Being swamped with work over weekends has been a common norm for techies. A recent blind survey revealed that over 57% of employees working in the biggest tech companies feel burned out. This problem is prevalent when discussing with CEOs, entrepreneurs, and techies. They unanimously pointed out that they would love to strategise, reflect, and learn new technology, but they lack time.
Fair enough, we all have 24 hours in a day, and work has been relentless. But this one single pain point is withholding innovations in the operations and service sector. But AI tech can shift the game.
In recent years, Microsoft Work Trend Index has highlighted that Microsoft 365 Copilot cut time spent on meetings, writing, and data analysis by up to 25%. During our research, we have come across surveys using generative AI like ChatGPT. But the problem is, they are not using it to their full potential. We can understand why.
As generative AI or any tech AI is an entire toolkit. It has the scope for limitless possibilities, and that is the reason techies are hesitating.
But you are gaining a valuable resource back: Time
According to the Microsoft Copilot study, users spent 30 minutes less on emails each week when using AI tech and completed documents 12 per cent faster. Another report speculated that AI saves an hour a day, which is five hours a week. These small pockets of time often amount to a hidden dividend of roughly half a working day every single week.
The above statement is supported directly, if more cautiously, by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Their thorough analysis estimated that AI tech saves an average of 5.4% of their weekly hours, which is roughly 2.2 hours every week. If we take the lowest estimate, the results point in one direction, which is reclaimed time. It will reshape your work week in many ways.
The time can be used in many ways, which we will explain later on. But first, let us give you an example of how AI will give you extra time to pick up your kid from school or mull over scientific theories.
Now, day-to-day tasks can be done by Tech AI
AI can do your daily work, which is time-consuming. Still thinking too good to be true, or you will forget doing menial tasks if AI gets incorporated into your daily work routine?
Starting with one task, which is not overly complex. Writing business emails. Not complex, but necessary work. Gen AI can learn your tone of voice and style and then write quick emails. All you need is to feed in a prompt.
One of the sample prompts:
I want to write an email to the client. It should be professional and can be semi-friendly. Make it as short as possible, and it should highlight the following information:
- The work is delayed due to a third-party vendor.
- We are fixing the problem.
- No action on the client’s part is required.
Generative AI will get the work done, and the business emails will be perceived just as professional, direct, confident, and goal-achieving as human-written ones. AI tech will boost your productivity, and this was just a snippet.
But doesn’t AI require a very hardcore language and take months to learn?
Myths Debunked
There are still myths around AI. Let’s address them one by one.
- Myth: AI takes too long to learn. It will only increase my working hours in learning the tools.
Truth: The tools are plug-and-play format, which comes with templates, and it will take minutes of your working time to get formal training.
- Myth: “ It is only for techies.”
Truth: Most AI tools, such as generative AI, have no-code interfaces for everyday users.
- Myth: “ It is still in the nascent stage. You cannot make real money this way.”
Truth: Tech professionals are becoming pro at AI tools such as GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, and Replit AI. They are mastering the tools to build and ship SaaS products, web apps, and Chrome extensions.
So, what are the areas where AI is useful?
You want Productivity, you need Tech AI
AI helps you in hundreds of big and small ways at work. But most useful will fall into these four categories:
- Task Automation: With Microsoft Office, repetitive tasks can be done swiftly. Now think of AI as a tool that can do tasks 100 times better. It includes data entry, scheduling, proofreading, and more. With mechanical tasks automated, you can lean more on higher-value tasks.
- Data Analysis and inferences: AI can analyse data faster than any human could. It can look deep into the data and find loopholes, patterns and predict the next set of data accurately. It helps decision-making faster.
- Streamlining communication: AI-powered communication and scheduling help collaboration faster and better. It is especially vital in remote and hybrid work setups, when it is hard to have an impromptu meeting.
- Personalisation: As we had given an example beforehand, AI-driven personalised recommendations go a long way in tailoring experiences for clients. It optimises workflows for employees as well. Think of this as Netflix, which recommends new content based on what you’ve viewed in the past. AI will adapt your voice and deliver emails, business plans, and much more according to your workflow.
So, what to do with the reclaimed time given by Tech AI?
The information on AI tech doesn’t reward those who move fast, but those who work differently. The one who recognises and reinvests the time in learning will lead the next chapter of work. If not, they may find themselves rewritten by it, which happens during every recession.
So why not today, learn with intention and build your learning loop. As we have said earlier, read, reflect, and journal. It will reshape your growth and career. Also, investing time in becoming more effective with AI tools will help you in giving better prompts. So today, why not experiment with the AI tools and use cases?
