A. Refine Your AI Collaboration (2)

You can also use the memory function some chatbots have to help you. Depending on the model and functionality, there are chatbots that can “remember” what was said previously in a chat and, in some cases, retain information on preferences across different conversations. This means you can build on a conversation, adding to it or asking it to go back and change something without having to start over or reintroduce a topic. Or if goes off track, tell it to go back to the point where it was working better.

If you get AI going in a way that is working for you, return to that same chat another day and you can start from that point in the conversation. Or copy and paste a previous chat into a new one and ask AI to analyze the past conversation, pulling out the decisions made, the tone that was used, and how responses were presented—and to create a prompt that can be used to leverage these elements for new work. I keep a set of these analyses handy in my library so that I can choose from different tones and kinds of interactions as a starting point for future tasks.

Automate repetitive tasks: Many providers offer functionality to save and reuse instructions, even allowing you to share these customized setups with others. Different tools have different names, but the core concept is consistent: making it easy to reuse personalized AI instructions to streamline your work.

ChatGPT, for instance, enables you to create a dedicated AI “bot” trained on your specific data and instructions. (Called “GPTs,” these are basically custom versions of ChatGPT.) This process is surprisingly straightforward, as you can “code” instructions using natural language without any programming knowledge. Creating a useful GPT can take just minutes. Simply provide clear instructions on desired tasks, necessary context or data, and any specific requirements. (I suggest documenting all instructions and notes in a separate file outside of ChatGPT as a backup.)

Anthropic’s Claude has functionality called “Projects” that allows you to set up a project space that can be used to customize the chatbot experience and bring more efficiency to repeated tasks or work that requires the same background data and instructions.

A “lighter” tactic I often employ within a chat is creating code words that trigger specific response styles. When the AI nails exactly what I need—be it tone, detail level, or format—I ask it to describe its approach and assign a short acronym or word as shorthand to “do the same thing” in the future. Over time, I might accumulate a half dozen codes in a single chat, each activating a distinct type of response with just a few keystrokes. If I want to take it into a new chat, I simply paste the write-up that the AI created for me into that new chat. It can feel like we’ve developed our own secret language to help us work together as a faster and more effective team.

Connect to other apps: You can get more value from AI for some tasks if you connect the tools to your data inputs, or connect the AI’s outputs to other software which then can take action on the results. For example, output from an AI analysis could automatically create tasks in your project management software or send notifications to your team-messaging app. Various platforms offer different levels of AI integration and automation capabilities. For instance, some make it easy to trigger actions in one app based on events in another, or automatically feed data from multiple sources into your AI system. While some of this work currently requires technical expertise, vendors are actively working to simplify these processes. We can expect significant advancements in this area, with both entrepreneurs and established platforms striving to make AI integration increasingly accessible and user-friendly.

C. Repeat for New Discoveries

I encourage you to leverage your learning investment as a springboard for further discoveries. Simply repeat Step Two, “Align,” to continuously identify new needs and new AI Challenges. Over time, you can build a library of breakthroughs that support many areas of your personal and professional work.

You can also find inspiration by following people in the AI community who are sharing their own discoveries. (I’ve included some recommendations on my website.) Make sure to check out OpenAI’s GPT “store” in which people from all over the world make their GPTs available to the public. It’s a treasure trove of ideas, and I consider it a global laboratory of innovation, where we all can peek into how other people are currently thinking about using the technology.

The journey of learning how to leverage AI is not a one-time event. It’s a continuous process of exploration and innovation. I encourage you to keep identifying new needs and developing new AI Challenges. Over time, you’ll build a comprehensive library of breakthroughs that support various aspects of your personal and professional life. Each discovery becomes a springboard for further insights, creating a compounding effect on your AI proficiency and its impact on you, your creativity, and ultimately, your performance.

Integrate AI into Your Life

Once you see how AI tools can help you, the next step is to Integrate them as a regular part of your life so you are continually getting valuable support from AI. Here are three next steps to continue to get returns from the learning investment you have made so far:

A. Develop an AI Habit

You’ve gone your whole life without this kind of AI. You’ve developed all kinds of engrained habits and approaches to your work that don’t include using AI. And so now, don’t be surprised if one of the biggest challenges you have getting going in AI is even remembering that AI is a tool you can turn to. However, the same approach that can work for incorporating exercise and healthy eating into our daily lives is also effective for amplifying AI’s value to you.

The author James Clear, in his book Atomic Habits, speaks to a strategy of building habits through small, consistent actions. He applies a “two-minute rule.” To develop a new habit, find a way to perform that new habit in just two minutes. “Take whatever habit you’re trying to create and scale it down to something that takes two minutes or less to do,” Clear explained. “So ‘read thirty books a year’ becomes ‘read one page’ or ‘do yoga four days a week’ means ‘take out my yoga mat.’” The secret is to always stay below the point where it feels like work. Clear calls these “gateway habits” which can make a targeted new habit feel less daunting and more achievable, emphasizing that with new habits, the goal is consistency, not mastery.1