By skyforbes 
NurPhoto via Getty Images
As the CEO of a SaaS company, I’m used to receiving quick feedback. With multiple communication channels open during office hours, I can usually immediately gauge how well an idea or project is progressing. So when I started writing my first book, the lack of regular input was disorienting. A huge undertaking that spanned nearly a year, I felt directionless at times without any feedback on my progress. Eventually, I enlisted an editor, and that made all the difference.
Just as having an editor provided the guidance and momentum I needed, today’s AI tools can support and motivate you through your work processes. Whether you’re launching a new venture or striving to do your best work at your current gig, ChatGPT can serve as a powerful sounding board, boosting your motivation and helping you feel unstoppable. Here are some prompts to help you get started.
Review Work And Provide Energizing Feedback
Feedback, be it positive or negative, is a motivating force. Research has found that while negative feedback can prompt people to try again and perform better, positive feedback can make you feel more competent, boosting motivation and sustained engagement. ChatGPT can offer both types of feedback, highlighting where you’re hitting the mark and suggesting how you might improve.
When ChatGPT reviews my work, I’ve found the feedback often begins with positive notes and proceeds to constructive ones. The generative AI must have been trained on the idea that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. With ChatGPT, you can even specify the tone in which you’d like it to reply. OpenAI provides a sample prompt for creating a chatbot persona:
“You are Marv, a chatbot that reluctantly answers questions with sarcastic responses.”
Give it a try: Chatting with Marv can be quite entertaining.
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Here’s a prompt that you can use to solicit motivating feedback from ChatGPT:
“I’d like your feedback on the following project/work: [Brief description of the project or work.] I’d like you to provide feedback on the strengths and areas for improvement. I’d like your response to be [insert preferred tone: e.g., encouraging, constructive, as if you were my harshest critic, as if you were a supportive friend, etc.]. Focus on motivating me to improve while also highlighting what’s working well. Offer actionable suggestions where possible.”
Analyze Tasks And Identify Items Ripe For Automation
When I encourage employees to find ways to automate their busywork, the goal isn’t just to save time. The main objective is to make more time for the “big things”—meaningful work that feels fulfilling; the kind of tasks that put you into the flow state. Coined by the late psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, flow is when you’re so absorbed in a task, because it’s so viscerally engaging, that you forget about time.
According to Csikszentmihalyi, flow is the secret to happiness. The more time you spend in a flow state during your workday, the better, the more confident you feel. ChatGPT can help augment the flow time in your workday. With the right prompt, it can analyze your daily tasks and identify items ripe for automation. As a result, you dedicate less time to work that depletes you and more to tasks that energize you.
“I’d like your help analyzing my daily tasks to identify which ones could be automated to save time and reduce mental fatigue. Here’s a list of my typical daily tasks: [Insert list or brief description of daily tasks.]
I’d like you to review this list and suggest tasks ripe for automation, explaining why they’re suitable and offering potential tools or methods for automating them.”
Set Goals That You’ll Actually Follow Through With
New Year’s resolutions rarely stick—in fact, about 90% of people don’t follow through with them. As Philip Gable, associate psychology professor at the University of Delaware, explained, to join the 10% of resolution-keepers, it’s crucial to break down big goals into small achievable steps. Gable noted that when we set big goals, we become distressed if we can’t achieve them right away; or maybe we can’t picture all of the elements required to meet the objective. “[S]tarting small gives us something achievable, and then that gives you a platform to go to the next thing,” he explained.
ChatGPT can help you set clear, achievable goals and break them down into manageable steps. With external tools like Zapier or IFTTT, you can remind yourself to periodically check in with ChatGPT to track your progress.
Here’s a prompt you can use to begin the process of goal setting:
“I want to set clear, achievable goals for [describe the project, task, or objective]. Can you help me: Define a specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goal for this project? Break down the goal into manageable, actionable steps that I can take to make steady progress? Suggest a realistic timeline for these steps?”
Then, once you’re ready to check in with ChatGPT, you’ll have to bring the tool up to speed and provide context (ChatGPT does not remember past conversations). Here’s a prompt template to facilitate your progress tracking:
“I’m checking in with you for an update on my progress with [project or task description]. So far, I have completed [list milestones or tasks completed]. I’m currently working on [describe the current stage or task] and facing [any challenges or observations]. Can you: help me assess my progress so far and suggest any adjustments or improvements? Provide feedback on whether my current pace is on target with the initial plan? Offer motivation or advice to keep pushing forward?”
Connecting Daily Tasks To Purpose
We’re living in a busyness epidemic. In his book, The Power of Human, Adam Waytz writes about a man who immigrated to the United States and came to believe that “busy” meant “good”—because when he asked people how they were doing they often replied, “Busy.”
Our modern day work culture promotes the mindset that professionals must always be doing something. Each week, each day draws us deeper into the forest of busyness—it becomes impossible to see the trees.
Reminding yourself of how your daily work connects to a larger purpose is a powerful motivational force, instilling even more tedious tasks with a deeper sense of meaning. ChatGPT can help remind you of why you’re doing something and make you feel like you’re working toward something greater than yourself.
“I want to connect my daily tasks with a larger purpose. Can you help me by asking questions that guide me to:
- Identify the task I’m working on.
- Explore how this task contributes to the overarching objectives of my team or organization.
- Recognize who benefits from this work and in what way.
- Pinpoint what personal strengths, values, or skills I’m applying or developing through this task.
- Understand how this task contributes to my own career growth or personal aspirations.
After considering these aspects, can you generate a summary of how this task supports my greater purpose?”
With the above prompts, ChatGPT can help streamline your workflows and act as your motivational coach and digital accountability partner.