Living with LLMs: From Morning Workouts to Market Research

Notes on Practice and Possibility

It's 5:30 AM. I reach for my phone while the house is still quiet. I need to find a 20-minute workout I can squeeze in before my son wakes up, figure out what quick dinner I can make the kids tonight with the ingredients in our fridge, and organise the three most important tasks I need to complete today. In those early morning moments, I begin a series of conversations with my AI coaches.

For years, I've imagined having personal coaches for every aspect of my life: a nutrition expert to help plan each meal, an exercise coach to help me hit my fitness goals in the time I have available, and an executive coach to prepare for difficult conversations. But reality always intruded – world-class coaching costs thousands per hour, and coordinating multiple specialists would be a full-time job itself.

Enter ChatGPT Projects. Each "coach" receives specific instructions about their role and the context needed to tailor their answers to my situation. The responses are perfectly personalised: a quick HIIT workout designed around my makeshift home gym, a 15-minute pasta recipe using last night's leftover vegetables, a synthesis of my day's most crucial tasks.

The Symphony of Ideas

Perhaps my favourite ritual has emerged around "thought capture." Each morning, I record a stream-of-consciousness voice note of whatever is on my mind – similar to the "Morning Pages" practice I was never able to maintain when it required sitting down to write. Throughout the day, I capture fragments of ideas, observations, and follow-ups from meetings.

Through the alchemy of transcription and AI analysis, these voice notes become structured insights. It's like having a brilliant Chief of Staff who not only organises your thoughts but keeps track of your To-Dos, and helps you see patterns you hadn't noticed. Alongside capturing thoughts, all my Zoom meetings are recorded, ensuring I no longer rely on my fast-evaporating memory or chaotic handwritten notes.

The Joy of Discovery

This collaborative spirit extends into how I explore new territories. When investigating a new market or technology, I no longer get frustrated trying to Google my way to insight. Instead, I have a seasoned guide who helps me map the terrain.

With new industries, LLMs help identify market structure, key buyers and suppliers, and the web of connections across the industry, building a comprehensive mental model. When exploring new technology, I can ask any question, no matter how basic, until I understand how the technology improves upon and complements existing solutions, and what new capabilities it enables. It’s not always accurate today, but it’s easy enough to cross-reference and it’s much quicker and more comprehensive than my previous workflow.

Even holiday planning, often a source of decision fatigue, has become easier. While the "travel agent" use case isn't fully developed, finding weekend getaway options has become remarkably straightforward – even with specific constraints like accommodating a three-year-old and a one-year-old, staying within a two-hour drive, and finding family-friendly restaurants that open at 5 PM.

The Art of Becoming

There's something beautiful about how these tools have woven themselves into the fabric of daily life, naturally democratising access to world-class knowledge and personalised guidance.

Perhaps that's an LLM’s most profound possibility as consumer technology: enabling the quiet accumulation of better decisions, deeper insights, and more intentional living. In a world that often feels fragmented and overwhelming, they offer the guidance to navigate complexity and the support to grow into the person we aspire to be.'