A special edition on AI, workflow clarity, and how I’m getting out of my own way
A year or so ago, I was working at an apparel company where my days were wall-to-wall meetings. Back-to-back Zoom calls, strategy sessions, Slack pings—sound familiar? The problem wasn’t the meetings themselves. It was what didn’t happen after: scattered follow-ups, no clear next steps, and very little meaningful action.
If I had the tool I’m about to share back then, I would’ve cut through so much noise—and gotten far more done in far less time.
This is a special edition of the blog, and it’s about something that actually shifted the way I work. I’m talking about using AI—not just to write faster or answer questions—but to map your day, anticipate your needs, and make follow-through effortless.
Let me show you what that looks like.
Step One: Let AI Watch How You Work
Claude now integrates directly with Google Calendar, Gmail, and Google Drive. That means it can:
Look at your meeting load
Read through relevant documents
Track your inbox chaos (politely)
And give you a surprisingly smart audit of your workflow
After connecting the tools (takes 2 minutes), you give it permission to assess your day. It’s like hiring an executive assistant who already knows how your brain works.
Step Two: Use This Prompt and Let It Do the Heavy Lifting
I used a prompt that went something like:
“Analyze all of my digital workflows—email, calendar, Drive—and identify inefficiencies. Suggest where I can apply AI tools to improve how I work.”
Claude came back with a complete breakdown:
Executive meeting prep & follow-up
Marketing strategy development
Content operations
Team performance workflows
Email triage
It noticed I was jumping between tasks too often, manually prepping for meetings, and storing follow-ups in way too many places. (Rude, but accurate.)
Real Example: The AI Meeting Brief That Prepped Me in 2 Minutes
Claude suggested I try generating a daily meeting brief that pulls from:
Calendar invites
Shared docs
Previous meeting notes
Emails with attendees
It gave me:
Who’s coming
What we last talked about
Pending decisions
Suggested questions I might want to ask
One prompt. 70% less prep. More brain space for actual conversation. That’s a win.
Step Three: Bring in ChatGPT for the Bigger Picture
After Claude mapped my workflows, I handed the output to ChatGPT-4. I asked it:
“Help me turn this into a system I can use every day. Build a plan using my current tools.”
And it did. It laid out a 30-60-90 day roadmap to create a personal productivity assistant using:
Slack
Make.com or Zapier
HubSpot
And the prompts I already had
The result? I wasn’t just reacting better. I was designing how I wanted to work.
How You Can Try It Today
If this feels overwhelming, start small. Really small.
Here’s a realistic starting point:
Connect Claude to your Google tools.
Ask it to generate a meeting brief for tomorrow.
Use that brief to prep. Just once.
At the end of the day, ask Claude:
“What should I prioritize based on today’s meetings and emails?”
That’s it. You now have a basic version of an AI-powered assistant. And if you want to go deeper, ChatGPT can help you build a repeatable system.
This Isn’t About Being a Machine. It’s About Feeling Less Like One.
I don’t want to schedule every five minutes of my life. But I do want to protect my time, reduce chaos, and feel prepared walking into the things that matter.
That’s what this workflow does. It clears the noise. It lets you think again. And it brings a sense of structure without suffocation.
If you’ve been looking for a gentle way to make your workday smarter—not just busier—this might be it.
Thanks for reading this special edition. Let me know if you try it.