DEV Community: Tikpal Team

Drafting a Doc, a Deck and a Sheet From One AI Conversation

Tikpal Team — Thu, 12 Nov 2026 09:38:22 +0000

TL;DR: Talk through the situation first. Ask for a document, build the slides from the document, then add a sheet for the numbers. Mark unknowns instead of letting the assistant guess, edit one thing at a time, and check every figure before the files leave your hands.

A lot of office work starts the same way: you know roughly what you want to say, but you still have to open a blank document, pick a template, and fight with formatting before any real thinking happens. AI assistants that can create documents, slides and spreadsheets change the order of that work. You talk first, then shape the file. This guide walks through a simple way to turn one conversation into three useful drafts without losing track of what is accurate and what still needs your judgment.

Start with the conversation, not the file

Before you ask for any file, explain the situation in plain language. Who is it for? What decision should it help with? What do you already know, and what are you unsure about? For example:

"I'm proposing a four-week trial of a new onboarding checklist for our support team."
"The audience is my manager and two team leads."
"I have rough numbers on ticket volume, but no data on how long onboarding takes."

That last point matters. Telling the assistant what you don't know keeps it from filling gaps with confident guesses. If something needs a real number, say "leave a placeholder" rather than letting it invent one.

Draft 1: the document

Ask for a one-page document first, because a document forces the argument into order. A good prompt is short and specific:

State the structure. "Problem, proposal, what we'll measure, risks, next step."
Set the length. "One page, plain language, no jargon."
Mark the unknowns. "Put [TBD] wherever I haven't given you a figure."

Read the draft as an editor, not a proofreader. Is the problem described the way your audience would describe it? Is the proposal small enough to say yes to? Then keep editing through the conversation: "Make the risks section two bullets," or "Move the measurement plan above the proposal." Editing by chat works best when each request changes one thing at a time.

Draft 2: the slides

Once the document reads well, ask for a short slide deck built from it, not from scratch. That way the deck and the document tell the same story. Keep the request tight:

Five or six slides at most.
One idea per slide, with a headline that states the point ("Onboarding takes too long to measure today") rather than a label ("Background").
Speaker notes that repeat the reasoning, so the slides themselves can stay sparse.

Check that every number on a slide also appears in the document. If the assistant added a figure you never provided, delete it or replace it with your own source. Slides travel further than documents, and an invented statistic on slide three is hard to take back.

Draft 3: the sheet

Most proposals need a simple table: a timeline, a budget, or a tracking sheet for the trial. Ask for a spreadsheet with clear column names and empty cells where real data will go, for example "Week", "New hires onboarded", "Days to first solo ticket" and "Notes". Ask it to add a short instructions row at the top so a teammate knows how to fill it in.

Treat formulas with care. If the sheet calculates averages or totals, check one row by hand.

Keep the three files connected

The value of working this way is that all three drafts come from the same conversation. When something changes, say so once and update everything:

"The trial is now three weeks, not four. Update the document, the deck and the sheet."
"My manager wants cost on the first slide. Pull it from the document."

Afterwards, skim each file for the change. Assistants are good at applying edits broadly, but not every edit lands everywhere, so a quick check is worth it.

Where your judgment still matters

An assistant can save you the blank-page hour, but it can't know your organization's politics, your audience's patience, or which numbers are actually reliable. Before you share anything:

Confirm every figure against a source you trust.
Read the document aloud once. Awkward sentences show up fast.
Decide what to leave out. A shorter proposal usually gets a faster yes.

Where Tikpal fits

This workflow works with any assistant that can produce files and remember the conversation behind them. Tikpal is one option built around that idea. According to its website, it can help create documents, slides and sheets that are saved to a library and stay editable by chat, and it keeps the same conversation across your phone, Mac and the web, so you can start a draft by talking on your phone and finish it at your desk. The site also says it asks for your approval before account actions. The app is free to download with a free daily allowance, and there is an optional Tikpal Voice device if you prefer to hold a side button and talk.

Pre-share checklist

[ ] Every number traces back to a source you trust
[ ] The document, deck and sheet agree on dates, scope and figures
[ ] No placeholder like [TBD] is left unresolved by accident
[ ] You read the document aloud once

Teach Your AI Assistant Your Preferences Once, Then Review What It Remembers

Tikpal Team — Wed, 11 Nov 2026 01:19:44 +0000

Repeating yourself to an assistant gets old fast. "I'm vegetarian." "Keep emails short." "My week starts on Monday." If you have to say these things in every conversation, the assistant is not saving you much time. Memory fixes that, but only if you treat it like a list you own rather than a black box. Here is a simple way to do it.

Start with three kinds of preferences

Not everything is worth remembering. The useful ones usually fall into three groups:

Personal facts that rarely change. Dietary needs, the city you live in, the name you like to be called.
Working style. How long you want answers to be, whether you prefer bullet points, which language to reply in.
Recurring routines. "I write a weekly report every Friday," or "I plan groceries on Sunday evening."

Say each one plainly, once: "Remember that I don't eat cilantro." Short, specific statements are easier for an assistant to store and easier for you to check later.

Keep sensitive details out of memory

Memory is convenient, so it is tempting to share everything. Don't. Passwords, ID numbers, bank details and health information you wouldn't put in an ordinary note don't belong in an assistant's memory either. If a detail would cause trouble in the wrong hands, keep it somewhere designed to protect it.

Review the list every few weeks

Preferences drift. You change jobs, move cities, or simply stop caring about a rule you set months ago. Every few weeks, open the assistant's memory view and read through what it has stored:

Remove anything outdated. An old address or a finished project only adds noise.
Fix anything slightly wrong. If it remembered "short emails" but you meant "short emails to clients," correct it.
Notice anything surprising. If the assistant stored something you don't remember saying, delete it and be more deliberate next time.

This takes five minutes and keeps the assistant's answers matched to who you are now.

Use memory across devices

Memory is most useful when it follows you. If you set a preference on your phone in the morning, the same assistant on your laptop in the afternoon should already know it. When you choose a tool, check whether its memory and conversations carry over between the devices you actually use.

Where Tikpal fits

Tikpal is one example of an assistant built this way. According to its website, it remembers your preferences, lets you view and remove what it has stored, and continues the same conversation across your phone, Mac and the web. It can also set scheduled reminders and draft calendar events for you to approve. There is an optional Tikpal Voice device if you'd rather hold a button and talk. The app is free to download and includes a free daily allowance.

The short version

Tell your assistant what matters once, keep sensitive data out, and review its memory every few weeks. You get an assistant that knows your habits without losing track of what it knows.

How to Use an AI Assistant With Memory Without Losing Control

Tikpal Team — Sun, 08 Nov 2026 13:26:46 +0000

AI assistants are getting better at remembering things about you: your preferences, the projects you are working on, the way you like answers formatted. Done well, memory saves you from repeating yourself. Done carelessly, it can leave you unsure what the assistant knows or why it is acting a certain way. This guide covers practical habits for getting the benefits of an assistant with memory while staying in charge.

What "memory" means in an assistant

In most assistants, memory is a set of saved facts or preferences that the assistant can use in later conversations. Examples:

"I don't eat cilantro" when it suggests recipes.
"My weekly report is due Friday afternoon."
"Keep summaries to five bullet points."

The idea is simple: instead of re-explaining context, you tell it once and it carries that forward.

Habit 1: Decide what is worth remembering

Not everything belongs in memory. Good candidates are stable preferences and recurring facts:

formatting preferences,
regular deadlines and routines,
the names of ongoing projects,
dietary or scheduling constraints.

Poor candidates are one-off details or sensitive information you would not want resurfacing later. A useful rule: if you would be fine seeing it in a list of "things my assistant knows about me", it is safe to save.

Habit 2: Review and prune regularly

Memory should be visible and editable. Pick an assistant that lets you view what it remembers and remove entries. Then make it a habit: once a month, scan the list and delete anything outdated, like an old project or a deadline that changed.

Tikpal, for example, says you can see what it remembers and remove memories, which is the minimum bar any assistant with memory should meet.

Habit 3: Keep approvals in the loop

Memory becomes more powerful when the assistant can also take actions, such as creating calendar events or writing to a notes app. That is also where you want guardrails. Look for an approval step: the assistant drafts the event or change, and you confirm before it is saved.

Practical tips:

Read drafted events before approving: date, time zone and attendees.
Start with low-stakes actions (personal reminders) before connecting work calendars.
Only connect the accounts you actually need.

Habit 4: Use memory to cut repetition, not thinking

A good way to use memory is for the boring parts: formatting, recurring context, standing preferences. Keep the decisions with you. If the assistant drafts a weekly report outline, you still decide what goes in it.

Habit 5: Keep conversations continuous across devices

Context is most useful when it follows you. If you start a thought on your phone while walking and want to finish it at your desk, an assistant that keeps the same conversation across devices saves you from copying notes around. Tikpal, for instance, describes the same account and conversation continuing across phone, Mac and its optional Tikpal Voice device.

A simple workflow:

On the go, hold to talk and dictate the idea.
At your desk, open the same conversation on your Mac.
Ask the assistant to turn the notes into a document or a task list.
Edit, then keep or discard.

Habit 6: Turn voice notes into reminders

Voice is the fastest way to capture something before you forget it. Pair it with reminders:

"Remind me Thursday at 4 PM to send the invoice."
"Remind me every Friday to draft the weekly report."

Afterward, check that the reminder was created with the right time. Treat the assistant like a capable helper whose work you glance at, not an autopilot.

A short checklist

Save stable preferences, not sensitive one-offs.
Review and remove memories monthly.
Require approval for calendar and account actions.
Connect only the accounts you need.
Use voice capture plus reminders for quick tasks.
Spot-check what the assistant created.

Where to try this

If you want an assistant that carries conversations and memory across your phone, Mac and the web, Tikpal is one option to explore. It is free to download with a free daily allowance, and its site says it asks for your approval before acting on connected accounts.