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- Issue No. 160: You Don't Find Purpose, You Build It - here's how
Issue No. 160: You Don't Find Purpose, You Build It - here's how
These are the skills workers will need in the age of AI
Jenae Spry
February 28, 2025
Productivity Express
Issue No. 160
The Best in Evidenced-Based Productivity
for Small Business Owners, Freelancers & Founders
Helping You Work Smarter and Live More
The Rundown
You Don't Find Purpose, You Build It
I've become a ChatGPT expert by levelling up my AI prompts – here are my 8 top tips for success
A break from your smartphone can reboot your mood. Here's how long you need
Here's how I use NotebookLM to boost my productivity
'The knowledge economy is on the way out.' These are the skills workers will need in the age of AI, says LinkedIn
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🔥Quote/Prompt
The best work is not what is most difficult for you: it is what you do best.
Use the quote as a writing or thinking prompt to finish your week strong.
A bit from mine:
(posted in our Doer Entrepreneurs Free Community — off social media)
I definitely live by this Sartre wisdom. It aligns PERFECTLY with what StrengthsFinders taught me after years of struggling.
If you're not familiar with StrengthsFinders, it's worth checking out -- it was truly […]
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📈 Performance
We are all constantly juggling priorities and making hard choices, but perhaps the most challenging question we face (and…let’s be honest, that can get overrun by client fires) is figuring out what actually matters to us. This Psychology Today article offers a refreshing take on purpose that feels particularly relevant for us: instead of waiting for some magical "aha moment" about your purpose, start building it with what's already in front of you.
In our culture, there's often a prevailing belief that we must find our purpose—a singular, defining revelation that will guide our lives and provide deep fulfillment. This concept is alluring but can be paralyzing. Studies show that as many as 91 percent of people experience "purpose anxiety" at some point in their lives... But what if the idea of "finding" purpose is the problem in itself? The reality is that purpose is not something to find; it's something we create.
Key Insights:
Ask yourself what you'd regret never doing if you died next week—then take action now instead of putting it off for some mythical "someday" that rarely arrives.
Reconnect with childhood activities that made you lose track of time—these forgotten passions often reveal your authentic interests before adult practicality took over.
Try the "subtraction method" by listing all your work responsibilities, eliminating what drains you, and noticing what energizing tasks remain—your purpose might be hiding under a pile of obligations.
Experiment with the "spaghetti method" by trying new activities outside your comfort zone—sometimes purpose isn't something you deduce logically but discover accidentally through curiosity.
Read the full article for real examples from a hospice doctor who witnessed patients' end-of-life regrets and applied these techniques to transform his own career path.
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⚙️ Optimization
We're covering a lot of AI this week, but with good reason—these tools can dramatically change your workflow if you know how to use them properly. The problem is most of us are still typing questions like we're texting a friend, then wondering why the AI gives us mediocre answers. A few simple tweaks to your prompts can mean the difference between usable content and something actually impressive.
Does the way you write a prompt really make a difference when you're interacting with an AI tool, like ChatGPT? The short answer is, yes. A lot of factors contribute to the response you get from an AI tool or chatbot, including the way it was initially created and the data it's been "trained" on. But one of the most important factors is how you communicate with it – this is where prompting comes in.
Key Insights:
The difference between amateur and pro-level AI use isn't some secret paid feature—research shows a well-crafted prompt can improve response quality by 57.7% and accuracy by 67.3%, essentially getting you different software for free.
Tell the AI who you are and who you're creating content for—it's like giving context to a new employee rather than assuming they can read your mind.
Be specific about what format you want (email template, checklist, proposal outline) and what tone you need—otherwise you'll waste time reformatting everything the AI gives you.
Try "few-shot prompting" by giving AI examples of what you want before asking for more—it's like showing someone a sample of your work style instead of just describing it.
Read the full article for all eight prompt engineering techniques and practical examples of how to implement each one for your specific business tasks.
⏲️ Time Management
What does a phone detox have to do with time management? Turns out, everything. This NPR article reveals that our constant phone checking isn't just distracting us—it's fundamentally changing how we think and work. The good news? Just two weeks away from your smartphone's internet can create significant improvements in both your mental health and productivity.
Researchers studied what happened when people agreed to block the internet from their smartphones for just two weeks. And turns out, 91% felt better after the break. "What we found was that people had better mental health, better subjective well-being and better sustained attention," says Adrian Ward, a psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin. The researchers included 467 participants, ages 18 to 74, who agreed to the month-long study aimed at testing the theory that constant connection to everything, all the time, has unintended consequences.
Key Insights:
When freed from constant phone checking, participants naturally gravitated toward activities that actually boost productivity—more sleep, outdoor time, social connection, and hobbies that energize rather than drain.
The attention span improvements were dramatic—equivalent to participants becoming 10 years younger cognitively, which means better focus when you're actually trying to work.
The benefits created a positive feedback loop—each day off phones led to more improvements, suggesting even small breaks can kickstart better habits and time management.
Complete disconnection isn't necessary—participants still used laptops, texting, and calling, proving you can maintain professional connectivity while breaking addictive scrolling patterns.
Read the full article for practical, realistic tips to implement your own digital detox without sacrificing the connectivity your business requires, including graduated strategies to start with short breaks and build from there.
💻 Tools & Technology
If you're drowning in documents and tired of playing "where's that crucial bit of information?" every other day, Google's NotebookLM might be your new best friend. While it might seem redundant if you're already using Gemini, this specialized tool solves that specific headache of managing multiple complex documents that most of us deal with regularly.
I've been using AI for help with various tasks, both for work and my personal life. Gemini is my AI chatbot of choice, having switched to it from ChatGPT. I use the premium (officially called Advanced) version and find it helpful for finding typos in my writing, understanding certain topics in more detail, and much more. I heard good things about Google's NotebookLM but never gave it a proper try. Since Gemini can analyze files, I figured I didn't need another AI tool for that. But I decided to try it out regardless, and I'm happy I did — NotebookLM has proven to be extremely valuable for me.
Key Insights:
NotebookLM lets you upload up to 50 documents per notebook (free account) compared to Gemini's measly 10-file limit—perfect for those massive projects with endless paperwork.
The tool shines when you need to extract specific details from dense documents like legal contracts or product manuals—saving you from that special kind of frustration that comes from scrolling through 300 pages of jargon.
For businesses with extensive guidelines or internal documentation, it functions as an instantly searchable knowledge base that spares your team from the "which file was that in again?" syndrome.
Beyond simple search, NotebookLM can create summaries, briefing documents, and even generate podcasts discussing your content—offering different ways to consume information based on how your brain works best.
Read the full article for real-world examples of how the author used NotebookLM to manage real estate paperwork, decipher insurance policies, and navigate product manuals, plus a comparison with Gemini's document handling capabilities.
🤖 AI
Just when we thought we had the whole career thing figured out, AI comes along and changes the rules. According to LinkedIn's chief economic officer, the "knowledge economy" that's defined our professional lives is giving way to something completely different—and it's happening faster than most of us realize.
Artificial intelligence is disrupting global industries and workforces, but it may also set in motion an entirely new economy. Although the idea of AI dates to the mid-1900s, the technology catapulted into common discourse after the launch of OpenAI's generative AI chatbot, ChatGPT, in November 2022. "But [generative AI] isn't just another invention," said Aneesh Raman, chief economic opportunity officer at LinkedIn. "It's a turning point, forcing us to rethink not just what work is, but what it means to be human at work."
Key Insights:
We're transitioning from a "knowledge economy" to what LinkedIn calls the "innovation economy"—where being able to use information creatively matters more than simply possessing it.
The skills that will matter most are "the 5 C's": creativity, curiosity, courage, compassion, and communication—essentially, the things that make us distinctly human.
AI is democratizing innovation by removing barriers—imagine being able to prototype solutions without needing a full engineering team or specialized coding skills.
Traditional credentials like prestigious degrees and former employers are becoming less relevant as predictors of success, while actual skills—particularly human ones—are becoming the new professional currency.
Read the full article to learn why nearly 90% of executives globally (and 94% in Asia-Pacific) are making AI adoption their top priority for 2025, and what "disrupt yourself or be disrupted" actually means for your business.
👀 Read, Watch, Listen
This week’s awesome books, YouTube videos, newsletters, etc. to add to your list!
Dan Martell's "Buy Back Your Time" presents a counterintuitive approach to entrepreneurial success: instead of working harder or seeking more time, entrepreneurs should strategically purchase freedom to focus on high-value, fulfilling work. As a renowned SaaS coach, Martell argues that trading money for time—literally buying back calendar space—leads to unprecedented financial success. The book provides practical steps for immediately reclaiming time, developing efficient operating procedures, implementing smart hiring practices, and wisely investing newfound freedom. This definitive guide shows entrepreneurs how to scale their businesses rapidly without burnout, ultimately building an empire while enjoying greater personal freedom than previously thought possible.
🎉 Celebration Corner
Every week Doers Inner Circle members do a weekly review & get help when they need it — check out the progress they made this week!
I was more active on LI.
I made good headway with my landing page.
I changed course productively.
What did you do this week? We feature non-member successes too. Just post them here!
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I hope you found this valuable!
Wishing you much productivity!
- Jenae :)
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