I’ve gotten used to using AI tools to boost my productivity for work and my everyday tasks.
When it’s time to lock in, I take a look back at the morning, afternoon and evening routines I’ve built with ChatGPT and mentally get myself into the right gear to complete my assignments. And for those times when I wanted to set up an easy-to-follow meal plan, get the blood pumping with a beginner-friendly home workout routine and get a dose of inspiration courtesy of life coach quotables, ChatGPT has successfully filled its role as my productivity booster.
Over the course of a week, I wanted to try another experiment aimed at testing my favorite chatbot’s ability to set my priorities right as soon as I plop myself down for work. By asking one simple question and mapping out my tasks for the day, ChatGPT showed me a winning game plan that pushed me to stay efficient and focused.
Here’s how that experiment worked out during one of my workdays—hopefully, you can apply it to your work schedule and get the same beneficial outcome as me.
Setting my priorities for the day, thanks to AI
During my usual weekday work agenda, I approached ChatGPT with this prompt. I made sure to present it as a question, a command and the necessary details the chatbot needed to see its task to completion:
Given everything I want to accomplish today, what's the one decision I can make before 1 p.m that will make the rest of today noticeably easier or more successful?
Explain why, then give me my top three priorities, one thing to avoid, and a simple schedule for the day.
Here is a list of tasks I want to complete that day:
Research a trending story and write a news article about it.
Finish writing a feature article.
Brainstorm new article pitches.
Set up a dentist appointment.
Set up a doctor visit.
Sell some books to a used merchandise store.
ChatGPT made mention of our previous discussions and recognized one of my go-to practices: Looking at the kinds of goals you've shared over many conversations, there's a common theme: your highest-leverage work is creating publishable stories and discovering ideas that perform well. The administrative tasks matter, but they don't create the same long-term value.
Afterward, the chatbot told me that the one decision I need to make before 1 p.m is to recognize that my workday is “won” only after I’ve made sure both of my written assignments have been completed. Simply put, everything else was regarded as secondary to that goal. Finishing my trending news article while the story is still fresh, completing my feature article immediately afterward and only moving on to my brainstorming sessions & other life administration duties once those last two objectives have been met.
As for how that single decision changes the rest of my day for the better, ChatGPT gave me this statement to consider: With one clear rule—published writing comes first—you stay in one mental mode for several hours. Once both articles are finished, the remaining tasks are relatively low-stress and can be completed without worrying that your most valuable work is still hanging over you.
ChatGPT then laid out a schedule for me to stick to to maximize my productivity, plus two more remarks that put everything in perspective:
- One thing to avoid: Don't mix administrative tasks into your creative work blocks. Calling the dentist or doctor feels productive, but it interrupts the deep concentration needed for writing. Those calls are much easier to make after your major writing is finished. Treat appointments and errands as a single batch later in the day.
- Today's guiding question: Whenever you're unsure what to do next, ask yourself, "Is this helping me finish today's two articles?" If the answer is no, it can probably wait until after your core writing is complete. That single filter keeps your day focused on the work with the greatest impact while still leaving room to finish your personal tasks before the day ends.
The takeaway
For five days straight, I asked ChatGPT that all-important question and added context with all the ever-changing tasks I had to complete before day’s end. And every day, I was given a work directive to follow and a bunch of assertions that gave the right mindset to follow for the rest of the day.
Feel free to apply my prompt to your busy workdays and you’ll quickly discover just how much easier and less stressful they’ll become when ChatGPT generates a plan & a productive outlook meant for you to succeed.
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