Lobe 02 · The Brain Plan

Plan your AI brain

Your “AI brain” is just a folder of short notes that you can hand to ChatGPT or Claude so it already knows you. Right now that folder is empty — so this step isn’t about reviewing anything you’ve got. It’s about deciding what to put in. You’ll leave with a short list of topics to write up. Nothing technical here — if you can make a list, you can do this.

1Ask yourself one question

"What do I keep having to re-explain to AI?"

Every time you re-paste who you are, what you're working on, or how you like things done — that's a concept worth capturing once. Those repeated explanations are your highest-value knowledge.

2Pick from the starter menu

Each line below is one possible topic for your brain. The word on the left (like profile) is just a short nickname for that topic — you’ll turn each one into its own little note later. Most people’s first brain holds 5–8 of these. Read down the list, pick the ones that fit you, skip the rest, and feel free to add any of your own.

profile
Who you are and what you do.e.g. "I'm Jake — I build and teach practical AI to non-developers."
projects
What you're working on right now.e.g. "Brain Comp — a free OKF course; a freelance client project."
tools
The tools you use day to day.e.g. "ChatGPT, Claude, Notion, my newsletter platform."
voice
How you like to write.e.g. "Plain and direct, no hype, British spelling, short sentences."
faq
Questions you get asked a lot.e.g. "What do you charge? How do I work with you?"
goals optional
What you're trying to achieve.e.g. "Grow the newsletter to 10k; launch my first product."
preferences optional
How you like AI to work with you.e.g. "Be concise, push back, give options not lectures."
audience optional
Who you serve or speak to.e.g. "Curious beginners and small-business owners."

3Or brainstorm it with the AI

Stuck on what to pick? Let the AI pull the list out of you. Here’s exactly what to do:

  1. Open a new chat in ChatGPT (chatgpt.com) or Claude (claude.ai) — the free version is fine.
  2. Copy everything in the grey box below. (Tip: tap the box, select all the text, then copy.)
  3. Paste it into the chat’s message box and press Enter to send.
  4. Answer the questions it asks you in plain words. When it suggests a list, you’re ready for Step 4.
Help me plan my AI brain. Ask me a few quick questions
about who I am, what I'm working on, the tools I use, and how I like to
write — then suggest a short list of 5 to 8 topics for me to write up.
Give each topic a short one-word nickname (for example: profile, projects,
tools, voice, faq).

4Write your brain plan

Now write your picks down as a simple list — anywhere is fine: a notes app, a blank document, or even the chat you just used. This list is your table of contents: a quick overview of what your brain will hold, just like the contents page at the front of a book. Each line will later become its own little note (a plain-text file called a markdown file — don’t worry, that’s just a normal text note; we cover it step by step in Lobe 03). Don’t overthink it; you can always add more later.

Use the example below as a template — this is just text to copy and fill in, not anything you need to “run.” Replace the blank lines with your own picks:

My brain plan (table of contents)

1. profile   — who I am and what I do
2. projects  — what I'm working on right now
3. tools     — the tools I use
4. voice     — how I like to write
5. faq       — questions I get asked a lot
6. ________  — ________
7. ________  — ________
✅ Lobe 02 complete when: you have a list of 5 to 8 named topics — your AI brain’s table of contents. Next up — Lobe 03: turn your first topic into a real note, written in OKF (Open Knowledge Format — just a simple, tidy way of laying out a text note so AI reads it easily; we’ll walk you through it).

Tip: favour stable, reusable things (your voice, your tools) over one-offs. A good first brain is small and accurate, not big and vague.