If you are past the stage of starting to use genAI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, etc., and you want to work towards getting outsized returns on your time, then this post is for you.
This isn’t a hack or a cheat code or a shortcut, to be clear. Using these tools well requires skill-building, which takes iteration and time.
I see and hear a lot of the same conversations when it comes to using some of these tools, and I think that they are leaving out the important things that make the biggest difference.
Let’s begin -
Skill #1 - How to identify problems
It might seem straightforward or obvious, but I’ve talked to a lot of people who are using AI tools, and when I ask the “what problem are you solving” question, a large number of people don’t have an answer. If you are using AI just for the sake of using AI, it will be hard to make any actual progress. If you start with a real, measurable problem, you can see how quickly you get to a solution.
Skill #2 - Breaking problems down into actionable steps (or AI-sized chunks in this case)
There are lots of names for this, like decomposition, work breakdown structure, etc. AI chatbots do much better with smaller tasks. If you can be the project manager, break down what you want, feed the separate pieces into your LLM of choice, and then put the responses back together, you can have much better results. You can also choose which pieces to assign to a human because there is a disadvantage to using AI tools.
Skill #3 - Recognizing when your AI tool is confidently giving you incorrect information
Hallucinations are real. Your ability to spot them consistently can make a massive difference. You have to have a particular set of skills to do this (i.e., know a lot about the topic, know patterns in how the LLM that you are using responds, know how to cross-reference with known-good sources, etc.)
Skill #4 - Knowing the right amount of context to add to a prompt
Too little context and hallucinations are more likely. Too much context and hallucinations are more likely. You have to get the goldilocks amount of context, but how do you know what that is? Iterate. Take notes. Build the skill…
Skill #5 - Knowing when not to use AI tools
Some tasks take longer (much longer) to create a good-enough prompt and get useful output. In those cases, it makes sense to do them yourself (or assign them to another competent person). Knowing when it isn’t worth using the AI tools at all is a very valuable skill.
There are so many more on this list, but I’ll stop there. These are different from “download this prompt pack and steal my prompts” type messages. If you can build these skills, then you can use AI as a partner/team member and 2X, 5X, 10X+ your productivity.
Better get started!
Bonus - Here are some additional non-negotiable skills to consider in the age of AI
Stop Guessing. Start Scaling.
The Human + AI Playbook Template helps you turn everyday AI use into repeatable systems that actually save time—and multiply results.
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