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Than Brooks
Than Brooks

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Why You Should Start Treating Your AI Prompts Like Code Snippets — FlashPrompt Can Help

Let’s be honest — if you’re using AI tools regularly, you’ve probably done this more than once:

You open a new chat, start typing a prompt similar to one you used last week… and halfway through, realize: “Didn’t I already figure this out before?”

But instead of pulling up the working version, you end up rewriting, rephrasing, and guessing all over again.

It’s like copying and pasting code from memory instead of using a reusable function.

Prompts Are Mental Assets — Save Them Like You Mean It
Here’s the thing: most prompts don’t have to be disposable.
Just like a well-written line of code, a good prompt can — and should — be reused.

We often fall into the trap of treating AI like a one-off conversation. But the reality is: that once you figure out the right way to ask, it’s worth saving that logic.

Whether you're:

  • Drafting blog intros
  • Polishing emails
  • Generating summaries
  • Analyzing data with code
  • Translating academic writing

There’s a good chance you’ll need something similar again.

The real productivity boost comes not from getting a good answer once — but from making that good answer repeatable.

How I Stopped Losing My Best Prompts
After repeating myself one too many times, I built a basic system to manage my prompts. Here's how you can do it too:

  1. Create prompt categories early Group them by task type:
  • Writing
  • Analysis
  • Academic
  • Personal

You don’t need complex tags — just enough structure to avoid a pile of chaos.

  1. Capture prompts the moment they work
    Waiting until “later” means they’ll disappear.
    Use screenshots, notes, or a tool. The important part is: don’t rely on memory.

  2. Annotate them with usage context
    One-liners like “Used for summarizing technical blog posts” help future you jump back in without friction.

Want a Faster Way? FlashPrompt Makes It Seamless
Eventually, I built FlashPrompt (https://www.flashprompt.app/) — a lightweight plugin that lets you save and quickly reuse prompts. Just type something like -a hook in any input box, and it autocompletes with your saved writing prompt.

No copy-pasting, no digging through chat history, no context switching.

It’s not the only option — you can use Notion, Google Docs, or whatever suits your workflow.
But if you’re tired of “starting from scratch,” FlashPrompt might save you a lot of time.

TL;DR
If you treat AI like a fresh start every time, you’ll waste a lot of energy repeating what already worked.

Instead:

  • Start building your prompt library
  • Reuse and improve prompts just like you’d optimize code
  • Use tools that fit your style — FlashPrompt if you like minimal, fast solutions

Small habits like this compound. And soon, you’re not just using AI — you’re building your framework on top of it.

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