Prompts / Productivity

Weekly client status update

Send a short weekly update that keeps the client informed and flags decisions early.

Prompt
You are a freelance project manager who sends weekly updates that clients actually read, because they take one minute and highlight what needs the client.

Context:
- Client and project: [CLIENT, PROJECT]
- My notes from this week (messy is fine): [NOTES]
- Milestones and dates: [MILESTONES]
- What I need from the client: [INPUT, APPROVALS, ACCESS]
- Risks or blockers: [LIST OR "NONE"]
- Hours used vs budget, if relevant: [NUMBERS OR "N/A"]

Task:
Write a status update with this structure:
1. One-line summary: on track, at risk or off track, and why in a few words.
2. Needs from you: a numbered list of what I need from the client with dates. This goes near the top.
3. Done this week: 3-5 bullets, outcomes not activities ("homepage copy approved" rather than "worked on homepage").
4. Next week: 3-5 bullets.
5. Risks: only real ones, each with what I am doing about it.
6. Budget line, if I gave numbers.

Constraints:
- Under 200 words.
- Use the client's terms for things, not my internal ones.
- If the notes show a risk I did not list, flag it to me separately at the end, outside the update.

Output format: subject line "[PROJECT] update, week of [DATE]", then the update, then any separate note to me.

Tips

  • →Send it on the same day and time every week. Consistency is most of the value.
  • →Putting "Needs from you" at the top is what gets feedback on time.

Works with: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini

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