Scaling down, stopping, asking for help

This lesson is still being tested: it improves with learners' feedback. If something is unclear, it is the lesson that needs fixing, not you.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to

recognize the signs that a project needs a change of plan;
scale down a project without sinking it;
stop cleanly, without guilt, when it is the right decision;
know who to ask for help: yourself, the AI, a person, a professional.

Why it matters to you

Many projects end neither finished nor abandoned: they drag on. Each session costs a little more energy, and produces nothing. Knowing how to scale down, stop or ask for help at the right time is what makes the difference between a project that bogs down and a project that gets finished, even smaller than planned.

Before you start


You need	Your assistant, free account, or Claude Code; your project sheet
Cost	€0 with a free account; Claude Code, if you use it, requires a subscription
Duration	30 minutes
Reminder	For health, law and money: the AI prepares, a professional decides (module 1, lesson 2)

Understand it in 3 minutes

The signs that you need to change the plan:

two sessions in a row without a result you can show;
a step that keeps swelling (“one more session and it’ll be good”, three times);
the AI going around in circles: it repeats a mistake you already corrected, or always suggests the same thing;
a missing piece of information that blocks everything;
the desire fading away;
a subject that is beyond you: a question of health, law, money or safety.

Four possible decisions:

Decision	When	What you write in the sheet
Scale down	The project is too big for the time left	What you remove, and why; the new minimum version
Break down differently	A step keeps swelling	The step cut in two, each part with its check
Ask for help	Information is missing, or the subject is beyond you	Who to ask, what question, by when
Stop	The project no longer serves a purpose, or costs more than it brings	The reason, what is reusable, and putting it away in the archive

Who does what:

Who	For
You	Decisions, anything that commits you (sending, paying, signing), anything that requires knowing the people
The AI	Drafts, breakdowns, comparisons, preparing questions
Someone around you	An opinion on what is made for them, information you can’t get on your own
A professional	Health, law, money, safety: where a mistake is costly

An AI going around in circles won’t get out of it alone. It can sound sure of itself and still be wrong. Change something: start a fresh conversation with your sheet, give it the missing information, or ask someone.

Do it together

1Step 1: Take stock

Here is my project sheet: [paste it]. I'm not moving forward. Help me take stock: which step is blocking, why in your opinion, and what are my options (scale down, break down differently, ask for help, stop)? Don't decide for me.

2Step 2: Scale down, if it’s the right option

Suggest a scaled-down version of the project, that can be finished in [number] sessions, keeping what is most useful. Tell me what we lose by scaling down.

Choose, then write the decision in the sheet: “[date]: project scaled down to [new version], because [reason].”

3Step 3: Prepare a request for help

I need to ask [a person, or a professional] for help on [the blocking point]. Help me prepare 3 precise questions, and the list of what I need to have on hand. Don't answer the questions yourself.

For a health, legal or money subject, the answer will come from the professional or from an official source, not from the AI. To prepare your questions, describe the situation in general terms, without your health information or your numbers (your “never” list).

4Step 4: Stop cleanly, if it’s the right option

I'm stopping this project. Help me write 3 lines for the sheet: the reason for stopping, what was done, and what could be useful again. Don't change anything without my yes.

Your turn

On your project:

take stock with step 1, even if everything is going well (replace “I’m not moving forward.” with “I want to take stock, even if everything is going well.”, and “which step is blocking” with “is there a step that risks getting blocked”): it’s good practice;
make a decision (carry on, scale down, break down differently, ask for help, stop);
write it in your sheet, with its reason;
if you ask for help, prepare your 3 questions before writing to the person.

Check your work

It worked if:

your sheet contains a decision from this review, with its reason;
if you scaled down: the new minimum version fits in your sessions;
if you ask for help: your questions are precise, and you know who to ask;
if you stop: the reason and what is reusable are written down, and the project is put away.

Common mistakes:

carrying on “one more session”, indefinitely;
seeing scaling down as a failure;
letting the AI settle a question of health, law or money;
giving up without writing anything: the project comes back to haunt your list.

Keep it and pick it up later

The decisions to scale down or stop are the most useful to reread at the review (lesson 6).
Keep the “take stock” request in your library (module 2).

Going further

optional

OpenAI acknowledges it for ChatGPT: the model can seem very sure of itself, even when it is wrong. When an AI goes around in circles, trying again identically rarely helps: fix what is missing in the request. This is also the advice of Anthropic’s course “AI Capabilities and Limitations”: a targeted correction rather than a simple new attempt.

New words

3 words explained

Word	What it means
Take stock	Stop to look at what is blocking, and choose a decision
Scale down	Keep a smaller version of the project, that can be finished in the time left
Go around in circles	When the AI repeats a mistake or the same suggestion, despite your corrections