Life is busy, and there never seems to be enough time to get everything done. That’s why I use ChatGPT as my personal productivity assistant. It helps me plan and organize my days, so I can focus on what matters.
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Time Management and Scheduling
I am a firm believer in working with a to-do list, but it has a disadvantage: it’s not immediately apparent what to prioritize. Tasks on a simple to-do list can be important but not urgent or urgent but not important.
Instead of trying to figure out each to-do list item’s priority by myself, I leave it to ChatGPT to decide. Using a simple prompt, I ask ChatGPT to generate a daily schedule based on my to-do list.
Here is my to-do list: write blog post, workout, do laundry, visit grandma, and grocery shopping. Create a structured schedule for today.
I find that the above prompt works well and ChatGPT is naturally great at making balanced schedules without needing much context. Importantly, it automatically schedules breaks to help prevent overload and burnout, and it makes time for mealtimes.
This works best if ChatGPT has a good idea of who you are through its memory. ChatGPT’s memories are great for getting personalized results. They automatically update when you share something personal with ChatGPT. For example, you can tell ChatGPT more about what you do and your preferred time management style to improve its recommendations. Here is the prompt I used:
I am a freelance writer, so writing is always a priority for me. Also, I prefer to work in task batches.
Additionally, you can prompt ChatGPT to help with adding the events to the calendar. Unlike Google Gemini, ChatGPT cannot automatically create events in your calendar, but it can create links for each item. To get accurate links, you will need to provide your time zone (or city/region), like in the prompt below:
Create Google Calendar event links for each item. My time zone is GMT+1.
You can provide ChatGPT with examples of what your typical day looks like so it can create a structured plan based on those regular working habits. Also, if you have a Plus subscription, you can use ChatGPT Tasks to set up reminders for certain events.
Clickable hyperlinks are still unreliable in ChatGPT. If you find that you can’t get the links to open on your desktop browser, try using the mobile app instead.
3
Meal Planning
Deciding what to eat every day can be a chore, so I leave it to ChatGPT to do the heavy lifting. I provide it with my dietary preferences and available ingredients, and it can generate a daily or weekly meal plan based on the prompt.
The prompt can be as vague or specific as I want:
Generate a 2,500-calorie, 50g protein meal plan with traditional Yoruba foods.
To my surprise, ChatGPT proved to be well-versed in traditional Nigerian cuisine.
The generated meal plan is nice and balanced and takes all of my provided specifics into account. ChatGPT can even generate a complete shopping list and recipe for each meal.
I can also specify the ingredients I have in my pantry as well as the ideal preparation for each meal in the plan. If I’m short on time, I ask for quick recipes or pressure-cooked meals and I can tell it to suggest cost-effective meals if I am on a budget.
You can use ChatGPT’s custom instructions for details you don’t want to specify each time. I could specify my food preferences, dietary restrictions and budget in a custom instruction once and not need to repeat them again.
2
Planning Workouts
With ChatGPT, I can decide what muscle groups to train on a specific day and what exercises to perform.
I start with a memory prompt to avoid repeating myself every time:
I train with calisthenics and prefer to work out three times a week. Each workout should span ~45 mins (plus rest) and include all major muscle groups.
Now, I can write a new prompt to generate a new workout plan every week.
Generate an intermediate bodyweight workout plan for the coming week.
You can include your specific fitness goals in the prompt: weight loss, muscle growth, or strength training.
If you use weights, you can describe the equipment you have access to and ask ChatGPT to create a workout plan based on it. I generate my workout plans per week, but you can plan your training for the month or even the entire year using ChatGPT.
Related
ChatGPT Tasks Are My Secret to Better Learning and Recall
Get into the habit of using spaced repetition to learn with ChatGPT Tasks.
Of course, ChatGPT isn’t a substitute for professional training advice. It can’t provide personalized advice, check if you are using proper form, or keep you accountable. It has a lot of limitations and has no innate understanding of its recommendations.
1
Journal Prompts
I try to keep a daily journal for self-reflection and to keep track of my personal growth, but sometimes it is hard to know where to start. That’s where ChatGPT comes in. I use custom instructions and provide a range of topics to serve a pool for ChatGPT to choose from at random. For example:
Journal prompts should encourage personal insight and ask a question about gratitude, relationships, fitness and wellness, growth, or challenges.
Then, at the end of each day, I send the following prompt:
What is today’s journal prompt?
ChatGPT uses data from your conversations by default, so be careful not to enter any private, identifying information. You can also opt out of ChatGPT’s data collection program if you want.
I’ve found that ChatGPT tends to repeat certain responses, so you might have to try more than once to get a unique prompt for your journal!
I’ve found ChatGPT performs best with low-level, repetitive tasks that are easy to delegate. The key is to experiment to find what helps you work smarter, not harder.
