In the future, I had a easy realization: as an alternative of retyping the identical prompts again and again, why wasn’t I simply saving them?
That query modified how I take advantage of AI.
From there, I began pondering greater — not about “higher prompts,” however about higher programs. If AI is meant to save lots of us time, utilizing it shouldn’t really feel like further work. For me, that meant turning my favourite chatbots into one thing nearer to digital meeting strains relatively than one-off assistants I needed to continually retrain.
Listed here are three habits I adopted that now save me as much as 10 hours every week — and will make your individual AI workflow quicker, smoother, and much much less irritating.
Create and save reusable prompts for every day duties
Throughout my days as a novice with AI, I bought into the behavior of repeating the identical requests again and again once I requested my chatbots to compose knowledgeable e mail, an article aimed toward avid gamers who get pleasure from fighters, a social publish meant to draw fellow All Elite Wrestling followers, and extra. Finally, I constructed myself a Google Doc stuffed with reusable prompts designed particularly for these sorts of AI requests and extra. My rule grew to become “if I typed out a immediate greater than as soon as, I would as effectively reserve it for later use.”
For instance, throughout my freelancing hustle, I used to repeatedly ask totally different chatbots to “write knowledgeable e mail summarizing my expertise as a journalist and providing my providers as a contract author.” After typing out some model of that immediate extra instances than I can rely, I lastly created and saved a customized model that included my background, most well-liked tone, and particular objectives for these outreach emails.
That is the place ChatGPT is particularly helpful. You possibly can go into its settings, open Personalization, and add customized directions that form the way it writes — from tone and magnificence to how formal or informal you need it to be.
Cut up a large request into extra targeted assignments
I’ve all the time beloved which you can ask one AI chatbot to analysis a subject, define the important thing factors, and switch it into a refined article in minutes. However I began noticing that my “do every little thing” prompts typically led to small errors — the type I knew one other chatbot wouldn’t make. That’s once I started dividing massive duties throughout my three favourite AI instruments primarily based on what every one does finest.
Once I got down to write a brand-new anime-themed piece about probably the most highly effective “Dragon Ball Z” characters, I kicked issues off with ChatGPT to brainstorm headline concepts. Then I turned to Perplexity to assemble correct, up-to-date info with clear sources to assist construction my article.
As soon as I had a draft, I handed it over to Claude for ultimate edits, because it’s one of many strongest AI instruments for refining writing. Treating AI like a relay race — with every chatbot taking the baton for the half it’s finest at — helped me work quicker, suppose extra clearly, and keep away from overloading any single software.
Let AI brainstorm your plans, then flip the very best concepts into polished first drafts
Author’s block is one in all my most mortal foes. I are likely to have tons of lightbulb moments every time I’m requested to prepare dinner up a brand new pitch, however I simply as many moments of falling right into a artistic drought. I bought bored with operating right into a psychological wall and commenced utilizing my high AI chatbots to develop into my thought generator and first draft producer.
I started saving extra time for truly writing out my pitches as an alternative of sitting in full silence whereas attempting to provide you with my preliminary ideas. It’s all the time value reaching out to your chatbots to get the ball rolling on turning your imperfect ideas into fully-realized plans.
ChatGPT grew to become my go-to for cooking up quick first drafts, whereas Claude stood out for producing longer and extra detailed drafts. Gemini can be a godsend for producing drafts since it may possibly pull info from my Gmail messages, Docs, and spreadsheets to construct the context it wants for first drafts.
I additionally used my chatbots to show my wall of notes into extra structured directions and even unfold them throughout easy-to-read charts for future reference. Rewriting is part of the job for a author comparable to myself. However I started saving time by asking my AI assistants to generate the types of concepts and first drafts that might encourage me to zero in on an thought and comply with a construction that works.
The takeaway
By adapting these three practices, I saved myself extra time for the extra artistic endeavors in my life. Saving my most-used prompts for later use, splitting the work of 1 chatbot amongst a number of others, and being offered with starter concepts that may then be became first drafts morphed into my three most dependable routines every time I used AI.
Get out of the follow of over-prompting your AI of alternative and reduce your work time in half by constructing a workflow that emphasizes smarter private habits.
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