Five Ways to Bend Time ⏱️⚡

What's really eating your time at work? Not the big projects or creative challenges - those are worth your energy. 

I'm talking about the hidden time-stealers: the scattered information sources, endless research rabbit holes, the formatting battles with documentation, the constant context-switching between tasks.

For most of us, and especially ADHD minds like mine, these aren't just inconveniences - they're energy sappers and time killers. 

This is where I see the productivity debate heading, with much less focus on process and more on outcomes and impact.

And behind the scenes, AI is quietly changing everything.

Instead of drowning in open browser tabs, documents, and reports for research projects, or buried under numbers during business plan updates, AI is here now to reclaim your time and focus.

This is not future tech - it's available right now. And the time savings aren't just incremental - we're talking about transforming 6-hour tasks into 30-minute ones, compressing week-long projects into a day, and reclaiming hours of mental energy every single day.

Read on for 5 practical ways AI can help make time elastic :)

 ⏱️ Do More in Less Time

Application Example: Discovery & Research

Research can mean scattered sources and overwhelm, stealing time better spent on analysis. AI crushes these barriers, turning hours of searching into moments of clarity.

Instead of manual searching:

• Claude: Drop in PDFs, ask questions, get key info and summaries fast.

• Perplexity: Get market data with cited sources, eliminating endless sifting.

• Elicit: Analyze research papers, quickly assess relevance.

• Claude: Compare competitor websites; get instant comparison tables.

• Check out Gemini 2.0 Deep Research AI, launched in Dec 2025.

Real Example: Instead of hours gathering competitor data, ask Claude: "Compare the top 5 players in [your industry] by website messaging and offerings." Get structured data in minutes.

🏔️ Elevate Your Contribution

Application Example: Business Planning

Blank page syndrome can trap you in details, not strategy. AI lets you explore scenarios quickly, allowing more time for high-level decisions.

Transform business planning:

• ChatGPT: Create financial projections from text descriptions.

• Claude: Analyze market trends, suggest growth scenarios.

• Gemini: Convert rough ideas into structured plans.

• Beautiful.ai: Turn plans into professional presentations.

Quick Win: In ChatGPT, start with "Help me create a 3-year projection for a business that..." and let AI handle initial numbers, freeing you for strategic thinking.

🚀 Boost Your Output, Reclaim Your Creativity

Application Example: Documentation

Documentation can be draining, stifling creativity with tedious formatting. AI translates your thinking into clear, structured content, freeing you to focus on innovation.

For processes, training, or reports:

• Notion AI: Transform bullet points into full documents.

• Descript: Turn spoken thoughts into written procedures.

• Claude: Create versions for different audiences.

• Gamma: Get instant, professional-looking documentation.

• Scribeutomatically generate step-by-step guides with screenshots

Time Saver: Record yourself explaining a process, let Descript transcribe it, and then have Claude expand and structure it.

⏩️ Uncover Insights Faster, Make Smarter Choices

Application Example: Data & Numbers

Numbers intimidating? Hours lost in spreadsheets mean less time for strategic decisions. AI lets you interact with data visually and conversationally, empowering smarter, faster choices.

Make sense of data:

• Sheets + Gemini: Analyze spreadsheets in plain English.

• ChatGPT: Write simple formulas.

• PowerBI + AI: Create dashboards.

• Sim.ai or Claude: Create basic simulation models.

Simple Start: Ask Sheets + Gemini: "Analyze this spreadsheet and tell me the key trends," freeing your time to act on those trends.

👩‍✈️ Put Admin on Autopilot, Focus on High-Value Tasks

Application Example: Daily Admin

Admin drains energy, stealing time from important work. AI handles the small stuff, so you can focus on your priorities.

Emerging AI tools can:

• Motion/Reclaim: Manage your calendar intelligently.

• Clara: Handle meeting scheduling.

• Notion AI: Maintain project tracking.

• ChatGPT: Draft and edit emails.

Practical Tip: Start each day by asking AI to summarize your calendar and suggest a focus plan

Resources

Next Issue

We are celebrating our first anniversary (well, this is issue #51 so it’s very close!). With a full year under our belts, It seems a good time to move Chasing Silver Fish to a bi-weekly format. This will give everyone - including me - more time to breathe, discover, and experiment 🙂 So, join me on Sunday, March 9th, when we'll be investigating how AI can help us elevate our communications game.

The Last Word

About Me: After decades as an international executive for large media and tech companies—trying to force my ADHD brain to process information "normally"—I finally discovered that my divergent thinking style wasn't a bug, it was a feature. Now, with AI as my partner, I'm showing others how to turn their unique neurospicy minds into professional productivity, and success.

We love hearing your views, insights and questions: [email protected]