Real talk.

You're not bad at writing. You've written thousands of emails over your career. But there's always that one — the follow-up that needs to land just right, the complaint you have to handle without torching the relationship, the request that needs to be firm without sounding like a jerk.

So you open a blank email. Type three words. Delete them. Check Twitter. Come back. Type the same three words again.

Sound familiar?

This week I'm going to show you how to end that particular form of torture — in about 30 seconds.

🔧 The Tool: Claude (free at claude.ai)

Claude is an AI assistant built by Anthropic — the folks who decided that maybe AI shouldn't be terrifying. Think of it as a smart, patient colleague who will help you write anything without judging you for asking.

No app. No credit card. Go to claude.ai, sign up, and you're in.

⚙️ The Workflow: The email you've been avoiding

Let's get specific. You sent a proposal to a potential client two weeks ago. Nothing. You don't want to sound desperate. You don't want to sound annoyed. You just want a yes or no so you can move on with your life.

Old way: 20 minutes of staring, one mediocre email, three days of wondering if you said something wrong.

New way: 60 seconds and it's done.

💬 The Prompt — copy this exactly:

"I sent a project proposal to a potential client two weeks ago and haven't heard back. I want to follow up in a way that's friendly and professional — not desperate or passive-aggressive. Keep it under 4 sentences. Sign off with my name, Christopher."

Paste that into Claude. Read what comes back. Change anything that doesn't sound like you. Send it.

Done.

The Gen X angle nobody talks about

Here's the thing — you already know how to communicate. You've spent 30 years figuring out tone, politics, and how to read a room. AI just gets rid of the blank page problem.

You're not learning to write. You're learning to use a faster first draft.

Try it this week with one email you've been putting off. Hit reply and tell me if it worked.

— Christopher

From Analog to AI | Every Thursday: 1 tool, 1 workflow, 1 prompt