Tayla Burrell

May 25th, 2025

The AI Productivity System That's Changing My Life

How to actually make AI work for you (even as a complete beginner)

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If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve got 3 big goals on your mind:

• A career goal — getting a promotion, making more money, maybe starting (or growing) a business
• A health goal — running a marathon, losing 10kg, reducing your stress
• A personal goal — planning a wedding, moving house, or just building better routines

But if you’re anything like I was 6 months ago, you have a problem:

You’re busy and life’s overwhelming.

You are under so much pressure from the day-to-day that there’s no space left to focus on even one of your goals — let alone all three.

(Or maybe you are making progress, but want to take it even further.)

Either way, this one system has completely changed how I approach my life and work.

Today, I’ll show you exactly how I’m building my AI productivity system — and how you can use it to start actually achieving the goals that matter.

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The mindset shift that started it all

I used to think time was the thing standing between me and my goals.

“If I just had two more hours a day,” I told myself,

"I’d prioritise my relationships. I’d stay consistent with content."

But here’s the thing, and maybe you’ve felt this too:

If I handed you two extra hours today... would you actually use them well?

Or would you still feel pulled in every direction - mind racing with tasks, half-finished projects, unread emails?

The truth is, the real problem isn’t just time. It’s the mental load we carry.

The constant:

• Micro-decisions
• Juggling priorities with zero thinking space
• Distractions, dopamine, and pressure from every direction

That overwhelm doesn’t just stay in your mind.

It leaks into everything.

You feel tired even when you’re not doing much.

You struggle to focus, even on the things that matter.

You can find an extra hour here and there, but you can't find the energy to use it well.

That’s what I was feeling.

And it’s where this shift really started for me.

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So... what can we do?

12 months ago, I would've told you the answer was routines, habits, and better productivity systems.

That’s what worked for me in the past - what I’ve spent the last 3 years obsessing over.

But sometimes, no matter how organised or productive you are, there’s just too much to do.

Sometimes you don’t need a better way to fit everything in. You actually just need something that can take things off your plate.

That’s where AI comes in.

And why I’ve become obsessed with figuring out how to actually use it properly.

Because even though I know I’m just scratching the surface, already I’ve:

• Stopped spending hours overthinking emails and meeting notes
• Stopped planning everything in my head without anyone to sense check it
• Built an entire action plan, complete with weekly routines and daily habits that fit with my life to grow my side hustle while working full-time.

And as a result?

I finally created space - not just in my calendar, but in my mind.

This is the true power that AI unlocks.

It multiplies what you’re already good at.

It helps you think clearer and make better decisions.

And it frees up time for what matters:

• Showing up online
• Building the connections to succeed at work
• Balancing your career with your major life events
• And doing more of what actually makes you happy.

So if you’ve been feeling behind, scattered, or just mentally exhausted - this is the system I wish I had sooner.

Let’s get into how to make it happen.

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Your 4-Step AI Productivity System

Step 1: Identify Your Specific Use Cases (The 3 Levers)

Stop using AI randomly.

Instead, analyse where your time and energy actually go, and what tasks genuinely move your goals forward.

I like to focus on three key levers:

1. Time: What daily/weekly tasks do you wish took half the time? (e.g., email responses, research, proposal tailoring)

2. Energy: What tasks leave you mentally drained? (e.g., follow-ups, decision-making, content ideation)

3. Leverage: What tasks give you outsized results for the effort? (e.g., concise weekly updates to your manager, one impactful LinkedIn post, smart meeting prep)

Go ahead and do a brain dump for each of these.

Think about your goals. Look at your last two weeks. Get honest about what’s taking your time, energy, and focus.

Then highlight 3–5 key tasks you’d love to offload, delegate, or do faster.

This is your starting point.

Now, let’s find out how AI can actually help us with these tasks.

Open up ChatGPT and use this simple prompt:

We'll build your system around these specific needs.

I like to keep a list of these tasks handy, and add to it over time so I always have fresh inspiration for new use cases to add down the track.

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Step 2: Choose the Right Tools for YOUR Needs

Once you’ve got your key use cases, it’s time to find the right tools to match them.

There’s a million out there, but honestly, a few will give you what you need as you’re starting out.

Let me walk you through what I use, and why.

1. Google Gemini

As I mentioned in last week's newsletter, their recent updates have made me a BIG fan.

Gemini feels the most human to me.

I use it for writing and strategic tasks - things like:

• Creating presentations or client proposals
• Helping to write blog posts or content for work
• Conducting deep research and planning out strategic projects

(Please know I don't ever use AI to write my own content - I use it as a thought partner for brainstorming and outlining, but outsourcing my writing would completely negate the point of this newsletter).

2. ChatGPT (OpenAI)

This is the best all-rounder.

I recently switched from Claude to ChatGPT Plus and though it will never write like Claude, I'm loving it so far (you get access to more advanced models with the paid plan).

I’ve been using it to build what I call my High Performance HQ — setting up my own 'AI assistants' using custom GPTs and projects for different parts of my work and life.

(If this is something you want me to share more of moving forward, just reply 'HQ' to this email).

3. Perplexity

Perplexity is a little bit redundant in this system. I don’t use it for my repetitive tasks. But I needed to include it because it has basically replaced Google for me. I use it to search on a daily basis.

4. Optional (Use-Case Specific Tools)

Depending on the use cases you identified, you might also consider:

• Midjourney for visual content
• Descript for editing audio content
• Claude if you're focused specifically on writing or coding
• Copilot if you’re deep in the Microsoft ecosystem for work (I’m also becoming a major fan of Gemini after their recent update, as I shared in last week’s newsletter)
• Notion AI if you already use Notion to run your life or work. It's definitely not as strong as other models, but it's integrated into the platform so has great context to draw on.

These tools are evolving fast, so if you’re unsure what to use, just ask ChatGPT. Simply add to the prompt above:

Notice I'm not using 20 different AI tools – just the right ones for my specific needs. When I tried using too many tools simultaneously, I spent more time managing them than actually saving time.

So my recommendation?

Start with no more than 3 tools.

Build confidence and results first — then expand as needed.

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Step 3: Master Your Prompt

We have the task.

We have the tool.

The next piece?

Crafting the prompt

This is the step that changed everything for me.

Because the difference between a mediocre AI response and a genuinely useful one - comes down to how you ask.

The prompt is the brief you give your assistant.

If it’s vague, you’ll get vague answers.

If it’s specific and structured, that’s when you’ll save time

This is where my COACH framework comes in:

• Character: Define the AI's persona.
• Objective: State the desired outcome.
• Architect: Specify the format and structure.
• Context: Provide necessary background information.
• Humanness: Add reminders and quality checks.

Hint: keep my YouTube video coming out this week - it walks you step by step through this framework and it’s components.

You can use this framework to write one prompt for each of the tasks you identified earlier.

Or, if you want to shortcut the process, just grab the free AI Prompt Playbook. It includes:

• A cheat sheet for the COACH framework
• 5 prompts I use on a daily basis to save time and get ahead
• Plus a bonus life optimisation prompt to optimise your routines and productivity.

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Step 4: Build Habits for Continuous Improvement

There’s a reason that AI can feel so challenging.

We’re learning it from scratch.

But unlike studying history, AI is continuously changing as we’re learning it.

You think you have something nailed, then all of a sudden the rules change, or a new model drops.

This is incredibly frustrating.

It’s what took me so long to get started in the first place.

And it’s what makes this final step so important.

At this point, you’ve laid a strong foundation for using AI for high impact tasks.

It’s now time to build sustainable habits that allow you to keep improving in how you use AI.

Here's the progression I’m following and recommend:

Level 1: Education

This is all about uncovering new use cases, and learning how you can further capitalise on AI to support your goals

• Subscribe to one AI newsletter (congrats, you've ticked this off!)
• Watch one AI tutorial or YouTube video each week
• Talk to coworkers, friends, family and ask how they’re using AI

Level 2: Experimentation

This stage is where you learn what works, what doesn’t, and how you like to use AI.

• Use AI daily for at least one task
• Try one new feature or technique weekly
• Reflect on a regular basis

Level 3: Efficiency

Once we find what works, we need to stop reinventing the wheel and start maximising of efficiency and the leverage we can gain from AI. I’m currently at this stage, and for me this has looked like:

• Creating a prompt bank of my most effective prompts
• Creating structured PDFs to give to my AI tools for more context (ie. brand guidelines, deep research reports, examples of previous content, etc.)
• Investing in a ChatGPT subscription and setting up dedicated project for personalised AI assistants.

Level 4: Integration

Once you’ve set up and refined your use cases so they’re all running smoothly and giving you what you want, the last step is to integrate and automate.

Full transparency: I’m not at this point yet.

I’m still finalising level 3, but it’s something I’m looking to explore in the coming weeks and months.

The focus here is connecting your AI tools to your broader workflows using software like Make.com. I imagine that AI agent software like Replit will come into play as well.

For example, I want to create a system where my meeting transcripts are automatically processed by AI, which extracts action items, drafts follow-up emails, and updates my project management tool.

This is the automation that everyone is raving about. But getting here requires setting up strong foundations first.

You can’t automate what you haven’t refined.

If your prompt sucks or the workflow isn’t clear, automation will just multiply the mess.

So don’t rush it.

Build a strong base, one habit at a time.

Then slowly layer on automation as it makes sense.

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Action Steps

So let's pull this all together. Here’s how you can take action of this AI productivity system to actually achieve the goals that matter:

1. Identify your use cases

Use the 3 levers: Time, Energy and Leverage

Brain dump 3-5 tasks for each category.

These become your initial focus for AI integration.

2. Choose the right tools

For each use case, identify the ideal tool for the job.

Try to stick to no more than 2–3 in total across all your tasks to start.

3. Craft foundational prompts

Revisit my previous newsletter on the COACH framework, or stay tuned for my upcoming YouTube video.

And to fast-track this, access the AI Prompt Playbook here.

Use the COACH framework to create one core prompt for each task.

Once you've created this prompt, store it in a database and use it again and again.

4. Build habits for continuous improvement

Educate yourself weekly.

Experiment daily.

And when you're ready, maximise your efficiency and optimise your workflows.

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Implementing this system has honestly helped me save about 10 hours a week.

But more importantly?

It’s helped me regain my mental energy and focus.

I no longer feel overwhelmed by administrative tasks that used to drain me.

I’m finally using AI consistently instead of feeling like I needed to know everything first.

I can dedicate more attention to work that actually moves the needle, and be present in my life rather than constantly thinking about my to-do list.

And I have more mental space and energy to think past the tasks that just maintain my life, and focus on the goals that move me forward.

I hope this system helps you do the same too.

Until next time!

Tayla

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