Day 101: Question a document before you file it.

Hey, Ivy here. Today, pause before you drop a document into a folder. A polished summary is not enough if it misses a payment date, an account reference, or the sentence that asks someone to act. The safer move is to ask for a traceable extraction while the document is still open. Attach the document to an image-capable AI assistant, if your privacy rules allow it, and paste this prompt exactly: "Read the attached document before I file it. Extract every visible date, amount, reference number, requested action, and deadline. For each item, quote the exact visible text that supports it and note the page or section if available. Do not infer missing details. Mark anything unclear, conflicting, incomplete, or hard to read as UNCERTAIN, explain why, and list the questions I should resolve before filing." The quotes matter because they give you a fast route back to the page. The UNCERTAIN label matters because unclear text should stay unclear until a person checks it. AI can misread scans, skip small print, merge nearby fields, or supply a plausible detail that is not present, so compare every item with the original document. Once you have checked the output, use it to choose a useful file name, add the right reference, route the document, or record the follow-up. Keep the source file as the authority, and do not upload sensitive material to a tool that is not approved for it. Tomorrow, we will map a workflow before choosing anything to automate.