To say I’ve been rabbit holing lately is woefully inadequate. I’ve been obsessing like a tweenager crushing on Timothée Chalamet. I turned down a fancy steak dinner I wouldn’t have had to pay for. I paused all client work—then spun it as a strategic advantage to them if I dove headfirst into learning all things AI. And friends, I am peeing myself with delight.
Before you clutch your ethically-sourced pearls, rest assured—I’ve spent more hours exploring the dark side of this tech than the average bear. Say “bad for the environment,” and my nature-loving witch persona kicks into full-blown Hermione mode. The next post in this series will unpack the bad and the ugly, plus all the ways we can “be the change” and keep our integrity pristine.
For today, though, I’m asking you to suspend your disbelief and dream big with me.
Why?
Because what if our relationship with AI wasn’t about outsourcing creativity… but about stealing back time to make more art? As so many have lamented, we want AI to do our laundry so we can write our novels. This post is all about how to get AI to do your metaphorical laundry.
When you take administrative tedium off your plate, you can fill it with something better. Like finally making a dent in that Dr. Seussian TBR stack. Or blissfully losing hours to your alcohol ink obsession. Or napping.
Me?
I’m gonna use it to write.
And if AI makes more space for that in my life, I consider it an ally.1
Nowhere Near a Comprehensive List
Since I’m just one human who doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, I crowdsourced examples of fun and fascinating AI use cases. Then, because I’m a psychopath, I dove headfirst into testing the most intriguing ones.
It took 100 years—and this is part one of THREE 😳—but as a lifelong learning junkie, this is the most fun I’ve had in a decade.
And that’s why I can honestly say that if at least one thing on the following list doesn’t make you do a happy dance, you might be dead inside.
Table of Contents
Life Admin & Productivity
Inbox Whisperer
Chore Chart Creator
Decision-Making Assistant
Process Streamliner
Schedule Optimizer + Creative Flow Protector
Grocery Lists, Meal Plans and Recipes, Oh My
Parenting & Family
Care Plan Drafter
Brain Scramble Translator
Logistics Virtuoso
Decoder-in-Chief
Pet Chore Delegator
Home & Tech Help
Home Maintenance Planner
Garden Wizard
WTF Is This? Decoder
Financial Logistics
Comparison Shopper
Deal Hunter
Finance Manager
Extras
Trip Prepper
Life Admin & Productivity
Inbox Whisperer
Ever wish you had a personal assistant to summarize emails, write back in your voice and even create priority to-dos?
Gemini does this in Gmail but only if you’re on a Google One AI Premium plan. Other options include Outlook with Copilot (Microsoft’s AI) and Shortwave, which is free with paid features.
I chose Shortwave and now I’m OBSESSED. Besides finally processing the barrage of client email I’ve been unable to get to since March, my favorite use at the moment is filtering the obsessive inventory alerts I get from Autotrader and Carfax and only having it show me those that match the exact make, model and color of the car I’m hunting for—a thing their own filters weirdly won’t do.
Does this make you wanna geek out a little bit? Here’s a deep-dive post with an exhaustive list of use cases and example prompts to make you a Shortwave virtuoso.
Chore Chart Creator
AI2 doesn’t play favorites (even if it does tell you how smart you are all the time), so why not ask it to create a fair weekly chore schedule for your household based on what everybody prefers to do, their availability and even their level of executive function. It can track household tasks, offer reminders and estimate task durations—which is an absolute game-changer for the neurodivergent among us.
Take it from Lindsay Douglas, who said AI has “literally fixed how I do laundry and housekeeping.” Folks with ADHD and Autism who struggle to stay on top of recurring tasks can use AI to generate a detailed, tiered housekeeping chart and break tasks into manageable chunks that align with their needs and bandwidth. “It took many tries to get it right, but it was worth it in the end. I never have to think about what chores are due or how long it’s been since something’s been done because the AI thinks for me. Bliss.”
Her favorite? Goblin.tools—built specifically with neurodivergence in mind.3
Decision-Making Assistant
Torn between weekend plans, job offers or potential future neighborhoods? Just ask Chat to list the pros and cons, and suggest questions you maybe haven’t considered. It’s like having a life coach who doesn’t judge when you spiral.
Process Streamliner
AI is Sherlock Holmes on steroids. When I was trying to find a podcast episode where I talked about overcoming my fear of being visible—but couldn’t remember which show or season—it narrowed it down in seconds. No more scrolling through the entire back catalog of 134 episodes praying I find it before I lose my will to live.
And here’s another real-world example that made me want to kiss my laptop. It drives me bananas when my realtor client doesn’t send me a clean list of specs for a new house he’s listing. Instead, he sends a video walk-through and expects me to absorb the important details while watching it on my phone and scribbling notes like a coked-up monkey. Then I have to turn that chaos into a profesh-sounding listing—often without a clue whether the style is Tudor or Craftsman or what kind of trees are gracing the backyard.
Fortunately, AI has changed the game. I can now run the video through Otter.ai for a full transcript, and then work off that to get the write-up done in a third of the time. And when I can’t ID the trees from the footage?
Screenshot → Upload. Then ChatGPT tells me exactly what they are.
Schedule Optimizer and Creative Flow Protector
The app that I AM LOSING MY MIND OVER is Reclaim.ai. It automatically blocks out time for deep work, habits and personal priorities based on priority and how much space you have in your week. Think: protected time blocks for your joy, not just your job.
It’s a game-changer for multipotentialites who struggle to prioritize their shiny objects, and it’s the absolute tits for rebels like me who make To Do lists and then actively ignore them because You can’t make me do it and neither can I. The best part is, the hierarchy remains even if you work out of order; everything else simply shifts around your non-negotiables. This is my favorite tool (my favorite use case is still to come), so of course I’ll be doing a deep dive into how to set up Reclaim.ai for yourself in the upcoming weeks.
If you’d rather use ChatGPT instead of adding more tech to your tech stack, you can feed the bot your current projects and responsibilities (one-off and ongoing), plus any time-sensitive deadlines or “non-negotiables” this week. Then tell it what matters most this season (income, creativity, rest, visibility, etc.) and what would feel like a win by Friday.
Want to schedule your focused work in the mornings and your administrative tedium in the afternoons? Just say so.
Prefer Pomodoro-style bursts to marathon work sessions? It’ll account for that, too.
Need help with decision fatigue, energy dips or figuring out what tasks actually fit into the 3.5 hours you have free on Thursday? Chat will ask you thoughtful follow-ups about your natural rhythms so the resulting schedule feels attainable—and surprisingly human.
It can even give you cheat codes for getting started (Hi 👋🏼, procrastinators!) and the accountability nudges you need to get ‘er done. (Hi 👋🏼, every shiny object lover under the sun!)
Grocery Lists, Meal Plans and Recipes, Oh My
Planning healthy meals for the week is time-consuming. That’s why DoorDash exists. But with Chat, you can reclaim time to lazily sip cocktails on the veranda. Just ask it to create a grocery list from your saved recipes4, build a Sunday prep schedule or suggest meals based on what’s already in your fridge. (Yes, you can simply say, “I have mushrooms, spinach and kalamata olives. Now what?”)
Happen to be aggressively Type A? You’ll be wanting Grocery AI then. You can track what you have (just scan pics) and plan meals accordingly, get alerts when items are low in stock and reduce food waste by monitoring expiration dates. It can even spread prep tasks throughout the week so you’re not rage-chopping onions on a Tuesday night. The catch? You’ll need to stay on top of inputting or scanning your inventory and placing orders through a separate delivery app.
Eventually, though, we should all aspire to get a Samsung Smart Fridge. With built-in AI cameras and Instacart integration, it tracks inventory and orders groceries when needed, without you lifting a finger. (I mean, you still have to approve the order before placing it, but you can totally do that from a chaise lounge while eating grapes.)
And yes, it also reads what’s in your fridge and makes dinner suggestions based on that. 😱
Parenting & Family
Care Plan Drafter
At long last, the CEO of the household gets a personal assistant.5 Whether you’re managing a new diagnosis, an IEP meeting or juggling therapies, AI can help you outline and revise care plans in a way that feels manageable. You give Chat the bullet points (my son has ADHD, is sensitive to sound and bright lights, loses focus easily during schoolwork, melts down when we switch activities too fast, loves storytelling and art, is super smart, but struggles with routines) and it gives you back a structured, readable plan you can actually hand to professionals with a straight face.
Brain Scramble Translator
You know those moments when you’re too fried to explain (again) what’s going on to a doctor, therapist or teacher? You can give AI your half-baked voice memos or messy notes, and it’ll turn them into a polished, concise email that gets your point across.
Logistics Virtuoso
Mentally exhausted from always remembering the meds need a refill, the field trip slip is due and it’s pajama day tomorrow? ChatGPT can help you set up systems (and reminders!) to track the tiny stuff-of-life, so you’re not carrying the mental load of five people and a gerbil.
Decoder-in-Chief
Got a 45-page report from a specialist, or a transcript from a school meeting you recorded but never re-listened to? AI can distill that into digestible insights and action items so you can stop impersonating a deer in headlights and actually do something about it.
Pet Chore Delegator
If you’re the only one in your house who notices the litter box is approaching biohazard status, it’s time to bring in backup. ChatGPT can help you DIY a custom pet care system.
Just tell it who’s on your team (partner, kids, roommates, hired dog walker), what your pet needs (feeding, meds, walks, scooping, playtime), and how often those things should happen. It’ll even break the week into a color-coded task chart or daily reminders you can drop into your calendar, to-do app or shared family board. Bid adieu to passive-aggressive sticky notes forever!
And if you’re looking for fewer manual inputs and more “done for you,” give Taskade a try. Taskade is an app that generates a pet care task list for you, organizes it by category and lets you assign each item to someone else. It’s collaborative and super visual, so your partner can’t claim they “forgot” to clean the fish tank—because now you have receipts.
Home + Tech Help
Home Maintenance Planner
Chat made me a home maintenance planner, and I’m truly amazed that I’m even alive. Did you know your AC system is supposed to be serviced?!! WHY DOES NO ONE TELL ME THESE THINGS?
“You’re supposed to change your air filters every three months?” I asked the bot incredulously, while wiping my chronically runny nose and phoning in the cat’s asthma meds.
“Oh yes,” Chat said. “Every 3 months is recommended if you have pets ✅, live in a dusty climate ✅, your HVAC is running constantly during peak seasons ✅ and you have allergies or sensitivities ✅.”
All I did was feed it information on the types of appliances I have, my location and how handy I am (ahem, very—I can YouTube like a BOSS), and it now gets credit for my entire existence since my parents obviously phoned it in.6
Once it has created your plan, it’ll help you translate that list into your system of choice—Google Calendar events, Notion dashboards, printable checklists or recurring tasks in your task manager.
To skip the extra steps and get everything—push notifications, smart home integration and automatic syncing—in a single app, here are a few great turbocharged options:
- Oply—Provides maintenance reminders and local service provider suggestions.
- BrightNest—Offers tips, cleaning hacks and friendly nudges tailored to your home.
Garden Wizard
ChatGPT doesn’t just tell you when to water your plants—it helps you build a full-blown garden strategy that makes you look like a landscape architect.
Just tell it your climate, general location and soil type, upload a few photos of your yard at different times of day (to map sun exposure) and list what you want to grow. You’ll get back a personalized layout, the best plant picks—including companion plants—seasonal planting schedules and watering and fertilizing reminders.
Martha Stewart can eat her heart out.
WTF Is This? Decoder
Here’s a fun way to spend a Saturday. Remove every mystery object in your junk drawer, upload a photo and get Chat to tell you what the heck it is. Then you can throw it away in a real landfill, instead of the miniature one in your foyer.
What about when the dog’s automatic water filter won’t start but also won’t stop blinking? Chat can help troubleshoot broken tech and walk you through how to do a thing when the manual is missing—or written in hieroglyphics.
Financial Logistics
Comparison Shopper
Ever heard of maximisers and satisficers? When deciding between brands for a purchasing decision, maximisers strive to make choices that will give them the maximum benefit later on. Satisficers give no fucks.
If you think the maximiser’s approach leads to better outcomes, you’d be wrong. We’re perfectionists by another name—and we’re cracking under the pressure of our own high expectations.
But no longer must you spend 17 hours researching vacuum cleaners, my maximiser friends. AI can cut through marketing fluff and highlight what matters—giving you side-by-side comparisons of features, prices and user feedback.
I’m working on a website, and I asked it to compare two website themes I was thinking of purchasing and tell me the pluses and minuses of each. It cut through what would have been for me a tremendous amount of research and, right away, I knew which one to get.
Shlomo Levin
Deal Hunter
AI won’t just recommend a product—it’ll help you decide when to buy it, where to look for discounts and how to save without compromising on quality.
If you’ve been here for a minute, you know I’ve boycotted Amazon. I’m hella proud of this tiny act of resistance, but it’s made it a lot more difficult to do things like replace the hard protective case for my laptop when the old one from Amazon breaks again. I asked chat to find me VERY durable, well-reviewed cases from anywhere that wasn’t Amazon, and it hooked me right up.
And if you like saving money, simply ask Chat, “When’s the best time to buy a new mattress?” It’ll break the answers down by month/season, holiday sales, pricing trends and historical averages. Or you can request a deal-hunting plan like: “I want to buy a cold plunge tub—where should I look for the best price right now?” Chat will check trusted retailers that tend to discount that item, suggest tools (like Honey or Rakuten) to track prices or get cash back and offer timing tips, like “Wait for Sephora’s VIP sale.”
Finance Manager
Math is hard, amiright? It’s not your fault you’re a financial disaster, but it’s about to be—now that Chat can officially rehab your retail therapy habit.
You might say:
“I need a new food processor, linen sheets and some fall boots. Budget is $300—help me prioritize or find deals.”
The AI can break down the average cost of each item, recommend budget versus splurge categories based on reviews and suggest high-quality substitutes. It can even hunt down current promo codes or off-season sales.
If you want less back-and-forth, cue: Cleo.
This thing is hilarious. If I absolutely must adult, I want to do it with this mouthy broad sassing me for one too many trips to Starbucks. Cleo sits on top of your actual bank account (encrypted and secure) and analyzes your spending in real time. It helps you build custom budgets, tracks your bills and sends alerts before you overdraft. It also sets up auto-saves for things like your big Portugal trip.
And get this: Cleo roasts you when you blow your budget on takeout again (but nicely, like your bestie would do). It’s the self-proclaimed AI your finances will thank you for later. Based on that tagline alone, I’m in.
Extras
Trip Prepper
Never again forget your charger, your reading glasses or the silicone sticker that keeps wrinkles from forming between your boobs. AI can build packing lists that keep your head screwed on straight.
Headed to Thailand for 12 days with three dressy dinners planned and a waterfall hike? Just tell Chat your travel vibe, your level of glam and how many days you can wear the same jeans. It’ll give you a categorized list—clothes, toiletries, tech, travel docs—and can even map items to specific days or events.
Once you get the hang of prompting, possibilities start showing up everywhere.
Tiny life improvements. Big creative breakthroughs. Relief that borders on giddiness.
So I invite you to stop fearing AI. Start using it like a magic wand for all the boring as hell, energy-sucking parts of life—so you can get back to doing what you were put on this earth to do.
Or, as Piotr Wieczorek put it in my comment thread, far more eloquently than I could have:
“It’s not about outsourcing imagination, it’s about removing friction. When AI handles the noise, we finally get to listen to our own creative voice.”
Hear fucking hear, friends.
Tell me . . . ARE YOU EXCITED?! What tedious task are you ready to outsource to your backstage bitch7 so you can do fun things instead?
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