Other than AI, what hacks saved you time?
All the chatter about AI saving time has me thinking about the technology wins that came before it. If time savings is the goal — and apparently it must be — let’s talk about what’s actually worked. Here are a few of mine.
𝗧𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀
I use templates for a lot of my regular emails: client outreach, interview logistics, thank-you notes. If I’ve written something more than two or three times, I turn it into a template. The only caveat is to proofread carefully every single time — including the wrong name is the kind of mistake that’s hard to walk back.
𝗛𝗼𝘄-𝘁𝗼 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼𝘀
Equally useful for work and life. Recent searches have covered everything from how to remove a drain plug in my bathroom to how to put a border around a post in Canva to better ways to work with AI. Someone has already figured out whatever you’re stuck on, and they’ve made a video about it.
𝗔 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗽𝗽
I’ll admit I was nervous to put this one into practice — I worried it would seem presumptuous to send someone a link to my calendar instead of offering times like a normal person. But people have taken to it enthusiastically, and it’s saved me a surprising amount of back-and-forth. I always offer to handle scheduling by email if they prefer, but 95 percent of people are happy to just pick a time. It syncs with my Google Calendar, which helps — as long as I remember to actually put everything in there, and to build in buffer time around appointments so the calendar reflects reality, not just optimism.
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