A Practical Guide to ChatGPT for Productivity

How to use an LLM for maximum productivity and utility

My background is in technology. With the proliferation of LLMs I thought it would be fun to distill the knowledge I have regarding them into a 1-2 page primer.

Without much ado, here it is:

First a few alternatives to ChatGPT:

Claude (Anthropic) – Best for long-form content, brainstorming, and conversational AI.
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https://www.anthropic.com

Jasper – Ideal for marketing, ad copy, and brand messaging automation.
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https://www.jasper.ai

Google Gemini (formerly Bard) – Great for research, content generation, and Google integration.
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https://gemini.google.com

Notion AI – Best for productivity, note-taking, and task organization.
🔗 https://www.notion.so/product/ai

Intercom AI – Excellent for customer support automation and chatbot-based engagement.
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https://www.intercom.com

Customization and Prompting:

I like this youtube video from Jeremy Howard here and Andre Karpathy here as longer primers (probably don’t need to watch all of them; but good for a stronger overview.)

2 big takeaways here:

1- Make sure in your settings that memories are turned on, see screenshot here:

2- Customize your experience with ChatGPT; use the custom instructions feature.

Ex: “I am the founder and CEO of an athleisure brand utilizing ChatGPT for business insights and productivity gains.”

The more precise and detailed the instructions are, the better. This, coupled with the memories that ChatGPT will begin to compile as you use it will improve the responses over time.

Credit to Jeremy Howard in the previously mentioned youtube video for the instructions in the screenshot.

Caution:

The assistant can hallucinate. Anything that’s mission-critical or super important still needs to be proof-read or checked by a human for accuracy.

These assistants are quite good but still need humans for refinement.

Example Use Cases for Business Admin:

High Impact (Direct Revenue & Growth Impact)

1. Retail & Distribution Outreach – Draft compelling pitch emails, sales decks, and wholesale pricing sheets to get into more stores.

   1. Ex: “Draft a concise email to an on-premise neighborhood bar to pitch them on carrying QNSY.”
      
      

2. Marketing & Content Creation – Generate engaging social media content, email marketing campaigns, and blog posts to boost brand awareness.

   1. This might need some refinement, but it’s a start to brainstorm ideas or get a running list that you could build off of.
      
      

3. Customer Engagement & Support – Automate FAQs, create response templates, and manage review replies to enhance customer experience.
   
   

4. Investor & Lender Communications – Draft investor updates, funding proposals, and financial projections to secure funding.
   
   

5. Influencer & Brand Partnerships – Streamline outreach, draft collaboration agreements, and manage ambassador programs for organic growth.

   1. Any type of generic email to influencers or other social media personas to pitch a campaign or other opportunity

Medium Impact (Efficiency & Brand Building)

6. Product Development & Trend Research – Brainstorm new flavors, analyze ingredient trends, and refine formulations.
   
   

7. PR & Media Outreach – Write press releases, pitch journalists, and secure features in industry publications.
   
   

8. Event Planning & Pop-Ups – Assist with event logistics, outreach, and promotional strategies for tastings or trade shows.
   
   

9. Financial Planning & Cost Analysis – Help structure budgets, analyze margins, and track expenses for better profitability.
   

Lower Impact (Admin & Operational Streamlining)

10. Competitor & Market Research – Summarize competitive insights and consumer trends to stay ahead in the market.

    1. I think you can upload PDF’s or other market research and ask for a summary versus just asking the assistant directly.

       1. In other words, if there are specific industry resources that aren’t on the internet (that ChatGPT has access to), you can augment the knowledge yourself.
          
          

11. HR & Hiring Support – Draft job descriptions, interview questions, and contracts for new team members.
    
    

12. Regulatory & Compliance Support – Summarize FDA guidelines, create legal templates, and assist with labeling requirements.
    
    

13. A/B Testing & Ad Optimization – Analyze marketing experiments and ad performance for better conversion rates.
    

That’s it, add specific instructions to your assistant, turn memories on and be as specific as possible in your prompting.

Let me know if you have any other questions or have further ideas in the comments. :)