one another. 4. Boating in [month] - water level, any restriction imposed this season, usual charges. Recent coverage, not an undated listing. 5. Lodging a short walk from the ghats that recent guests describe as quiet and step-free, lift rather than staircase. For each candidate, mark whether the accessibility claim comes from the property or from a guest who stayed there. Anything you cannot source, label unverified. I would rather carry a gap in my notes than a wrong time.
Then loop it
- Narrow to the part that worries us: Kashi Vishwanath darshan for two people in their late sixties. What exactly is bookable online, what does it cost, and what do recent visitor accounts say about waiting times and walking distance from the nearest drop-off point? Cite the accounts.
- The hotel evidence is too thin to decide on. Switch to looking for accessibility specifically - lifts, step-free entry, distance to the ghat - and tell me which claims come from the hotels themselves rather than from guests.
- Now compress this whole thread into one sourced brief - travel, darshan, aarti, boat, two or three hotel candidates with their caveats - and save it in a Space called "Varanasi trip". I will take that brief to another tool to lay out the day-by-day plan, and come back here to re-check timings a week before we travel.
Why it worksWhen the answers start circling, the fix is the same: gather every verified finding into one brief and start the planning afresh - here, with the facts already sourced so the fresh start is on firmer ground.
Loop it
After every answer, run the check from step three: read it against the aim you wrote before prompting - length, tone, facts, format. Then reply with precise levers - "Keep…, Cut…, Add…, Change…" - never just "make it better". Stay in the same chat while each round improves. If after three to five rounds the answers circle or old mistakes return, ask, "Summarise all my requirements into one improved prompt," and paste it into a new chat. When the answer finally fits its purpose, save that prompt as a template with blanks for the parts that change.