You’ve been using ChatGPT, Claude, or other AI tools for months. You’ve built up a collection of prompts that actually work. But lately, something’s changed.
Finding the right prompt takes longer than it should. You’re recreating prompts you know you’ve written before. The tools you’re using to manage them aren’t keeping up.
If three or more of these signs resonate, you’re paying a productivity tax you don’t need to pay.
Sign 1: You’re spending more time finding prompts than creating them
You know exactly what you’re looking for. You wrote it yourself three weeks ago. It’s the perfect prompt for this exact situation.
But where is it?
You check your Notes app. Not there. Maybe it’s in that Notion page? You scroll through 80 prompts with unhelpful names. You open six different files. You scan through old ChatGPT conversations.
Five minutes later, you give up and rewrite it from memory.
THE MATH
Average time spent searching for a prompt you know exists: 2-3 minutes If you do this 10 times per day, that's 30 minutes lost to searching Recreation time when you give up: 5-10 minutes Happens 3-4 times per week minimum
THE REAL COST
This isn't just lost time. It's interrupted flow state. Every search pulls you out of your actual work. Every recreation requires you to remember nuances you'd already solved. Weekly cost: 3-4 hours of productive time
If you’re spending more time searching than using, your storage system has failed.
Sign 2: Your library is 40% duplicates
You create a new prompt for writing technical documentation. It works great.
Two weeks later, you need to write more docs. You can’t find that prompt, so you write a new one. It’s almost identical, with slightly different phrasing.
A month after that, you discover both versions. Now you’re not sure which one is better. You keep both “just in case.”
Six months in, you have 200 prompts. At least 80 of them are variations of the same 40 ideas.
What duplication looks like
Code Review Prompt
Code Review - Security Focus
Code Reviewer
Review My Code
Code Analysis Template
Security Code Review
Each one slightly different. None clearly better than the others.
What you actually need
Code Review - Security Emphasis
One prompt. Clear purpose. Well-maintained. Used consistently.
No confusion about which version to use.
Duplication isn’t just clutter. It’s a sign that your organisation system can’t tell you what you already have.
Sign 3: Your organisation system has four failure modes
You’ve tried to stay organised. You really have. But your prompt library keeps failing in predictable ways.
SPRAWL
Started with 10 well-organised prompts. Now you have 200+. Half the folders are empty. The rest are overflowing. You can't find anything without scrolling.
NAMING
"Prompt 1" "Good ChatGPT prompt" "Writing thing" "Code stuff" Generic names made sense when you created them. Now they're unsearchable.
STALENESS
You improved a prompt three months ago. The old version is still in your library. You can't tell which is current. Sometimes you use the wrong one.
CONTEXT LOSS
You find a prompt with placeholder text like {{focus_area}}. What options are valid? What examples work best? You had this documented somewhere, but now you're guessing.
When your organisation system exhibits all four failure modes, the problem isn’t your discipline. It’s the tool.
Sign 4: Context switching is killing your momentum
You’re deep in a coding problem. The solution is taking shape in your head. You need your code review prompt to validate one section.
You open Notion.
The page loads. Three seconds.
You scan your folders. You find two prompts that might work. You open both tabs. You read them. You realize you need the other one. You copy the text.
You switch back to your editor.
Your train of thought is gone.
THE CONTEXT SWITCH TAX
Time to access prompt: 10-15 seconds (if you're lucky) Time to regain focus: 10-15 minutes Happens: Multiple times per day The real cost isn't the seconds. It's the momentum.
THE COMPOUND EFFECT
First interruption: Mildly annoying Fifth interruption: You stop using prompts Tenth interruption: You're avoiding AI tools entirely You've added friction to something that should be frictionless.
Flow state is fragile. If accessing your prompts breaks flow, you’ll unconsciously avoid using them.
Sign 5: Your workflow has too many steps
Every time you need a prompt, you follow the same routine:
- Open the app (Notes, Notion, Obsidian, text file)
- Search or scroll to find the right prompt
- Read through options, pick one
- Copy the text
- Switch to ChatGPT or Claude
- Paste and modify
For something you do 20 times a day, this is too much friction.
Where current tools fail
TEXT FILES
Work great until 50+ prompts Then it's chaos No search, no structure, no templates
NOTES APPS
Require multiple clicks every time 3-second load times Mixed with everything else you've saved No global access from other apps
SPREADSHEETS
Clunky to navigate Copy-paste strips formatting Can't handle template variables Never designed for this workflow
BOOKMARKED CHATS
Requires remembering which conversation Locked to one AI platform Can't edit or organise Gets buried in chat history
The pattern is clear: general-purpose tools add steps between you and your prompts. Every step is friction. Friction compounds.
What these signs mean
If one or two of these signs describe your workflow, you can probably optimize your current system with better organisation.
If three or more resonate, you need purpose-built software.
Here’s why: the problems aren’t about your habits or discipline. They’re about tool fit. You’re using tools designed for note-taking, clipboard management, or text expansion. None of them were built for the specific workflow of managing and deploying AI prompts.
What prompt management actually requires
- Instant access from anywhere
Global hotkey. No app switching. - Zero-friction search
Fuzzy match, millisecond results. - Native template support
Variables, defaults, inline editing. - Smart organisation
Folders for structure, tags for discovery. - Local and private
Works offline, no sync delays.
The goal is simple: get any prompt to your clipboard in under 2 seconds, without leaving your current work.
The cost of waiting
Here’s what happens if you don’t fix this:
In six months
4-6 hours lost per week
400+ prompts, half duplicates
Zero improvement in workflow
Still recreating prompts from memory
Avoiding AI tools due to friction
Missing deadlines because of lost momentum
With proper tooling
Instant access to refined prompts
Clean library you actually use
Templates that adapt to any situation
Flow state maintained throughout day
AI tools integrated seamlessly
More work done with less effort
The invisible tax compounds. Every week you wait is another 4-6 hours you won’t get back.
How Migi solves each sign
Sign 1 (Search time): Fuzzy search across names, tags, content, folders. Type 3 letters, find any prompt in milliseconds.
Sign 2 (Duplicates): Clear naming, smart search, and instant access mean you actually use your existing prompts instead of recreating them.
Sign 3 (Organisation failure): Hierarchical folders + tags + full-text search. Organize by workflow, discover by topic, search across everything.
Sign 4 (Context switching): Option+Space global hotkey. Floating window appears over current work. No app switching required.
Sign 5 (Workflow friction): Hotkey → search → select → copy. Under 2 seconds total. Built-in template syntax with clear placeholders.
Migi is purpose-built software for the specific workflow of managing AI prompts. It’s macOS-native, offline-first, and designed to disappear.
The question to ask yourself
You’re already managing prompts. You’re doing it across Notes, Notion, text files, chat history, or some combination.
The question isn’t whether to manage them. The question is whether you’re willing to keep paying 4-6 hours per week to use the wrong tools.
If three or more of these signs describe your workflow, the answer is clear.