A recent report, Bridging the Generational AI Gap: Unlocking Productivity for All Generations, surveyed nearly 3,000 workers and 240 executives globally, reveals that professionals using AI save an average of 7.5 hours per week – worth around $18,000 per employee per yearin productivity gains or the equivalent of one workday.
Wow. Why aren’t we all leveraging AI in our professional and personal lives?
I think it’s because the media portrayal of generative AI has ranged from quirky to…terrifying. Articles from the past couple of years since ChatGPT became available have discussed how people are using AI as a substitute for lovers, mental health counselors, and legal research. Plus, the AI overlords won’t be kind when they take over the world. Or so I hear.
I have spoken to friends and family about how they perceive AI and how much they use it, and the most common answer is “not at all.” One recent discussion with a woman in her forties revealed that she “was hoping if she ignored it, it would simply go away.” She has three teenagers whose world will be dominated by AI, but they have not really had a conversation about it and she has not exposed her children to the tool.
One of my personal missions is to stay current on technology as I age, partly to be the exception to the rule that Boomers fear technology. It’s also a matter of necessity; I work from home, and I provide my own tech support. If something’s not working, I have to figure it out. Also, if something could be working better, I want to figure it out.
I never use AI for writing. I’m proud to be a certified human writer who labors over ideas and structure. But I do use AI on a regular basis for a myriad of other tasks. Here are some examples.
When my husband and I decided to start a low carb diet, I asked AI to create a meal plan that provided the right number of grams of protein and carbs, provide recipes, and create a shopping list organized by grocery aisle. I knew what I wanted, but the research, recipe vetting, and copying and pasting would have taken a couple of hours, at least. AI? Done in about 45 seconds.
When a friend asked me to teach a couple of writing classes for her home-schooled students, I asked AI to create age-appropriate lesson plans, writing prompts, and homework assignments. I would have spent hours on this task. AI generated a draft in a minute or so that I could easily edit. That meant I could spend my creative energy on engaging teaching rather than planning.
A friend is thinking about starting a side gig. She and I had a long and detailed discussion about what it might look like, how to get started, and how to market her services. It was a casual conversation, though, and I knew she might need help getting started. I asked AI to create a business and marketing plan for her. In about 45 seconds, Claude (claude.ai, the AI I use), created a great plan that she could tweak to meet her goals and incorporate her ideas. She would have spent weeks working on a planning document if she had to start from scratch.
I use AI to do the tedious formatting work that takes forever and that I don’t enjoy. When I create a new recipe, I put the ingredients and rough instructions into AI and ask it to produce a professionally written and formatted recipe; it’s done within seconds. I can send it to friends for recipe testing, complete with a shopping list organized by grocery aisle (again, a real time saver.) I follow several food influencers on social media, and many of them use this technique: tell AI what you have in your pantry or fridge and ask it to create a recipe with those ingredients. Meal planning and recipe generation, done in just a minute. If you want more options, just ask again. AI doesn’t ever get impatient when you ask for do-overs.
The secret to using AI productively is knowing what to ask it to do. If you’re not clear on the task, your output won’t be very useful. But when you understand the assignment, but don’t want to do the hard work of figuring out how to make it work, AI can be the best tool for the job.
Snack planning for soccer games? Done. Carpooling schedule that works for everybody based on location and kids’ class release times? Done. Travel research and planning? Done.
Of course you have to check its work, and of course you will have to make edits based on your personal preferences or because you’ve changed your mind. But the AI will also make a note of your preferences when you ask it to and build them into every future plan.
Here’s your challenge: the holidays are coming up fast. Take one task you dread doing and ask AI to help. Using the tool that’s available and free and fast seems like a no-brainer. If you have a breakthrough, let me know. I’d love to hear from you.
Your Work, Your Way 