Design your personal AI strategy in one page
(and 30 minutes)
The sooner you invite AI into your life on your terms, the less chance it has to barge in unannounced. But if you’re feeling stuck, I’ve built you a one-page Personal AI Strategic Plan - a fillable PDF to get you started, that you can update every 30 days (to maintain momentum on your AI journey).
Print it, tap it, scribble on it; just don’t let the next month slip by on autopilot.
You might need help completing your Personal AI Strategic Plan, so treat this post as your guide.
Section 1: AI Literacy
Here you’ll list your four biggest AI knowledge gaps (Gap #1-4) and then commit to one action you’ll take in the next 30 days to shrink them. Like:
Knowing which tool does what (this guide will help)
Prompting
How LLMs actually work
AI ethics
Possible one-month actions
Enrol in a short “Gen-AI fundamentals” course
Read one book (e.g. The Coming Wave or Smart until it’s dumb)
Subscribe to a single, trusted newsletter or podcast
Run a 10-day trial of a new tool and log wins/fails
Section 2: Personal resilience
Here you will identify the personal strengths you must shore up to stay steady during all this change, plus one life tweak you’ll make this month. Like:
Are you prone to anxiety or depression?
Could your diet do with some work?
Do you have a health condition you need to manage?
Possible one-month actions
Set a 22:00 device curfew
Schedule a daily fifteen-minute walk
Track sleep with a smartwatch and aim for one extra hour
Try a weekly guided meditation or breath-work session
Section 3: Protecting your career
Break your work down into two columns: the areas that are at highest risk of automation and those that are the most resilient to automation. It might be tough, but take a deep breath and be honest with yourself.
Then choose one protective move for the next 30 days.
Possible actions
Become your team’s “AI super-user” and lead small automations
Block time to deepen skills in the tasks that still need you
Begin a pivot course or micro-credential in an AI-proof niche
Section 4: New Opportunities
In this part you will list your unique skills, passions and experiences and then pick one small opportunity to test or explore in the next month. Try to think creatively about what you can do now that wasn’t possible (or wasn’t so easy) before the advent of genAI.
Possible ideas
Can you redesign your life to have more free time?
Is there a side hustle that’s now within your grasp?
Maybe you have a passion you can now pursue.
Section 5: Being Human
I’ve been pretty vocal about the human skills you’re going to need to build to survive and thrive in an AI-driven world. And you’re going to need to strengthen your brain. Choose your thinking focus for the month - creativity, curiosity, critical thinking or learning mindset - and write one workout to exercise it.
Examples
Do a daily five-minute sketch to loosen creative muscles
Practise Socratic questioning on one tricky decision each week
Ask ChatGPT to argue the opposite side of your favourite opinion
Join a friend to co-read and debate a challenging article every Friday
Section 6: Voice and influence
What role do you want to have in the AI conversation? This might just change every aspect of your life. You might not be up for a new project or a new thing to learn about, but you don’t have a choice. So think about where you want to sit on the bus.