🧠 Organizing Your Thoughts with ChatGPT - #6

For a while now, I've been using a life hack that helps me organize my thoughts in a way similar to journaling. Journaling is basically writing a stream of consciousness about whatever comes to mind, often covering thoughts, ideas, motivations, concerns, etc.

So, how does this hack work? I go for a walk, open my voice notes, and start recording myself while talking. It may feel a bit strange at first, but trust me, it's worth it. As you speak, you can start with a brief structure by answering simple questions like these:

• What motivates me today?

• What's the most important thing I need to finish today?

• What am I currently worried about? Why am I worried about this?

• Do I have any ideas I'd like to explore by talking out loud?

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With these simple questions, the idea is to develop your ability to delve deeper into your responses and be as detailed as possible. Try to provide context, names of people, feelings, the level of importance you attribute to things, etc.

Once you've recorded the audio, it's time to transcribe it into text. I recommend downloading Descript, which has worked best for me in Spanish.

Transfer the audio file to your computer, upload it to Descript for transcription, and voilà, you'll have your stream of consciousness in text.

Now, you should clean up the text a bit in Docs, Apple Notes, or any other text editor so that ChatGPT doesn't get overwhelmed with your filler words, and let's move on to the next step.

Go to ChatGPT, and you can ask for different things (I've experimented with some, but I'll give you a few examples, and the rest I'll leave to your imagination).

You could write a prompt like this:

PromptCopy code

"TRANSCRIBED TEXT" This is a transcription of a voice note I recorded for myself. Create a summary with the main points in the order of importance that you think is most relevant. Additionally, create an action plan for this day with tasks by the hour using productivity methodologies. Use markdown and create a table with specific times for each task, including how much time each task should take.

This is a basic example of how ChatGPT could help you organize the ideas in your head and put them into action first thing in the morning. You can evolve the process to do other things. Here are a couple of ideas where recording, transcribing, and asking ChatGPT for help might be useful:

• Writing an important email

• Preparing a presentation

• Preparing a pitch

• Preparing a speech (thanks to Cami for this idea)

• Preparing for a difficult conversation

You can ask for recommendations, make adjustments, expand the text... the sky's the limit! Try it and let me know how it works for you.

📖 What I'm Reading

"Building a Second Brain" by Thiago Forte. A great book and method if you're someone who takes notes in an app like Evernote, Apple Notes, or Notion. Or if you'd like a framework for capturing, organizing, and using the information you consume daily.

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🦉 Quote of the Week "We extend beyond our limits, not by revving our brains like a machine or bulking them up like a muscle—but by strewing our world with rich materials and weaving them into our thoughts." — Annie Murphy Paul, author of The Extended Mind

That's all for today! If you enjoyed this, let me know in the feedback below. If not, tell me anyway.

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See you next week!