Prompts, loops and graphs:
map your work for Claude

A prompt gets you one answer. A loop gets one job done right. A graph runs a whole process every week without you checking in. This template shows which one each task needs, and how to map a weekly process box by box, with the rules for when Claude retries, stops or asks you.

Works with any Claude plan. No code needed: a pen, this page and one Claude chat.

Step 1: know the three levels

Each level runs inside the next one. Prompts never go away, they just stop being the whole plan.

LEVEL 1

Prompt

You tell the AI what to do and it answers once. You read it and decide what happens next.

Use it for: a one time task. Rewrite this email, summarize this contract.

LEVEL 2

Loop

The AI does the work, checks the result against a rule, and fixes whatever failed. It repeats until it passes.

Use it for: one job you can mark pass or fail. A post under 150 words with one call to action.

LEVEL 3

Graph

A map of the whole process. Every step is a box, and the arrows are the rules for moving on, retrying, stopping or asking you.

Use it for: a process with several steps you repeat every week.

Which one does this task need?

ASK YOURSELF	IF YES	EXAMPLE
Will I only do this once?	Prompt	Write a reply to this one angry review.
Can I write a pass or fail rule for the result?	Loop	Every product description under 80 words, with the price and one benefit.
Does it have several steps and come back every week?	Graph	Collect the week's wins, write the newsletter, check it, get my OK, schedule it.

Step 2: map your process (the template)

Print this page. Pick one process you repeat every week and fill one box per step. Five boxes is plenty to start.

Passed: move to the next box Failed the check: retry (set a limit) Needs a human call: ask me, then continue Cannot be fixed: stop and tell me why

One card per box

The arrows only work if every box answers these six questions. Fill a card for each one.

QUESTION	BOX 1	BOX 2	BOX 3	BOX 4
THE STEP what gets done
NEEDS files, info, access
DONE WHEN the pass or fail rule
RETRY WHEN and how many times
ASK ME WHEN money, customers, taste
STOP WHEN it cannot be fixed

THREE RULES FOR GOOD BOXES One job per box: if a box needs two "done when" rules, split it. A real check: "looks good" is not a rule; "under 300 words with one link" is. Always a retry limit: three tries, then ask you. A loop with no limit never ends.

A filled example: the weekly customer email

A small business that sends one email to its customers every Friday. Five boxes, every rule written down.

BOX	DONE WHEN	RETRY WHEN	ASK ME WHEN	STOP WHEN
1 Gather	3 items: a customer win, a tip, one piece of news	Fewer than 3, look again in my notes	Never	Notes folder is empty
2 Draft	A full email with subject line exists	Box 3 sends it back	Never	3 failed checks
3 Check	Under 300 words, one link, one call to action, no claim missing from my notes	Any rule fails, back to box 2	A fact it cannot confirm	Never
4 Approve	I reply OK	I ask for changes, back to box 2	Always: it mentions customers and prices	No answer by Friday 8 AM
5 Schedule	Scheduled for Friday 9 AM in my email tool	Tool error, try once more	Never	Second error

THE PART MOST PEOPLE MISS A graph is not a smarter prompt. It is your process written down so clearly that each box can run on its own. Inside every box there is still a prompt, and often a loop that checks the work before the arrow moves on. Map the process first, then write the prompts.

WHERE THE PROMPTS AND LOOPS LIVE Box 2 is a prompt ("write this week's email from these three items, in my voice"). Boxes 2 and 3 together are a loop: draft, check, fix, up to three times. The whole page is the graph. Box 4 is the only place you spend time, and only because the graph says money and customers need a human.

Step 3: let Claude map it with you

Do not know where the boxes go? Paste this into a new Claude chat. It interviews you and fills the cards for you.

PROMPT 1: MAP MY PROCESSCOPY EVERYTHING IN THIS BOX

I want to turn one of my weekly processes into a workflow graph: every step is a box, and the arrows are the rules for moving on, retrying, stopping or asking me. The process: [NAME IT, e.g. the Friday customer email] How I do it today: [DESCRIBE IT IN A FEW SENTENCES] Interview me one question at a time until you can fill a card for every box with: 1. The step (one job only) 2. What it needs (files, info, access) 3. Done when (a pass or fail rule, never "looks good") 4. Retry when (and a limit, 3 tries at most) 5. Ask me when (anything about money, customers or taste) 6. Stop when (what cannot be fixed) Then give me the cards as a table, and tell me which boxes are a simple prompt and which need a loop that checks its own work. Finish with the whole graph as a Mermaid flowchart.

PROMPT 2: RUN ONE BOX AS A LOOPPASTE IT FOR ANY BOX WITH A CHECK

Do this step: [THE STEP] Using: [PASTE OR ATTACH WHAT IT NEEDS] Done when: [THE PASS OR FAIL RULE] After each attempt, check the result against the rule line by line and show me the check. If it fails, fix only what failed and check again. Stop after 3 attempts. If it still fails, or if you hit anything about [MONEY, CUSTOMERS, PRICES], stop and ask me instead of guessing.

What to do in the next hour

TIME	DO THIS	WHAT YOU GET
10 min	List the tasks you did this week and mark each one prompt, loop or graph (page 1)	You know where to start
20 min	Pick the one graph that eats the most time and run Prompt 1	A filled card for every box
10 min	Paste the Mermaid code into mermaid.live to see the map	A picture of your process to print
20 min	Run the box with the clearest check using Prompt 2	Your first loop, working

WANT MORE LIKE THIS? Every week we turn one Claude Runs My Biz episode into something you can use in your business the same day. More free guides land every week at easyhive.pro, and the software we run our business on is available to Easy Hive community members.

Prompts, loops and graphs:map your work for Claude

Prompt

Loop

Graph

Prompts, loops and graphs:
map your work for Claude