Lately I've been using ChatGPT prompts and function calling to simulate my aspirational best self. I spent 15 hours last month having such conversations — more than any other app.
My favorite prompt helps me prioritize my deep work. Here’s the structure:
Help me prioritize the next 30-60 minutes of work. I'd like to identify a manageable chunk of work that aligns with my energy levels and excitement, is ideally continuous with previous deep work tasks, makes progress towards my weekly goals and longer-term goals.
It’s 9/7 at 4:30pm. My goals this week, due by Friday 2pm: [bulleted list] My goals this year: [bulleted list]
Conversations like this are especially useful when I’m sleepy or distracted, like is often the case at 4:30pm. So I make it as easy as possible to initiate by saving this as a text snippet on my iPhone.
Here’s how ChatGPT responded:
Given your weekly goals and the current time, it sounds like you've got a tight window to make meaningful progress. Since it's 4:30 PM, you might be in that afternoon lull or feeling a second wind. How's your energy level right now?
If you're feeling energized: […] This likely requires creativity and enthusiasm, which can be hard to muster when you're low on energy.
If you're feeling moderate energy: […]
If you're feeling low energy: get to inbox zero. This task is more about grinding through emails and less about creative or strategic thinking.
Since your deadline for the weekly goals is tomorrow at noon, maybe save […] for after that.
What do you think? Would any of these tasks feel particularly rewarding to tackle right now?
One of the ways I get stuck is by expecting myself to finish something before an unrealistic and unexamined deadline, so suggestions like “maybe save […] for after” is actually kinda helpful.
I responded with a non-sequitur. Conversations with ChatGPT don’t always need to flow naturally. Sometimes sending a half-baked thought is all my sleepy brain can muster:
Village retreat: making a list of people that would give good talks. Innovation fellows: dunno, I should spend 5m figuring that out. Inbox zero: I should, but I feel so aversive to all those old emails and texts.
In this case, I realized that I have no idea how to proceed for the second task, and that was the source of some resistance. ChatGPT is always happy to provide commentary, which is useful because I can react to it and riff on it:
Ah, the nuances make it clearer. Let's break it down:
Village Retreat: If you're excited about curating a list of speakers, this could be a great task for high energy and creativity. Plus, it's a concrete task that you can make good progress on in 30-60 minutes.
Innovation Fellows: If you're not sure what this involves, maybe allocate the first 5 minutes of your deep work time to clarify the tasks.
Inbox Zero: If you're feeling aversive, maybe this isn't the task for today. But consider setting aside time tomorrow morning when you're fresh.
Given your current feelings, I'd lean towards starting with the Village Retreat task. How does that sound to you? Would that feel rewarding right now?
These are good suggestions! At this point I’ve reduced the ambiguity of two tasks, and scoped them down to 25 minutes and 5 minutes of work that I feel motivated to do next. I commit to a plan by telling ChatGPT:
All right, let's identify ideal speakers and talks for the next 25m. I'll check back in at 5pm.
It’s charmingly encouraging.
Sounds like a solid plan! […] could be both exciting and impactful. Have a productive 25 minutes, and I'll be here when you check back in at 5 PM. Go for it! 🚀
By 5pm I’d successfully gotten out of my slump and into a flow.
Many of us spend large parts of our weeks working at home and solo. Holding yourself accountable is challenging because it’s really two jobs: execution and management. Doing hard work requires immersing yourself in a problem, which involves forgetting everything that isn’t the task at hand. Management, on the other hand, involves being mindful the long-term goals and periodically checking whether you’re on track or whether you should abandon a particular approach.