AI can be useful when you know exactly what you want to do.
But what about the times when you have a lot to do and don’t know where to start?
Maybe you have a project to organise, a busy week ahead, an event to prepare for or a task you’ve been putting off.
AI can help you turn that messy situation into something more manageable.
You don’t have to ask AI to do everything for you.
You can use it to break things down, organise your thoughts, create a starting point and help you see what you may have missed.
The important thing is to give AI enough information to create a plan that actually fits your situation.
Start With the End Goal
Before asking AI to create a plan, tell it what you’re trying to accomplish.
A vague request like:
“Help me organise my project.”
doesn’t give AI much to work with.
Instead, explain the result you’re trying to achieve:
“I need to prepare a presentation for a meeting next Friday. Help me work out what I need to do between now and then.”
Now AI knows what you’re working towards.
A useful question to ask yourself is:
“What do I need to have finished at the end?”
Start with that.
Give AI the Important Details
Once AI knows your goal, give it the information that could affect the plan.
Think about things like:
- How much time you have
- When something needs to be finished
- What you’ve already done
- What resources you have
- What matters most
- Any limitations or difficulties
For example:
“I need to prepare a presentation for next Friday. I have about an hour available each evening. I’ve already gathered the information but haven’t created the slides yet. Help me create a realistic plan.”
That’s much more useful than simply saying:
“Plan my presentation.”
The more important the plan, the more important it is to give AI the information it needs.
Break a Big Task Into Smaller Steps
Large tasks can feel overwhelming because we’re looking at the whole thing at once.
AI can help you break the task into smaller actions.
For example, instead of seeing:
“Prepare a presentation.”
you might have:
- Decide on the main message.
- Organise the information.
- Create an outline.
- Draft the slides.
- Review the presentation.
- Practise delivering it.
The task hasn’t changed.
But it now feels more manageable because you have a clear place to start.
You can ask AI:
“Break this task into smaller steps that I can work through one at a time.”
You can then decide whether those steps actually make sense for you.
Put the Steps in a Sensible Order
Knowing what needs to be done is useful.
Knowing what to do first is even more useful.
Some tasks depend on other tasks being completed first.
For example, you probably want to decide what your presentation is about before spending time designing the slides.
You could ask AI:
“Put these tasks into a sensible order and explain briefly why that order makes sense.”
AI can help you see the sequence more clearly.
It may also point out tasks that can happen at the same time.
But don’t assume its order is automatically correct.
Check whether the sequence makes sense in your situation.
Make the Plan Realistic
This is where your own judgement becomes especially important.
AI may create a beautifully organised plan that would take twice as long as you actually have available.
For example, you might tell AI:
“I have three hours available this weekend. Make the plan realistic for that amount of time.”
If the plan still looks too ambitious, tell it.
You could say:
“That’s too much for three hours. Reduce it to the most important tasks.”
A plan isn’t useful simply because it looks organised.
It’s useful when you can realistically follow it.
Ask AI to Adjust the Plan
Plans change.
You might run out of time, discover a problem or realise that something is more complicated than expected.
You don’t have to start again.
You can give AI the new information and ask it to adjust the plan.
For example:
“I only have one hour left today instead of two. Which parts of the plan should I focus on?”
Or:
“I’ve finished the first three steps. Update the remaining plan based on that.”
This is another example of what you learned in Lesson 1.
You can improve the result by improving the instruction.
Ask What You Might Have Missed
Sometimes we get so focused on what we know we need to do that we forget something important.
AI can help you look at the task from another angle.
After creating your plan, try asking:
“What have I forgotten?”
Or:
“What could cause this plan to go wrong?”
Or:
“Is there anything I should do before I start?”
AI may identify something you hadn’t considered.
You don’t have to accept every suggestion.
The purpose is to use AI to help you think more broadly about the task.
You Still Own the Plan
AI can organise information and suggest a sequence of actions.
But it doesn’t know your life as well as you do.
It may not understand your energy levels, priorities, responsibilities, preferences or the things that matter most to you.
That’s why a plan created by AI is always a starting point.
Read it.
Question it.
Change it.
Remove anything that doesn’t fit.
Add anything AI has missed.
The goal isn’t to follow an AI-generated plan perfectly.
The goal is to end up with a plan that works for you.
Let’s Make It Practical
Think of one task in your own life that currently feels messy, complicated or difficult to start.
It could be:
- preparing for an event
- organising a trip
- getting through a busy week
- tackling a home project
- preparing for an important meeting
- organising paperwork
- working towards a personal goal
Ask AI:
“I need to [describe your goal]. Here is what you need to know: [give the important context]. Help me break this into manageable steps and put them into a realistic order.”
Read the plan.
Then ask:
“What might I have missed?”
Finally, look at the plan yourself and change anything that doesn’t fit your circumstances.
Ask yourself:
“Could I actually follow this plan?”
If not, tell AI what needs to change and ask it to adjust the plan.
You’ve now used AI not simply to give you an answer, but to help you turn a messy task into a practical starting point.
What You’ve Learned
AI can help you turn a complicated or overwhelming task into a clearer plan.
Remember:
- Start with the end goal.
- Give AI the important context.
- Break large tasks into smaller steps.
- Put the steps into a sensible order.
- Make sure the plan is realistic.
- Ask AI to adjust the plan when circumstances change.
- Ask what you might have missed.
- Use your own judgement to decide what actually works.
You don’t need AI to manage your life for you.
You can use it as a planning partner that helps you organise your thoughts, see the next step and get started.
The plan is yours.
AI can help you build it, but you decide what works.
Planning is one thing. Finding reliable information is another. So how can you use AI to help with research without simply believing everything it tells you?
Next Lesson