The AI Cheat Code

As a person, and as the author of Analytics Advantage, I try to focus on the simple and timeless instead of chasing trends. I don’t watch a “binge-worthy” series until I’ve heard about it for years. Maybe that’s my way of finding balance with my work, which is always chasing the boundaries of what we can do with data. I feel the same way with AI. You won’t get a list of “10 Prompts That Will 10x Your Productivity” from me.

I use AI daily. These days, I find myself writing more prompts than code. The jury is still out on whether it’s writing better code than I would or making me more productive. But I’ve found one thing that consistently yields better results across models and platforms: organization.

It’s what most of us struggle to do well across our lives. Disorganization is why we all have a kitchen junk drawer, or that box we’ve never unpacked since the last move. Organization is what helps keep us sane, regardless of the technology or team we’re working with.

Here’s How to Get Organized Today

• Create a system.
• Put it to use.

It may seem overly simple, but it’s often the easiest-to-understand concepts that we struggle with.

Create a System

The human brain is fascinating. The diversity of ways in which people reason their way to a decision is both predictable and highly personalized.

We’ve talked about how hard it is to change the way people work. Changing how they think is even harder.

So, which system should you use to organize your work and thoughts to get the most out of AI? The one you’ll actually use.

What works for my brain is the well-tested Agile methodology:

• Defining tasks with User Stories and Acceptance Criteria.
• Breaking tasks out into the Kanban categories, like To Do, Doing, and Done.

There’s more flourish and context you can add to each of these, but whether it’s working with AI or a co-worker, these simple, timeless concepts have been effective for years. Why change now just because there’s a new tech in town?

A Straightforward Way to Organize Information for AI

For an individual task, define:

• What “done” looks like
• Why it matters
• How it will be used

Within a larger system, organize tasks into:

• To Do
• Doing
• Done

Using these straightforward concepts, I’ve been able to get AI to build applications in languages that I have no idea how to write. Since moving most of my work to AI, I haven’t seen a dramatic shift in the type of work I deliver. The real change is in the completeness of it. Before, I would deliver a solution with solid functionality and some documentation. Now I deliver that same functionality with full unit tests and comprehensive documentation. AI is enabling me to deliver solutions at the same pace, but much closer to the ideal that we all strive for.

Put the System to Use

The hardest part of creating something transformational isn’t design, it’s implementation and production. We’ve all designed the perfect 30-day diet plan that we intend to follow, only to stop after day four.

Staying organized takes accountability and a willingness to slow down.

How can you stay accountable? Build in public. Show your work. Create shared folders or structures where everyone can see them. Tell people that you’re going to be organized and then actually do it — even when they find it annoying or inconvenient (within reason).

We all love the idea of glass-pane cabinet doors until we realize it means that we have to put the bowls back in a neat and orderly way. Every single time. But the deeper reward here: the more visible your mess, the more satisfying it is to keep it clean.

There’s Always Time to Do It the Right Way

I have found that what brings me the greatest joy is when my past self is kind to my future self, when I organize my information and tasks in such a way that I can easily pick them up again. When I find that I don’t want to be organized, I remind myself of this phrase: “There’s always time to do it the right way.” It doesn’t mean I’m cheerful about it, but I do find my future self thanking my past self more and more.

Be kind to yourselves.

— Shaun

Shaun Davis, your personal data therapist, understands your unique challenges and helps you navigate through the data maze. With keen insight, he discerns the signal from the noise, tenaciously finding the right solutions to guide you through the ever-growing data landscape. Shaun has partnered for 10 years with top data teams to turn their data into profitable and efficiency hunting action. Learn more about Shaun.