Want to Work Smarter, Not Harder? Here’s How I Use AI to Do Just That

Spoiler alert: No big financial or time investment required.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret: I use ChatGPT * for work.  A lot.  I wouldn’t say that I can’t remember my life before AI, but I can say it saves me a lot of time and frustration, and helps me do my job much better than I would otherwise.

ChatGPT uses generative AI, a form of artificial intelligence that produces human-like outputs, such as articles, artwork, or conversations, by analyzing and mimicking large sets of information.  It acts like a digital collaborator, helping users brainstorm, build, and refine ideas across various creative and professional tasks.

I’m not doing anything super fancy with it.  No complex automation or fancy scripts for me.  I use ChatGPT in several ways, and will share the one two that have the biggest impact on my time and productivity: call note processing and writing.  Bonus, it can be done in the free version of most tools.

Before I jump into that, let me explain why this is important for all of us.

* AI made this image of me

Fewer Women Are Using AI For Business, and Why That Matters

Recent data shared in Fewer Women Adopt AI Tools—Here's Why That Matters shows a noticeable gap in how women and men view the career benefits of AI: fewer than 4 in 10 women believe AI tools can boost their professional growth, compared to nearly half of men. This gap isn’t just a personal issue—it has real consequences for workplace equity, innovation, and long-term business success.

Here’s why it’s essential for women to embrace AI tools at work:

• Unlocking Career Potential: Using AI can streamline tasks, spark creative solutions, and improve results, all of which help professionals stand out and move up. When women miss out on these tools, they risk falling behind in visibility and opportunity.
  

• Bringing Balance to AI Design: The more diverse the group of people using and shaping AI, the better it serves everyone. Women’s insights and lived experiences are critical to making AI more inclusive and relevant across industries.

  
  

• Spotting and Solving Bias: Many AI systems reflect the biases of their creators. When more women engage with these tools, they’re in a better position to challenge and correct unfair patterns before they become standard practice.

  
  

• Leading in a Tech-Driven Future: As AI continues to reshape how we work, women who adopt and influence its use can help ensure that future workplaces are collaborative, ethical, and inclusive.

  
  

• Boosting Confidence Through Action: Learning and experimenting with AI helps build the confidence to lead, speak up, and stay competitive—especially in environments where tech can feel intimidating or male-dominated.

  
  

Encouraging more women to adopt AI isn’t just a step toward individual growth—it’s a move toward a smarter, more equitable future for the whole workforce.

Who Takes Good Meeting Notes?  I don’t.

Now for the good stuff: the promised use case.

I don’t know about you, but I take terrible notes during meetings.  I struggle to capture the main points and necessary details, or I am too engaged in the discussion to even remember to take notes.  And after the call, forget trying to remember everything important that was said.  

AI call transcription has been a game changer for me. Most video conferencing platforms offer it, and there are other free or paid tools. 

After the meeting, I drop the transcript into ChatGPT with a detailed prompt that tells it exactly how to process the call—what to highlight, how to structure the summary, and to take its time. What I get back is a clear, organized recap of main points, decisions, follow-ups, and open items—basically everything I’d want to remember. I’ll review it, make any necessary tweaks, and use it as the basis for a follow-up email. It’s not perfect, but it’s miles better than anything I’d write from scratch.

When You Are Even More Of A Talker Than A Writer

I love to write—articles like this one, instruction guides, book reviews, you name it. But I love to talk even more. And I can talk way faster than I can type. So when the ideas are coming in hot and my fingers can’t keep up, I record myself. Talking out loud helps me process ideas differently—no pressure to form perfect sentences, just thoughts flowing naturally. It’s often easier to find clarity in spoken words than staring at a blinking cursor.

My process is simple: I open a blank Word doc, turn on dictation, and start rambling. I skip around, repeat myself, go on tangents—and it all gets typed out for me. Then I paste the raw text into ChatGPT and ask it to organize my thoughts into paragraphs, using only what I’ve provided. It’s not perfect—sometimes it misses the mark or adds something I didn’t say—but having the transcript makes it easy to fact-check and clean up. The result? A more authentic, readable version of what I meant to say, without the headache of writing it all from scratch.

Caveats...

Lest you run out and start use generative AI for everything, keep in mind that tools like ChatGPT are not secure.  Your conversations may be stored and reviewed to improve the system.  To protect your privacy and data security, it’s important to be mindful of what you share with AI tools. Check out this article to find out what you shouldn’t share.  

As a best practice, consider clearing your chat history regularly, using anonymous prompts, and being cautious about what you upload or paste into a conversation.

Why I don’t believe AI will ever replace us.

I get it, introducing a new tool to your workflow can be scary.  Especially one as powerful as generative AI.  Where do you start?  What if it doesn’t work?  These are valid concerns.  

Here is my advice.  Just give it a try.  Ask it a simple question, like ‘I am trying to do [insert current task].  Please help me.’  Don’t like the output? Tell it to ask you probing questions.  These will give you ideas on how to refine your prompt.   

Afraid that using generative AI will render you irrelevant or dumb you down?  Also understandable.  I would be lying if I said that didn’t cross my mind occasionally.  When it does, I remind myself that for me, AI is an enhancer, not a replacer.*  I was never good at taking notes, so using AI to help isn’t risking the loss of a major skill.  Instead, it is providing information that I have been unable to fully capture on my own.  It allows me to be more engaged in conversations, confident that the information is still being captured.  And provides me with better tools for action and follow-up than I ever had before.

So no, I don’t think AI will take your job—or mine. But I do think it’s going to change how we work, and we get to decide whether we let that feel like a threat or an opportunity. For me, it’s the latter. I’m not aiming to become an AI expert—I’m just someone who hates taking notes and loves saving time. If a tool helps me show up better, think more clearly, or get a few precious minutes back in my day, I’m all in. And if it benefits my gender, even better.

Try it. Fumble around a little. Get curious. You might be surprised at how much easier things get when you have a really smart assistant in your corner.

*It's not the only option; each one has advantages and drawbacks. ChatGPT vs. Claude vs. DeepSeek: The Battle to Be My AI Work Assistant (requires a new gift link)

**This may not be the case for all tasks.  See Don’t Ask What AI is Doing for Us, Ask What it is Doing to Us

How do you use AI in your work?  Let me know at lynn@zwibak.com.