Your Path to an 8-day Week - Part 2, AI Redux
- Hamish Mackenzie
- Jul 16
- 4 min read
If you haven't read the 8-Day Week Part One post, do that here now.
And before you start plugging stuff into AI tools with abandon, please remember: Before using any AI tool, always check its privacy and security settings. If you’re unsure, talk to your IT team. When in doubt, anonymize, obfuscate, or avoid uploading any sensitive or proprietary information. And while we're at it, none of the following suggestions constitutes a recommendation or advice. They are ideas and should be treated as such - execution is entirely at your own risk. OK, now let's get to it.
In 2025 (and even more so in the future), most time-saving tactics work even better when you add the right AI workflows. Here are 10 practical ways generative AI can help you do less, decide faster, and lead better:
1) UPGRADE YOUR DELEGATION
How AI Helps:
Instead of typing out the same instructions five different ways, have AI generate clear, structured delegation briefs customized to each team member’s role and strengths. This saves you 15–30 minutes per task and prevents costly misunderstandings.
Tool:
Prompt:
*“Draft a delegation brief for [task] that includes:
Why this matters to our company’s mission,
What the expected outcome is,
A timeline, and
How success will be measured.
Tone: Clear, motivating, professional.”*
2) PROTECT YOUR PRIME TIME
How AI Helps:
Use AI to pre-structure your focus time the night before. Whether you’re writing an investor update or designing a product roadmap, an outline in your inbox lets you start working immediately, no warm-up needed.
Tool:
Prompt:
“Create a detailed outline for a [type of document or project] including headings, key points, and a recommended order of work. Focus on clarity and brevity.”
3) DELETE EMAIL FOLDERS
How AI Helps:
Don’t waste hours scrolling old threads. Let AI read them, extract decisions, and suggest whether you can archive or delete. The result: faster inbox cleanup and less mental clutter.
Tool:
Prompt:
*“Summarize this email thread in bullet points showing:
Main decisions made
Any pending follow-ups
Relevant attachments or references
Then recommend whether to archive or keep.”*
4) BATCH SIMILAR TASKS
How AI Helps:
Instead of guessing what to group together, feed your entire task list to AI. It will cluster related workstreams automatically, creating a clear batching schedule you can drop on your calendar.
Tool:
Prompt:
“Categorize the following tasks into logical groups (e.g., admin, strategic planning, team management, investor relations). List them in a table with a recommended order of execution for efficiency.”
5) STOP MULTITASKING
How AI Helps:
AI can instantly produce structured meeting recaps, draft follow-up emails, or prep briefing documents while you’re still in focus mode—so you never have to interrupt your flow to document what happened.
Tool:
Prompt:
(Automatically applied if you integrate with your meeting platform—no manual prompt required.)
Pro Tip:
After the meeting, ask:
“Generate action items and owner assignments in a numbered list for this transcript.”
6) CUT OUT THE NOISE
How AI Helps:
Instead of doomscrolling five different news sites, use an AI-powered feed to curate relevant headlines only—think major contract awards, launches, and tech breakthroughs that actually impact your business.
Tool:
Prompt:
*“Create a daily briefing limited to:
Space industry contracts above $10M
Regulatory policy changes affecting satellite operators
Major technology advances in propulsion or launch
Summarize in 5 bullets with links.”*
7) KILL NOTIFICATIONS
How AI Helps:
Train AI to triage inbound messages and label them by urgency, so you can batch your replies confidently without missing something critical.
Tool:
Prompt:
(Uses built-in AI—just enable “Summarize & Triage.”)
Pro Tip:
You can also paste emails into ChatGPT:
*“Summarize these emails. Tag each as:
Urgent (reply today)
Important (reply this week)
FYI (no reply needed)”*
8) CULL YOUR COMMITMENTS
How AI Helps:
Stop guessing which commitments are time sucks. AI can map your roles against outcomes and help you decide what to ditch.
Tool:
Prompt:
*“Create a table with these columns:
Commitment
Estimated hours/month
Strategic impact (High/Medium/Low)
Personal fulfillment (1–10 scale)
Based on this, suggest 3 commitments to exit.”*
9) END MEETING OVERLOAD
How AI Helps:
Use AI to read and summarize pre-reads before you join any meeting. This lets you skip 80% of the discussion and jump in only when decisions are needed.
Tool:
Prompt:
*“Summarize this transcript into:
Key topics covered
Decisions needed
Open questions”*
Pro Tip:
Ask ChatGPT:
“Draft a short pre-read summary I can review in 2 minutes.”
10) REDUCE YOUR REACTIONS
How AI Helps:
You don’t have to answer every email or request in real time. AI can draft thoughtful, polite responses that buy you breathing room without looking unresponsive.
Tool:
Prompt:
“Write a professional email declining this request politely but firmly. Maintain a positive tone and leave the door open for future collaboration.”
WRAP-UP
You didn’t launch a new space company to spend your days deleting emails and chasing your own calendar.
Generative AI isn’t a fad—it’s the best leverage you’ll ever have. If you don’t start using it to reclaim time now, someone else in your orbit will—and they’ll lap you.
Choose your tools. Try one prompt. See how much faster you move.
Want some help with that? Let’s talk.
Comments