Use AI to handle everyday writing and communication faster
Step 2 is where AI becomes genuinely useful in your daily work. Instead of occasional experiments, you start using it for real tasks: rewriting emails, cleaning up bullet points, summarizing documents, and drafting messages. This is the "quick wins" stage—tasks that took 15-30 minutes now take 2-3 minutes. You're not doing anything fancy, but you're consistently getting value. Most people who reach this stage never leave it, which is fine—but there's much more available.
The value of Step 2 isn't just time saved—it's friction removed. That email you've been avoiding? Done in 90 seconds. Those messy meeting notes? Cleaned up before you forget them. The real shift is psychological: you stop dreading small writing tasks because they're no longer effortful. This frees mental energy for higher-value work. Step 2 also builds the habit of reaching for AI, which is the foundation for everything that comes next.
Write a rough version first—even just bullet points. AI improves existing content better than creating from nothing.
Be explicit: "Make this shorter," "Sound more confident," "Remove jargon." Vague requests get vague results.
Read the output. If it's close but not right, say what to change: "Good, but make the opening less formal."
Edit the final version in your voice. AI gives you a strong starting point—you add the finishing touches.
Had to decline a meeting request without damaging the relationship. Pasted my blunt draft and asked for a "polite but firm" version. Got a response that said no clearly while expressing appreciation. Sent it unchanged.
Took rough bullet points from a 45-minute meeting and asked AI to "organize these into clear action items with owners." Received a formatted list I could paste directly into our project tracker.
Received a 12-page report before a meeting. Asked for "a 5-bullet summary of the key findings and recommendations." Read it in 2 minutes, walked into the meeting prepared.
"Step 2 is where most people stop—and that's okay, because you're already saving hours every week. But the real leverage comes when you move from using AI for tasks to using it for thinking. That's where things get interesting."