AI on the Payroll — Part 1
I’m starting a new series on how I actually use AI — not the hype, not the headlines, just the things that have genuinely earned a place in how I run my businesses and my life.
And the first thing I really like about AI might surprise you, because it’s not the answers. It’s the systems.
Build Systems, Not One-Off Prompts
The most valuable thing I’ve done with AI is use it to create systems — something I can work in independently, or work inside of, to make things go faster.
I use it for a lot of things now. I’ve built systems for my businesses, sure. But I’ve also built one to coordinate vacation plans with friends, and even one that helps me manage my availability so I have real time for more personal and loving conversations with my friends and family. Yes — I use AI so I can be a better friend, not a busier one. Let that reframe sit for a second.
A one-off prompt gives you an answer you use once. A system keeps working for you after the conversation ends. That’s the difference between asking AI a question and putting AI on the payroll.
The Design Process Is a Mirror
Here’s what nobody tells you about building your own system: the design process shows you yourself.
When you sit down and design what you want, you start to see your own flaws and your own capabilities. You get ideas about how things could run smoother. You see exactly where the gaps are that need to be filled — the steps you always skip, the follow-ups that fall through, the things you’ve been holding in your head that never should have lived there.
I’ve learned as much about how I work from designing these systems as I have from using them. It’s an audit of your own operation, disguised as a tech project.
Give It a Goal, Not a Prompt
So here’s my method. Instead of just giving it a prompt, I begin by giving it a goal — focusing on what I ultimately want to get done.
Then, from that goal, we work through the features that will make it faster and easier for me. Not features because they sound impressive. Features because they remove friction from my actual week.
The goal keeps you honest. When you start with a prompt, you get what you asked for. When you start with a goal, you get what you actually needed — and half the time, those are not the same thing.
Check and Refine, Every Iteration
I don’t expect the first version to be right, and neither should you. Every iteration, I’m checking and refining. Does this actually save me time? Is this step earning its place? What’s still clunky?
Treat it like training a new hire — except this one takes feedback instantly, never gets defensive, and doesn’t need you to schedule a meeting about it.
The Pro Move: Ask for the Rebuild Prompt
Now for my favorite trick. Once I have a system I really like — especially something reusable, like the way I track my blog topics and series — I ask the AI itself to re-create it for me.
I have it write me a prompt describing how it understood the way I walked through getting to the result. All that thinking, refining, and iterating gets captured in one reusable prompt I can run anywhere, hand to someone on my team, or use to spin up the same system for a whole different part of my life.
You did the design work once. The rebuild prompt means you never have to do it again. That’s not just using AI — that’s building equity in your own process.
Now I want to hear from you: what’s one thing in your week that you keep doing manually that deserves a system? Name it in the comments — you might just talk yourself into building it.
And if you want more real talk on building a business that doesn’t run you into the ground, join The Playbook — my twice-weekly newsletter where we work hard on Mondays and play harder on Fridays.
Work hard. Play harder.
— Eleanor
