Time to Shift Your Mindset: Embrace AI Tools for Maximum Efficiency

I was sitting at a coffee shop with my friend Avinash when I spotted him copying data into a Google Sheet. He had received a Slack message with the hours logged by our front-end developer for the month, but since Jira's time-tracking was broken, the developer tracked hours manually.

A Faster Approach

Curious, I suggested we try a faster approach. Instead of splitting text in the sheet, we used ChatGPT to convert the raw text into CSV format. Avinash then pasted the CSV into Google Sheets. Soon after, I realized we didn't actually need the spreadsheet at all—he just needed the total hours. We asked ChatGPT directly, and it immediately gave the sum, skipping the entire spreadsheet step.

Voice Dictation as a Multiplier

Throughout this process, we used Flow for voice dictation, minimizing our typing. What would usually take several minutes in Google Sheets took just seconds with the right tools. Avinash was impressed; he already had ChatGPT and Flow but never thought of combining them to speed up simple tasks.

The Efficiency-First Mindset

The lesson here is to adopt an efficiency-first mindset. By leveraging modern tools, we can save time and mental energy for the things that truly matter. The freed up time can be used for getting more done at work or spending quality time with the people we care about.