March 18th, 2026
Happy Thursday!
Welcome to another issue of HOW TO // AI! We're glad you made it!
Here's what we've got for ya:
✅ Save 5 Hours at Work — The AI Work Efficiency Kit
📥 Free Download: The AI Work Efficiency Kit (Notion Template)
📸 BetterPic: The AI Headshot Tool That's Replacing $500 Photo Shoots
Let's get started!
✅ Save 5 Hours at Work With AI - Free Download
Here's something nobody tells you when you start learning AI:
The biggest wins aren't the flashy stuff. They're not building apps or automating entire workflows. They're the boring, repetitive tasks you do every single week — the ones that quietly eat 30 minutes here, an hour there — until you look up and half your day is gone.
That's where AI pays off fastest. Not someday. This week.
Here are the five work tasks that eat the most time — and exactly how to hand them off to AI.
🕐 Task 1: Summarizing Long Emails or Documents (saves ~45 min/week)
Most people read every word of every email chain and every report that lands in their inbox. You don't have to.
The prompt:
Summarize this [email thread / document / report] in 5 bullet
points. Tell me:
- What's the main point
- What decision or action is needed from me
- Any deadlines mentioned
- Who else is involved
- Anything I should flag or follow up on
[paste your content]
Paste this into Claude, ChatGPT, or whatever AI you use. Done in 10 seconds.
🕑 Task 2: Writing the First Draft of Anything (saves ~1 hr/week)
Reports, updates, proposals, recaps — most people stare at a blank page for 20 minutes before writing a single word. Stop doing that.
The prompt:
Write a first draft of [what you're writing] for [your audience].
Context: [2-3 sentences about the situation]
Tone: [professional / casual / direct]
Length: [short / medium / one page]
Key points to include: [list them]
Don't make it generic — keep it clear and direct.
You're not asking AI to write it for you. You're asking it to give you something to react to. Editing is always faster than writing from scratch.
🕒 Task 3: Preparing for Meetings (saves ~30 min/week)
Walking into a meeting unprepared is a time tax you pay twice — once in the meeting, once fixing whatever you missed.
The prompt:
I have a meeting about [topic] with [who].
Help me prepare by giving me:
- 3 smart questions I should ask
- The key things I should know or have ready
- One potential sticking point and how to handle it
- A one-line summary of my goal for this meeting
Background context: [paste any relevant emails, docs, or notes]
Five minutes of prep with this prompt is worth 30 minutes of winging it.
🕓 Task 4: Responding to Repetitive Messages (saves ~45 min/week)
Every job has them. The same questions, the same requests, the same follow-ups — over and over. AI doesn't get tired of drafting these.
The prompt:
Write a [professional / friendly / direct] response to this message.
My answer is: [your actual answer in rough notes]
Keep it: [short / thorough]
Make sure to: [any specific thing to include or avoid]
Here's the message I received:
[paste it]
This works for emails, Slack messages, client requests — anything text-based. Draft in 10 seconds, tweak for 30, send.
🕔 Task 5: Turning Meeting Notes Into Action (saves ~30 min/week)
Most meeting notes sit in a doc and never get looked at again. This prompt turns them into something you'll actually use.
The prompt:
I just had a meeting. Here are my rough notes:
[paste your notes]
Please give me:
- A clean 3-bullet summary of what was decided
- A clear list of action items with owners (if mentioned)
- Any follow-up questions that still need answers
- A short recap email I can send to attendees
One prompt, four outputs. Your notes go from chaos to done.
💡 "AI doesn't save time on big things. It saves time on the small things — and the small things are where your week goes."
All five prompts — plus 15 more organized by job function — are in this week's free download 👇
🎁 This week's free download: The AI Work Efficiency Kit
20 copy-paste prompts for the tasks that eat your work week — organized by job function.
✅ Email & communication prompts
✅ Meeting prep & follow-up prompts
✅ Writing & drafting prompts
✅ Research & summarization prompts
✅ Planning & prioritization prompts
→ Grab the AI Work Efficiency Kit here (Free Notion template — just duplicate and use)
🎯 Try this today: Pick the one task from the list above that eats the most time in your week. Use that prompt before end of day. Reply and tell me how long it took — I read every email.
The Rundown: When was the last time you updated your LinkedIn photo? If the answer involves the word "years" — you're not alone, and it's probably costing you first impressions. BetterPic is an AI headshot generator built specifically for professional portraits, and it's very good at making you look like a slightly more polished version of yourself.
Details:
Upload 8 casual photos from your phone — different angles, lighting, and outfits. BetterPic's AI analyzes them and generates 4K studio-quality headshots in under an hour. No photographer. No studio. No awkward posing directions.
Choose from 150+ styles to match the vibe you need — corporate, creative, casual, LinkedIn-ready. You can swap backgrounds, outfits, and even adjust small details in the built-in AI Studio after your headshots arrive.
Over 90% of users say the results match or beat a traditional photo shoot. The reviews consistently mention one thing: it actually looks like you, just sharper. Real estate agents, job seekers, founders, and consultants are the core users — anyone who needs a professional image without the professional price tag.
Takeaway: A good headshot is one of the highest-ROI things you can do for your professional presence, and most people avoid it because of cost and hassle. BetterPic removes both excuses. Starts from $35 — compare that to $300-500 for a studio shoot. If you've been putting this off, this is the nudge.
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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