The Day I Ditched Long Prompts, and Tokens Came Alive
Today’s Summary
If I had to sum up today in one sentence: “The framework is complete, and I found the root cause of the struggle.”
I fully rebuilt chulbuji.com with Astro and released it. However, during the work, my AI usage (5-hour allocation) ran out faster than expected. When I traced the cause, it was surprisingly simple. The habit of copy-pasting long prompts was burning through tokens.
5 Lessons Learned Today
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Copy-paste wasn’t a shortcut: I wanted ‘one thing,’ but AI processed the pasted conditions as ‘ten things.’
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Broad role, short instructions: The more you add “do this, don’t do that,” the higher the collaboration cost. Keep the goal clear.
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Keep sessions short: Got stuck on lottery ball UI details → session dragged on and ended → consumed with no results. Separate structure sessions from detail sessions.
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Limit the scope of changes: Small change → verify → next change. Seems slower, but overall speed increases.
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Manage your usage: Check remaining usage and allocate ‘big tasks/small fixes’ accordingly, and strategically use Extra Usage when needed.
Before / After
Before: “Responsive, dark mode, accessibility, SEO, strict TS mode… everything” → Long responses + increased review burden
After: “Convert this component to Astro. Responsive only for now.” → Quick results + expand in next turn
What’s Left: Update Routine
Once the framework is set up, what remains is 15-minute improvements repeated. Ball shapes, colors, text, content… handle them one by one.
✅ 5-Point Checklist
- Before pasting, first write “desired outcome in one sentence”
- One session = one goal (structure OR details)
- Confirm results before next instruction (no rushing)
- Check usage before session and adjust task scope
- Minimize role restrictions, clarify goals only
⚡ 3 Actions for Tomorrow (15 min)
- (5 min) Pick one “minimal task to finish in one session” from current project
- (5 min) Reduce frequently used long prompts to “one core sentence”
- (5 min) Bookmark the usage/quota check link
TL;DR
Copy-pasting was a token-burning habit. Broad role, short instructions, small sessions.