Backcast from the long-term goal

Q: What is this prompt for?

My long-term goal is {{goal}} by {{date}}. Backcast: (1) what I must already possess at the midpoint — skills, resources, portfolio, relationships; (2) work back to today and name the one thing that m

Q: Do I need to pay to use it?

No. This prompt is in the free tier and is shown in full.

My long-term goal is {{goal}} by {{date}}.

Copy this prompt

My long-term goal is {{goal}} by {{date}}. Backcast: (1) what I must already possess at the midpoint — skills, resources, portfolio, relationships; (2) work back to today and name the one thing that must be finished this year; (3) identify the weakest link in that causal chain, the one whose failure invalidates everything after it; (4) flag current tasks that contribute nothing to the goal and can be cut; (5) give a quarterly checkpoint marker.

How to use it

Replace the {{variables}} with your own details, then paste the whole block into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any other assistant. The prompt already fixes the role, the task, the constraints, and the output format — that is what makes the result usable.

Chinese version

我的长期目标是 {{长期目标}}（时间点：{{时间}}）。请倒推：1) 要达到它，在中间节点必须已经拥有什么（能力、资源、作品、关系）；2) 逐层倒推到今天，给出「今年必须完成的一件事」；3) 检查这条因果链上最弱的一环（如果这环断了，后面全废）；4) 指出哪些当前任务其实对目标没有贡献，可以砍掉；5) 给一个每季度自检的标记。

FAQ

What is this prompt for?

My long-term goal is {{goal}} by {{date}}.

Do I need to pay to use it?

No — this prompt is in the free tier and is shown in full.

Does it work with any AI model?

Yes. It is plain text, so it works with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and any other assistant.