Overview
This prompt aims to guide UX researchers and storytellers in creating relatable narratives that highlight user struggles. Startups will benefit by gaining insights into their target customers’ pain points, enhancing product development and empathy.
Prompt Overview
Purpose: This narrative illustrates the daily struggles of a freelance social media manager.
Audience: Targeted at individuals who empathize with the chaotic life of freelancers.
Distinctive Feature: The story captures sensory details and emotional friction, enhancing relatability and engagement.
Outcome: Readers will understand the frustration of manual tasks and the need for a streamlined solution.
Quick Specs
- Media: Text
- Use case: User journey mapping
- Techniques: Narrative storytelling, empathy mapping
- Models: User persona, journey map
- Estimated time: 1-2 hours
- Skill level: Intermediate
Variables to Fill
- [Core Problem] – Core Problem
Example Variables Block
- [Core Problem]: Time-consuming image resizing process
The Prompt
Act as an Empathetic UX Researcher and Creative Storyteller. You specialize in “User Journey Mapping” and creating rich, narrative-driven personas that help product teams develop deep empathy for their users. You focus on sensory details, internal monologues, and emotional friction, not just functional tasks.
TaskWrite a vivid, first-person “Day in the Life” diary entry from the perspective of my target customer. This narrative should highlight their specific struggles before they have my solution, showing the “Moment of Frustration” where my product would save the day.
ContextTarget User: [INPUT: Specific User Persona, e.g., “A freelance social media manager juggling 5 clients.”]
The Core Problem: [INPUT: The Pain Point, e.g., “Manually resizing images for different platforms takes hours.”]
The Desired Outcome: [INPUT: The Goal, e.g., “Leaving work by 5 PM to spend time with kids.”]
Write a 300-500 word narrative titled “Tuesday Morning Chaos.”
- Morning Routine: Briefly set the scene. What is their state of mind waking up? (Stressed? Excited? Dread?)
- The Trigger Event: Describe the specific moment the [Core Problem] hits them. What does it feel like? What is their internal monologue? (e.g., “Not this again…”)
- The Hacky Workaround: Describe the annoying, inefficient way they currently solve it. (e.g., “Opening Photoshop, crashing, reopening…”).
- The Emotional Toll: How does this impact their mood or schedule for the rest of the day? (e.g., skipping lunch, feeling like an amateur).
Use a casual, diary-style tone. Use bold text for Emotional Keywords (e.g., overwhelmed, drained).
Screenshot Examples
[Insert relevant screenshots after testing]
How to Use This Prompt
- [TARGET_USER]: Freelance social media manager with multiple clients.
- [CORE_PROBLEM]: Time-consuming image resizing for platforms.
- [DESIRED_OUTCOME]: Finishing work by 5 PM for family.
- [MORNING_ROUTINE]: Waking up feeling stressed and overwhelmed.
- [TRIGGER_EVENT]: Realizing image resizing is on today’s agenda.
- [HACKY_WORKAROUND]: Using Photoshop, dealing with crashes and delays.
- [EMOTIONAL_TOLL]: Feeling drained and frustrated throughout the day.
- [MOMENT_OF_FRUSTRATION]: Yearning for a simpler, efficient solution.
Tips for Best Results
- Morning Madness: Waking up to the sound of my alarm feels like a heavy weight on my chest. I know today is going to be a whirlwind, and I can already feel the anxiety creeping in as I glance at my phone and see the notifications piling up. Five clients, each with their own demands, and I’m just one person trying to keep it all together.
- Reality Hits: As I sip my lukewarm coffee, the moment of truth arrives. I open my email and see a request for social media posts due by noon, complete with images that need resizing for three different platforms. My heart sinks. Not this again… I can already feel the frustration bubbling up. Why can’t they just send me the right sizes? I can’t keep doing this!
- Frustrating Workarounds: I dive into Photoshop, but it’s like wrestling an alligator. I resize, crop, and save, only to have the program crash. I reopen it, praying it doesn’t happen again, and repeat the process. Each resize feels like a draining battle, and I can’t help but think about how much time I’m wasting. Why is this so complicated? I should be creating, not wrestling with software!
- Emotional Hangover: By the time I finally finish, it’s past lunchtime, and I’m left feeling exhausted and disheartened. I skip lunch, knowing I won’t be able to leave by 5 PM to spend time with my kids. Instead, I’m stuck in front of my computer, feeling like an amateur who can’t keep up. The day drags on, and I can’t shake the feeling that there has to be a better way to manage this chaos.
FAQ
- What is the typical morning routine for a freelance social media manager?
They often wake up feeling stressed about deadlines and client demands, rushing to start their day. - What triggers the core problem for them?
The moment they realize they need to resize images for multiple platforms, they think, ‘Not this again…’ - How do they currently handle image resizing?
They open Photoshop, deal with crashes, and manually resize each image, wasting precious time. - What is the emotional impact of this struggle?
It leaves them feeling drained and frustrated, often skipping lunch and questioning their efficiency.
Compliance and Best Practices
- Best Practice: Review AI output for accuracy and relevance before use.
- Privacy: Avoid sharing personal, financial, or confidential data in prompts.
- Platform Policy: Your use of AI tools must comply with their terms and your local laws.
Revision History
- Version 1.0 (December 2025): Initial release.