I get more out of Instinct when I give it something to keep track of

Just had a comment thread about a similar use case, thought I'd offer my own tips:

Two months in, every concrete thing I do with Instinct comes down to four mechanisms:

1. Scheduled check-in. Have it ask you for something on a recurring schedule. You answer in shorthand, it keeps the record, and the recap shows up when you need it.

2. Standing watch. Point it at something that changes over time. It keeps checking the source itself and pings you at the moment that matters, instead of you remembering to look.

3. Event with a follow-up. Tell it once what should happen when something arrives - a notification, then a summary in your format - and it runs that every time, even overnight.

4. A list it maintains. Keep something running between sessions: you add items, mark them done, and ask what's left.

One-off questions work too, but the payoff comes when there's a trigger and a standing instruction behind it