I used to open Cursor Agent, paste a vague goal, and hope. Sometimes it worked. More often I got a polite mess: new folders I did not ask for, a second button style, and a diff I did not want to review at 11pm.
Agents earn their keep when the job is narrow. Boilerplate. Wiring a form to an API that already exists. Renaming a prop across a few files. They fall apart when you treat them like a junior hire with no briefing and unlimited permission.
Before I run anything serious, I write four lines for myself: what done looks like, which folders are in scope, which files are off-limits, and how I will check the result. Then I paste that into the prompt. If I cannot write those four lines, I am not ready for an agent — I need to think first.
My usual loop is boring on purpose. Explore the existing pattern. Propose a short plan. Implement. I review the diff like a PR from someone I do not fully trust yet. If the run wandered, I discard it. No guilt. Agents are cheap. Cleaning a bad merge is not.
Git is the seatbelt. Commit before the agent starts. If the branch goes sideways, reset and try a tighter prompt. On RazaStack client work — dental sites, contractor marketing pages — I let agents handle repetitive UI scaffolding. Architecture, CTA placement, and what the homepage should say stay with me.
One more rule that saved me time: never ask for a feature, a redesign, and a database change in the same run. That is how you get three half-finished ideas and zero shippable pages. One outcome per run. Then another.
If you only take one habit away, take this: the agent drafts, you own the merge. Production quality is still a human decision.
Next step
Ready for a site that books patients or wins jobs?
Dental practices and home-service contractors — tell me your services, area, and timeline. I’ll reply with a practical plan.