5 AI Tools That Save Me Tons of Time Every Single Day
I'm reclaiming my time. ⏱
Let me start by saying I completely understand why so many people fear generative AI. I share concerns about how AI might reproduce social and structural inequity. Still, while exploring the bevy of new AI tools, I've seen how some of them can do tasks that make my personal and professional lives ten times easier.
I’m neurodivergent. Context-switching and sequential thinking have always been huge obstacles to my productivity, so I’m bullish on anything that reduces that mental load.
Don’t call me an AI evangelist, but I want to ensure that the people who might be helped the most by these aids know they exist.
Today, I'm diving into the AI tools that have transformed my workflow by saving me planning, ideation, and research time.
Merlin AI
Merlin easily provides me with the most daily utility of any AI tool. I’ve tried several "AI assistants,” it has the most attractive and intuitive user experience. I pay $19/month for 500000 queries. That sounds like a lot because it is a lot. That's more than enough to meet all of my needs.
How I Use It:
Article Summaries
In the sea of information, Merlin’s article summarizer is my lifeline. It cuts through the noise, providing concise summaries of lengthy articles.
YouTube Video Summaries, Timestamps and Transcripts
The Chrome extension adds a summary button and widget to every YouTube video. Merlin’s generative AI outlines what’s discussed in the video and provides timestamps. If I don’t have the time or desire to watch a long podcast video or lecture, I use timestamps to jump to the part of the video I want to see. I also use this to generate timestamps for my videos.
Finally, this feature can create full transcripts for videos. I often search within them for mention of a specific name or term. Clicking on the word in the transcript plays where the word is mentioned in the video.
Access All The Best LLMs
Merlin AI provides instant access to all my favorite large language models (LLMs), like ChatGPT, Gemini, Mistral, and Claude. Press CMD+M, and a chat appears in the browser. From there, you can choose which AI to use. I use it as a collaborative ideation tool. I also use the chatbot to do cursory research and simple data analysis.
Speechify
I have to be an eager, aggressive reader to do my job well, but I always feel like there’s not enough time in the day for me to read every book and article I’d like to.
Audiobooks make reading more manageable and less time-consuming, but I need to see the words. Speechify is a game-changer because I can use it with any book, article, or document on screen.
I read along while listening to the generated reader to read and retain the information more effectively.
I’ll be honest: This app requires a subscription to get the most out of it, and it’s not cheap. The free voices are dreadful to listen to. But I'm saving dozens of hours a week between the Chrome extension and the iOS apps for my phone and laptop.
ChatPDF
If I want to dive deeply into a document, I use ChatPDF. After uploading a document, AI quickly summarizes its information and suggests questions referencing the document’s most salient points. I prefer pulling up ChatPDF when reading or reviewing academic articles. It allows me to focus on extracting and synthesizing the information I’m looking for.
Perplexity.Ai
Google search sucks. I'm so sorry to the Google employees who might be reading this, but the gamification of SEO and ads wholly destroyed what was once the most important destination on the Internet.
Perplexity provides clear, nuanced, in-depth explanations about any topic. Input a question or search term, and Perplexity crawls the internet and assembles a well-organized response. Its unparalleled accuracy makes it an essential tool for research and deep dive into topics. I use it on my phone and laptop.
ChatGPT
Despite the fact that ChatGPT Models 3.5 and 4 are integrated into Merlin’s chatbot, I still go to Chat.OpenAi.com for the GPTs. These chatbots hone in on specialized knowledge that enables quick completion of any task, from trip planning to language learning to graphic design.
Note: I would caution against overreliance on any AIs for original writing. Most of the AI-generated scripts, blogs, and essays I’ve read are complete crap.
I use these AI tools daily, but I use dozens more to create content and manage administrative or financial tasks.
If you’ve used any of these tools or have suggestions, please share them!
I’m just staring my writing career. At 46, I’m a late bloomer. Which AI would you say would be the most helpful for me? I have ADHD too. My writing does require a lot of research.
How do you use AI for administrative and financial tasks?