I don’t know about you, but I could definitely use an extra hour or two in my day. Seriously, where does the time go?
One of my favorite things about AI is that it saves me hours of time and when used beyond turning myself into a meme, it can be a game-changer for productivity.
While many users are familiar with ChatGPT and its capabilities, few tap into its full potential. Beyond drafting essays or coding assistance, ChatGPT offers innovative solutions to everyday challenges.
Here are seven unexpected ways to harness ChatGPT for enhanced efficiency.
1. Craft polished communications
Prompt: “Write a polite follow-up email to someone who hasn’t responded in a week. Keep it friendly and professional and include a soft call-to-action.”
Because I have a ton on my mind (see above), I often toss all my ideas into a virtual pile and ask ChatGPT to organize them for me. This comes in handy quite often when I’m crafting an email.
I have found that ChatGPT helps to shape the tone better than I could, especially when I just want to get the email sent.
If an incident happened that I’m not happy about, rather than writing an email while upset (never a good idea), I send the email to ChatGPT and it tweaks it to a better tone. Talk about a life saver!
2. Jumpstarting creativity
Prompt: “Give me 10 creative and catchy ways to entertain friends coming to town that I haven’t seen for 20 years.”
Before using ChatGPT, my mind would swirl with anxiety over ways to do something. Sure, I could come up with a pretty good list on my own, but when ChatGPT steps in, it not only gives ideas but sparks new ones that are more likely to come to me.
In other words, I don’t completely rely on AI to just give me ideas. Instead, I take what AI offers and brainstorm on my own ideas from those. Sometimes a blank screen can be intimidating, but with a gentle push from ChatGPT, the ideas come pouring out.
Try this hack for whatever is causing you to spiral, and you may just discover a new way to hit your creative goals.
3. Accelerate learning curves
Prompt: “Explain how blockchain works, then give me a 5-sentence version and suggest three resources to learn more.”
I’ve used prompts like this to help understand my tween’s homework (the way math is taught is so different these days!). Here’s another awesome way to use this prompt, when teaching my parents how to do something.
My mom calls ChatGPT “ChatGap” and it’s so cute, I haven’t corrected her. But when she is asking how to change her password or something technical that comes so easy to me, I’ll ask ChatGPT to help me know how to explain something. It’s a real time saver and always ends up avoiding a ton of frustration.
4. Getting organized
Prompt: “Here’s my to-do list for the day: [insert list]. Can you group similar tasks, prioritize them by urgency, and suggest an ideal schedule from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.?”
This prompt is fairly generic, so feel free to tweak it to make it your own. Essentially, this prompt is key to managing multiple responsibilities through your day.
Some weeks when I have a lot on my plate, letting ChatGPT break down my schedule is like pushing it off to an assistant.
The AI suggests optimal schedules and when something changes, it is easy to alter priorities. No matter what my schedule looks like, ChatGPT tackles it like a seasoned pro.
5. Simplifying complex decisions
Prompt: “Compare the pros and cons of three health insurance plans: Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C. Organize it in a table with columns for monthly cost, deductible, and coverage highlights.”
One of the worst things about adulting is trying to pick a health care plan. Thank goodness for AI to help me navigate some of life’s most confusing choices.
Whenever I’m at a crossroads, even after asking friends for advice, I lean on ChatGPT to break down options, weigh pros and cons and present information in a far more digestible format. Using AI to help make informed decisions is the ultimate life hack.
6. Automate summaries and action items
Prompt: “Summarize the following meeting notes. Highlight decisions made, action items, and who’s responsible for each task.”
When I only have a few minutes in a meeting to say what I need to say, I’ll ask ChatGPT to summarize my notes or create bullet points, so I don’t forget to say anything important. Similarly, ChatGPT can be used to craft bullet points from your own notes. Just upload your notes (yes, even if your handwriting is sloppy) and it will straighten everything out for you.
By inputting raw notes into ChatGPT, you can receive a structured overview highlighting key decisions and tasks. This not only saves time but ensures that important details aren't overlooked.
7. Enhance personal well-being
ChatGPT is no substitute for a therapist, but it can go beyond professional tasks and assist with prompting mental well-being.
Frankly, when my professional life is in order, my mental health is instantly better, too. But, beyond that, ChatGPT offers me daily mindfulness exercises and stress-reduction techniques.
Whether they are done through ChatGPT Tasks or just one off queries, turning to ChatGPT to keep you grounded with breathing exercises or positive affirmations is a life hack that I use frequently.
Final thoughts
For those who haven't explored ChatGPT's versatility beyond conventional uses, these prompts are a good place to start.
By integrating ChatGPT into various aspects of daily life, from organizing tasks and simplifying decisions to promoting mental well-being, I have found that it helps to unlock new levels of efficiency and balance.
As someone who uses versions of these prompts every day, I can honestly say they have changed my productivity for the better.
