When I’m staring down a massive task — a 3,000-word feature, a slide deck, a looming deadline for a script or a complicated editing job — my brain tends to do something unhelpful: it zooms straight to the finish line and panics. Or worse, sometimes I just stare out the window and watch the snow melt as I contemplate where to start.
That’s when I pull out what I’ve started calling the “pacer” prompt. This tiny shift in my workflow with AI has changed the way I tackle big projects for the better. And I use it with every chatbot. So, although I use it most with ChatGPT, it also works with Claude and Gemini, too.
(Image credit: Future)
I’ve been an avid runner for 25 years. I love it almost as much as I love writing, so I couldn’t help but bring in the same concept of reaching a PR in a road race to my personal productivty.
The pacer prompt is simple, instead of asking ChatGPT (or any AI) for a full plan or a giant to-do list, I tell it:
“Act like a running partner. Give me only the first step — the first mile. Don’t give me anything else until I say ‘Done.’”
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Then I do that one step. When I finish, I type: Done.
Only then does the AI “unlock” the next step. Rinse and repeat.
Why this works so well
(Image credit: Future)
Big projects don’t always overwhelm us because they’re hard — they overwhelm us because they feel too big all at once. My favorite running coach used to say, “The hardest part about running is putting on your shoes.”
In other words, thinking about everything in front of us isn’t helpful when you’re just starting. That’s why the pacer prompt breaks that psychological logjam.
By forcing the AI to feed me just one clear, achievable action, I stop thinking about everything I haven’t done and focus only on what’s right in front of me.
What you’re really doing here isn’t just delegating planning to AI. You’re building momentum. By limiting yourself to one step at a time, you remove the mental burden of mapping out everything in advance. You also prevent yourself from getting paralyzed by the size of the task.
It’s exactly like running with a pacer: you’re not obsessing over the entire 10 miles ahead of you. You’re just matching the next stride.
The ‘pacer’ prompt gamifies productivity
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
I hate to admit it, but I’m a little competitive — especially with myself. So the subtle game mechanic built in makes this prompt a lot of fun.
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Typing “Done” feels like checking off a box, crossing a finish line or hitting a mini milestone. That tiny dopamine hit makes me more willing to keep going.
Instead of procrastinating or spiraling, I end up moving steadily through work I would’ve otherwise avoided.
When I use this prompt:
Long articles or reportsComplex creative projectsMulti-part presentationsMessy tasks where I don’t even know where to startAnything I’ve been putting off
Keep in mind, it doesn’t make the workload shorter, but it makes it startable — and that’s often the hardest part.
The takeaway
This is one prompt you’re going to want to keep in your AI tool box for the next time you feel stuck, overwhelmed or tempted to overthink your next move.
If you want to test this idea in a low-stakes way, here’s a simple experiment you can run the next time you feel stuck, overwhelmed, or tempted to overthink your next move.
You might be surprised how quickly a project that felt frustrating or overwhelming starts to feel doable — because you stopped trying to do it all at once.
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