#123 Productive Prompting

Welcoming you back to our Productivity Edition.

Productivity’s about being efficient. About not wasting time. So why am I still writing this intro?!?

Let’s just get after it.

AI Humans Prompted These Highlights!

FATTENING YOUR WALLET 💰️ 

• Hustle Hub: Taxes, Tools, and Weekend Hustles

BOOSTING YOUR PRODUCTIVITY🦾 

• Workin With AI - The Perfect Couple

• Prompt It Better: Advice You Can Use for ANY Situation

ELEVATING YOUR BRAND 📈 

• Always Informed: Impress Co-Workers and Connections with your AI Stock Knowledge

WORKING WITH AI 🤖 

ChatGPT & Grammarly = The Perfect Couple

Yet another new milestone for OTF! This edition marks the first time we’ve reported on a famous couple! But we’re not talking Kardashians here; we like to use our time a little more productively.

So instead I want to gossip about another sort of couple: ChatGPT & Grammarly 👫

CHATGPT:

By itself, it’s an incredible tool. You know I feel this way. I talk about it constantly. Because I use it constantly. For the past 2.5 years, it’s taken my output to new levels, in ways I’ve shared in this very section. Here’s one quick thing I haven’t shared, though, that could help ChatGPT ramp up your productivity simply by keeping it top of mind.

1. Go to Google Chrome >

2. Click the 3 dots in the top right corner >

3. Go to Settings >

4. Click "On Start Up" >

5. Select "Open a specific page or set of pages" >

6. Type in https://chatgpt.com/.

This has been a game-changer for me. It's the first window that pops up when I open my browser. Not Google, not ESPN, not a news outlet. (ChatGPT can give you all that info, anyway…)

The more you see it, the more you’ll use it.

The more you use it, the more productive you’ll be.

GRAMMARLY:

In case you’re not familiar, Grammarly “is an AI-powered writing assistant that helps improve grammar, spelling, punctuation, clarity, and tone in your writing. It goes beyond basic spell-checking by offering suggestions for word choice, sentence structure, and overall clarity, making your writing more effective and impactful.”

Once the Grammarly extension is added (follow steps here…so simple), you now have a writing assistant at your fingertips wherever you’re typing: Google Doc, email, etc.

When you write, it will underline portions of your writing and automatically make suggestions when necessary. If you’re not well-versed in grammar (cough, cough me — Prof Mike knows this better than most), it’s a great tool.  

CHATGPT 💍 GRAMMARLY:

When you put them together, Grammarly can really boost your ChatGPT prompts. While grammatical mistakes don’t really matter when prompting generative AI, the removal of unnecessary words and the suggestions for clarity and specificity could absolutely lead to better AI output.

To make this marriage work:

1. Add the Grammarly extension to your browser.

2. Make ChatGPT your startup page.

3. Let them cook!

(Speaking of prompting…)

PROMPT IT BETTER 💯 

_{*Last month we launched “Say It Better,” which is designed to help you sharpen your interpersonal communication skills. Because when you say it better, you sell it better. This week’s variation is called “Prompt It Better,” designed to sharpen your human-to-AI communication skills, thus taking our AI capabilities to a new level.}

When talking prompts, we usually focus on a very specific sort of prompt, producing a sort of template you can use whenever you see fit. But today, I want to talk more big-picture, with some Expert Advice from our very own Prof Mike. Advice you can use for literally any prompt.

So instead of imagining a scenario and showing how you could prompt AI better, like we did in last month’s edition - you can go here and check that out - I’d like to talk about my general approach to prompting and then bring Prof Mike in after.

From my POV, it’s all about patience.

You can’t expect to type out the perfect prompt and suddenly everything magically aligns. You need to be willing to take your time and go back and forth with the bot until you get the outcome you’re looking for.

Patient Prompting. That’s what it’s all about.

Prof Mike, your thoughts?

I agree with the basic premise, because after all: prompting is writing. No writer gets it right on the first try, so why would we expect this to be any different? You need to re-read your prompts, assess the feedback / AI output, and revise when necessary. When the output simply isn’t what you were looking for.

(You should be doing this all the time, with anything you write, whether you’re using that Grammarly extension or not.)

That said, there are things to keep in mind that can help you limit the back-and-forth exchanges and get to the desired results faster.

1. BE SPECIFIC - Avoid vague words. If you ask the bot to “make my web copy better,” it might interpret better any number of ways: clearer, buzzier, and yes, more specific, just to name a few. Then it might give you options for each, and end its output with something like, Is there a particular approach you’d like me to focus on? And now you’ve extended the conversation. Not the worst thing in the world, but if you wanna cut to the chase, be specific from the start.
   

2. CUT THE BULLSH*$ - In this context, I mean unnecessary words and info. The Grammarly extension could help here, but even without it, the approach is simple: before you hit ENTER, re-read your prompt and see if there’s rambling or excess that can be trimmed. You don’t want the bot to get hung up on something superfluous, because then its output will include extra stuff you don’t need.

To put a bow on this, I’ll end where I began: this is not only applicable to prompting. Being more specific and efficient with language is something every communicator - whether writing or speaking aloud - should strive for.

Solid advice Prof 🤝 

NEXT MONTH: Our next “Prompt it Better” will showcase how we can get strong sales scripts from ChatGPT so we can sell better. Stay tuned!

ALWAYS INFORMED INVESTED💡 

Back to the Stock Market

As always, we begin with the disclaimer: we are not financial professionals. But the professionals have been churning out a lot of AI-related content lately, and there are some that have simply been too good not to share.

If you pay attention to the markets at all, you know the biggest players in the AI space: Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), and Amazon. But there are so many more that we as investors should be following:

• RISING FAST: Palantir - We’ve had content that featured this company before. Last year at this time, they were at $25 per share. Now, they’re over $125. Experts are split on whether or not this is a good time to buy, but it’s worth looking into.

• SO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM: There are a bunch that were getting hype going back to last year - Taiwan Semiconductor, Super Micro Computer, Tempus AI (especially after Nancy Pelosi bought up a bunch 🤣) - but if you’re looking for companies that are hot right now, look no further than here.

Smart investing is a great way to generate passive income and set yourself up for retirement, but doing it “smart” means being patient and gathering as much info as possible.

These links are fine starting points - as are other websites like Yahoo! Finance, Seeking Alpha, etc. - but I always recommend seeking the advice of a finance professional for the most trustworthy guidance. Whether family member, friend of a friend, or a pro you pay for, get honest feedback suited to your specific circumstances before making any major moves.

HUSTLE HUB  📈 

YOUR SUCCESS:

Be Productive - There’s an AI tool being described as “Perplexity, NotebookLM, and ChatGPT put together?” Sign. Me. Up.

THEIR SUCCESS:

Be Tax-Smart - Absolutely, taxes are a hustle, and rich people know that hustle better than anyone…until now! Let ChatGPT teach you “how rich people avoid taxes” so you can do the same.

YOUR SUCCESS:

Be A Weekend Warrior - Here are 6 side-hustles you can do in your spare time, including two that utilize AI.

Before You Go

We hope you enjoyed what we generated this time around.

Next week, we’ll be back with May’s MONEY EDITION, featuring Making Cents, Expert Advice, and much more. In the meantime, let your voice be heard in our Community Poll on your way out…

Community Poll 📊 

Last Week’s Poll Results:

Which classic "Success" book currently ranks the highest on Amazon best-seller lists?? (3,763 subscribers)

• "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill (1937)

• "The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom" by Don Miguel Ruiz (1997) CORRECT ✔️ 

• "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen R. Covey (1989)

• "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie (1936)

As always, see you next Tuesday.

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