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What AI will do to our productivity
Welcome to The Productivity Blueprint newsletter 🗞️
Last week we looked at when you should be saying ‘yes’ vs. ‘no’ when it comes to opportunities in your life. If you missed it, you can catch up here 😊
Today, we’re looking at a very timely topic: how AI will affect our work. Let’s dive in.
“AI is a tool. The choice about how it gets deployed is ours.”
This article discusses how we can maximize productivity — mostly by focusing on "high-leverage tasks”. One of the fundamental truths about productivity is that not all tasks are created equal. These high-leverage tasks are activities that yield significant results relative to the time invested. These activities may include planning our day, preparing an update for our most profitable customer, or participating in training that expands our expertise. Less productive tasks, like browsing social media, consume a lot of time without much return.
Over time, one productivity goal should be to spend an increasing amount of our day on the tasks that lead us to accomplish more with each unit of time. Identifying these tasks and spending as much time on them as possible will make you significantly more productive. (Here’s how to calculate them.)
Technology can make us more productive by taking care of much of our work. That lets us “rise up” to accomplish even more with our time.
We’re only getting started with AI advancements, machine learning, and related technologies.
Throughout this evolution, we need to recognize our highest-leverage tasks—especially those that can be aided by AI. The way I see it, this involves two steps:
Elevate the layers of abstraction in your work by considering the most productive way you could be spending your time. Do the most valuable tasks calculation once or twice a year, while you learn and adopt new technology. Remember that higher-leverage tasks will always be around the corner. Watch for them, learn as much as you can, and experience the joy of accomplishing more with each unit of time.
Double down on the parts of your work that are less likely to be abstracted away—AKA those tasks that benefit from a human touch. These are areas where greater efficiency or automation won’t add anything. Caring, connecting, and counseling—activities that involve interacting with other people—are great examples.
These tactics and mindsets will help you navigate the AI developments of today—and tomorrow—with greater grace, ease, and productivity.
TL/DR: To boost productivity, you should focus on high-impact tasks that offer significant results relative to the time spent. You should also adapt to AI by letting it handle repetitive tasks, allowing you to concentrate on valuable, human centred activities.
 You can utilize ChatGPT for tasks such as: organizing your schedule, generating ideas, providing summaries, and much more. What we love? It is free to use! Many AI applications require payment in order to access a premium feature. Although ChatGPT has a plus feature, the free version works just as well with repetitive tasks. |  If you are looking for a specific AI for productivity, motion uses AI to schedule your work for you. The application automatically prioritizes, reschedules, and tracks all your tasks. What we love? Motion even plans your meetings for you, with the best times for everyone and even limits them so you can save time/energy. |
💡 Challenge of the week
Focus on identifying and prioritizing high-impact tasks that yield the most results. Then, use technology to automate or streamline repetitive tasks and eliminate time-wasting activities. If you are using AI for the first time in relation to productivity, compare it to your productivity without it.
That’s all for this newsletter! We hope you enjoyed exploring how AI can enhance productivity by automating routine tasks and freeing up time for high-value work.
Until next week,
The Productivity Blueprint Team
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