April 9th 2026
Happy Thursday!
Welcome back to HOW TO // AI — glad you're here!
Here's what we've got for ya:
👉 10 Things You Can Do With AI Today That Have Nothing to Do With Work
📥 Free Download: The AI Everyday Life Kit (Notion Template)
🎨 Stop Making Boring Slides — Try This Instead
Let's get started!
👉 10 Things You Can Do With AI Today That Have Nothing to Do With Work
Most AI content is about work. Productivity. Emails. Meetings. Efficiency.
That's all useful. But AI is just as good — sometimes better — at the stuff that happens outside of work hours. The planning, the decisions, the questions you Google at 11pm, the things you keep meaning to figure out but never do.
Here are 10 things you can use AI for today that have nothing to do with your job.
🍽️ 1. Plan a Week of Meals
Not just "give me recipes" — actually plan your week based on what you like, how much time you have, and what's already in your fridge.
Try this:
Plan 5 weeknight dinners for me. I have about 30 minutes
to cook each night. I like [your food preferences] and
I'm trying to [eat healthier / save money / use less meat].
For each meal include:
- Name and a one-line description
- Prep time
- A simple ingredient list
- Any meal prep I can do on Sunday to make it faster
✈️ 2. Research a Trip Like a Travel Agent
Skip the hours of tab-switching and conflicting blog posts. Describe where you're going and what you want, and let AI build you a real starting point.
Try this:
I'm planning a [X day] trip to [destination] with [who —
solo / partner / family / friends].
We like: [your interests — food, history, outdoors, etc.]
Budget: [rough budget]
Time of year: [when]
Give me:
- A day-by-day itinerary
- 3 restaurant recommendations per day
- Things most tourists miss
- Practical tips for getting around
🎁 3. Find the Perfect Gift for Anyone
Describe the person, the occasion, and your budget. AI is surprisingly good at this — better than most gift guides.
Try this:
Help me find a gift for my [relationship — e.g. dad,
best friend, coworker].
About them: [3-4 things they're into or care about]
Occasion: [birthday / holiday / thank you / no reason]
Budget: [$X]
Give me 5 specific ideas with a reason why each one
works for this person.
💊 4. Actually Understand Medical Information
You got test results back, or you're reading about a medication, or a doctor used a term you didn't want to admit you didn't understand. AI can explain it clearly — just remember it's not a replacement for your actual doctor.
Try this:
Explain [medical term / test result / medication name]
in plain English.
Tell me:
- What it is and what it means
- Why it matters
- What questions I should ask my doctor about it
- Anything I should avoid googling because it will
just scare me unnecessarily
🏠 5. Tackle a Home Project You've Been Putting Off
Whether it's repainting a room, fixing something, or figuring out what to do with a space, AI can act as a knowledgeable friend who's done it before.
Try this:
I want to [describe your home project — e.g. repaint
my living room / organize my garage / fix a leaky tap].
Give me:
- A step-by-step plan
- What I'll need to buy or have on hand
- Common mistakes beginners make
- Anything I should hire someone for vs. do myself
- A realistic time estimate
💰 6. Understand Your Money Better
Not financial advice — but AI is excellent at explaining concepts, helping you think through decisions, and building a simple picture of where you stand.
Try this:
Help me understand my finances better. Here's my situation:
[brief description — income, rough expenses, any debts,
any savings goals]
Give me:
- A simple breakdown of where I might be leaking money
- One thing I could do this week to improve my situation
- 3 questions I should be able to answer about my money
but probably can't right now
📚 7. Learn Something You've Always Been Curious About
Pick anything — a historical event, how something works, a skill you've always wanted to understand. AI is an infinitely patient explainer.
Try this:
I've always been curious about [topic] but never
properly learned about it.
Teach me the basics in a way that:
- Assumes I know nothing
- Uses real examples, not abstract explanations
- Takes about 5 minutes to read
- Ends with 3 things I could explore next if I want to go deeper
🧘 8. Work Through a Decision You've Been Avoiding
Big decisions are hard because there's too much noise in your head. AI is good at helping you structure your thinking without telling you what to do.
Try this:
I'm trying to decide whether to [describe your decision].
I'm leaning toward [your current lean] but I'm not sure.
Help me think through this by:
- Listing the real pros and cons (not obvious ones)
- Identifying what I'm actually afraid of
- Asking me 3 questions that might clarify what I actually want
- Suggesting a low-risk way to test the decision
before fully committing
🎉 9. Plan an Event Without the Stress
Birthday party, dinner gathering, anniversary, holiday celebration — AI can handle all the logistics thinking so you can focus on the fun part.
Try this:
Help me plan [the event] for [number] people.
Budget: [$X total or per person]
Location: [home / venue / outdoor / TBD]
Vibe: [casual / fancy / themed / surprise]
Date: [how far away]
Give me:
- A timeline of what to book/plan and when
- A shopping or supplies list
- 3 ideas to make it feel special without a lot of effort
- What usually goes wrong at this type of event and
how to avoid it
📝 10. Write Something Personal You've Been Avoiding
A difficult text to a friend. A heartfelt card. A speech. A letter you owe someone. AI can help you find the words when you have the feeling but not the language.
Try this:
Help me write [what it is — e.g. a thank you note /
a toast at a wedding / a difficult text to a friend].
Context: [brief description of the situation and your relationship]
Tone: [warm / honest / funny / serious]
Length: [short / medium]
Write a first draft I can personalize. Keep my voice - don't make it sound like a greeting card.
💡 AI isn't just a work tool. It's the knowledgeable friend who's good at everything — available at midnight, never judges you for asking.
🎁 This week's free download: The AI Everyday Life Kit
20 copy-paste prompts for real life — meals, travel, money, health, decisions, and more.
✅ Meal planning and grocery prompts
✅ Travel and trip planning prompts
✅ Health and wellness prompts
✅ Money and financial clarity prompts
✅ Personal decisions and communication prompts
(Free Notion template — just duplicate and use)
🎯 Try this today: Pick the one prompt from the list above that applies to something real in your life right now. Use it before the end of the day. Reply and tell me what you tried — I read every email.
🎨 Stop Making Boring Slides — Try This Instead
If you've ever spent two hours on a presentation and still walked away embarrassed by how it looked — Chronicle is worth 10 minutes of your time.
Chronicle is an AI presentation tool built around one idea: your slides should tell a story, not just list information. When you start a new deck, Chronicle's AI shows you the narrative structure first — hook, problem, solution, proof — before it generates a single slide. You shape the story, then it builds the visual around it.
The result looks nothing like the usual AI-generated slide dump. Think clean, interactive, and designed by someone who's actually used a McKinsey deck. (The Chronicle team has — they built it with people from McKinsey, BCG, and Apple.)
Free to start. Takes about 20 minutes to build your first real deck. Watch the 101 tutorial first to save yourself the learning curve 👇
🐝 The Fastest Way to Turn What You Know Into Newsletter Income
Most people think building a newsletter audience takes years. The ones growing fastest in 2026 have a different approach — they use AI to show up consistently, and Beehiiv to do the rest of the work.
Here's the workflow:
I write a newsletter about [your topic].
My last issue covered [brief description].
Help me:
- Write 3 subject line options for this week's issue
- Suggest a hook for the opening paragraph
- Give me 5 content ideas for the next 5 weeksThat's your editorial calendar sorted in 5 minutes. Use AI to draft, tighten, and brainstorm — then paste straight into Beehiiv's editor and send.
Where Beehiiv earns its place: once you hit a few hundred subscribers, its built-in referral program turns readers into your growth engine. Readers share, you grow, and when you're ready to monetize — sponsorships, paid tiers, digital products — it's all built in. Unlike Substack, they take zero cut of your revenue.
HOW TO // AI runs on Beehiiv. Free up to 2,500 subscribers.
What did you think of this newsletter?
🤔 Got Questions?
Have a question you want answered? Email [email protected] and you just might be featured in an upcoming issue!
This newsletter is your starter kit for mastering AI with confidence. We keep things simple, show real examples, and focus on quick wins you can repeat.
Stay curious, stick with it, and watch your skills grow week by week!
Until next time :)
— David
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