Using AI to Organize Your Work Flow Efficiently

Brett Johnson [: 00:00:00

Welcome to The Circle sessions featuring the Circle of Experts. Each week, one of the Circle of Experts joins me to talk about some critical aspects of growing your podcast. We focus on marketing, social media, monetization, and website design to help you implement all of these together. The Circle of Experts are Yasmine Robles of Rebel Marketing, Tonnisha English Amamoo of TJE Communications, and Don The Idea Guy. I'm Brett Johnson, My Podcast Guy from Circle 270 Media Podcast Consultants. This week, Tonnisha is here with the Circle of Experts. Tonnisha is on a mission to help small businesses level the playing field through digital marketing solutions. Tonnisha, thanks for joining me today.

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:00:37

Thank you for having me.

Brett Johnson [: 00:00:39

We can't avoid talking about AI in every episode. It just ain't that funny that even just the, you know, the short amount of time, but the long amount of time we do been doing podcasts and episodes together. I mean, I remember the introduction of the AI concept Yeah. Talking about, hey. What's this gonna what's gonna happen here with all of us, with all of the circle of experts, really. So it's really not that old, but it's been now a long time in

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:01:06

Yeah.

Brett Johnson [: 00:01:06

In technology years, software years.

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:01:09

Yes. Yes.

Brett Johnson [: 00:01:10

You know? So I and and AI's evolved just like we've been evolving with with AI. We wanted to talk about using AI to stay productive, and I and I think I think AI is really proven to be a nice companion, that unpaid intern for for being productive. So, let's talk a little bit about what you're thinking about. How do you stay productive using AI in your in your world? Some examples.

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:01:37

Yeah. And I'm sure some may remember my skepticism about AI and, you know, thinking of movies like iRobots, and kinda being scared still scared of that. However, I have been using AI to stay productive and kinda streamline, my work day as well as the podcast that I'm working on as well. And so, you know, one of the the things that was really cool, this was actually something my business coach taught me how to do, was I created, an executive assistant chat GPT was something that we did in my coaching program, with my business coach. And one of the things that I do every week is I take a screenshot of my calendar, and then I list out all of the other tasks that are not necessarily on the calendar. Kinda list them out like, okay. Here's my calendar, but I need to create three content calendars. I need to schedule a meeting with this person.

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:02:46

I need to return this person's call. Like, how can I fit all of this into my schedule? But I don't want to task switch. So I don't wanna go from content calendar to email to another content calendar. Like, I just wanna, like, organize how I need to get all this stuff done. And by doing that, the chat will kinda spit back at me like, okay. Based on your open, time slots on your calendar, here is the days and times that you should do all of these things and in this order so that you can be more efficient. And I'm like, cool. I'll just do that.

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:03:27

This is actually, last night as well. I kinda did a brain dump of everything that I have going on this week. I wasn't really sure how to organize it, so I'm just like, look. I have to do this, this, this, this, and this. Mhmm. Can you just put this in order and organize it for me? Created a whole list. And then I'm like, okay. Well, tweak this or add this, remove that.

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:03:49

That can be a secondary task. This is more primary. And I was able to do that to really get a full to do list of everything that I should do based on priority through chat GPT.

Brett Johnson [: 00:04:01

Wow. And

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:04:02

and that has been so great for me. Like, sometimes and I'm sure other business owners can relate. You just have so many things that you're that you need to do. You know? You got that phone call you gotta return or that meeting you need to set up, and it can be hard to just remember everything, and also be able to create your to do list in a way that's organized. And so that has been something for me that has helped to keep me on task and to keep me on track with all the different projects and things that I have going on.

Brett Johnson [: 00:04:36

Wow. Exactly. That's interesting. So when you speak to the AI Mhmm. Are you having a conversation with the AI when you're revising, or are you just kind of giving directives to it? I mean, I've heard people kinda say, that's nice. Thank you. But this is you know, to really say that like it's a person

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:04:52

I definitely talk to my AI like it's a person because, one, when AI attacks us, I want them to remember me as someone who was nice to them.

Brett Johnson [: 00:05:05

Okay. So So you're going for the apocalypse

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:05:08

situation. Good morning.

Brett Johnson [: 00:05:10

I gotcha. Awesome.

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:05:13

Can you please I always say, can you please help me? Can you please re hey. That's me. Okay? That that's how I do it. So, yes, I do talk to it like a person, and it it talks to me back. So, for my black woman in biz podcast that you helped me with kinda getting the audio and stuff, because of the way that podcast is structured, when I go into that channel to help, you know, get questions, it'll be like, hey, girl. Here's your questions.

Brett Johnson [: 00:05:42

I'm like,

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:05:42

thanks, girl. So, yeah, we're friends. We're friends. Funny. And, yeah, definitely, saying my please and thank yous for sure.

Brett Johnson [: 00:05:53

So it's so funny because I've not gone to that direction yet to to, you know, be nice. I mean, I'm not being a jerk with the AI. I mean, it's not that I'm just kind of a direct command, kinda saying, please rewrite this. You know? And I don't even put do please. I don't even do that. Just rewrite this. I need this Yeah. You know, that sort of thing.

Brett Johnson [: 00:06:12

So I probably you know, you're gonna be you're gonna survive. I'll be the first one to get mowed down. You know? It's like, we remember you. You were not nice to us, but I never complained. I you know? Yeah. That's funny. But I've heard

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:06:23

people talk about that. More than anything, even if I'm just, like, a crazy conspiracy theorist and that would never happen, I feel like if you talk to your AI how you speak, then it can learn you and how you want things to be written. So if you are a more, like, directive person, then it will, you know, create things for you that is, you know, straight to the point. For me, I think I'm a little more, like, a little more loose, a little more business casual. So I think that it's kind of learning that and picking up on how I would write something, versus how somebody else might write it.

Brett Johnson [: 00:07:06

Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. Now I've heard all the way to the extreme with some people talking about that they've through their work, they're actually told to replicate themselves in AI, which I think is kinda scary, that they they they they they're teaching them you that, which I to me, I don't even understand the end run of that cycle. Wait a minute. If you want me to teach the AI, our business AI, me, are you looking to fire me down the road? I don't even understand that piece to it. You know? Yeah. It's it's almost to the to, Google's notebook l m kind of feel to it.

Brett Johnson [: 00:07:42

You know? Is that Mhmm. You know, where, you know, it'll have its own ten minute, nine minute conversation on a topic that you feed it, you know, and it spits out a podcast for you, you know, sort

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:07:52

of figure,

Brett Johnson [: 00:07:54

to a certain degree. But it's it's that yeah. I it to me, I guess, I AI doesn't have to have that much personality. Yeah. And once it's out there, it's kinda like it's out there. You are out there now. You know? Right. Really.

Brett Johnson [: 00:08:06

I I don't know. You're right there. I think there are still some scary pieces to this, but I think your approach the the approach you've talked about, using it, you know, to stay productive. But, also, you know, thinking about how we're going to, in the future, integrate it into how we look at marketing. How how have you looked at it so far, and what successes have you had with your with marketing effort? Not necessarily that it does the marketing for you or it creates marketing campaigns, but how are you using it to kind of generate ideas around marketing, I guess?

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:08:37

Yeah. So I've definitely used it to help come up with themes Mhmm. That I can kinda build on. I mean, even with everything that I've done so far, and maybe I'm still just new to it, but I've always there's never anything that's been spit out that's exactly what I was looking for. So at least it can, for me, it's gotten me to a point where it's like, yeah. This is what I was thinking, but I just needed to, like, formulate it a little better. Now I can take this and build on top of it. So it it has helped me foundationally coming up with themes and coming up with, you know, like like, what's another word for this, or how can I say this, but I want it to sound in this tone or more formal, less formal? So it's helped me in that way for sure.

Brett Johnson [: 00:09:27

Yeah. Okay. And you've gotten yours to to to stop saying the word delve and dive?

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:09:33

Yeah. So far. Have you?

Brett Johnson [: 00:09:35

Good for you, man. Far. So it must be the be nice to it. That might be it. Maybe maybe I just you gotta be nice and they'll stop using or delve into and dive into and that sort of thing. Okay. Mhmm. I have to I have to think about that because I'm so tired of that word.

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:09:48

But, you know, another thing too that that does help, actually, my business coach had us to take personality tests and upload that into your, like, custom chat GPT.

Brett Johnson [: 00:10:03

Really?

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:10:04

And which I was kinda like but I feel like that kinda helps too, for it to like, the more personalized you can get without like, I haven't told, you know, the AI my address or my phone number or things like that. But I have given details about my personality, about me, and how I want the information returned to me as I put it in, and I feel like that has helped. So, you know, if you're able to, you know, get a little more personalized as far as, like, if you want them to change a word, say that instead of you copy and pasting pasting it and then change it yourself, or it's not gonna learn that you don't want that word used. But, also, I feel like and I don't wanna get anybody fired, but if my boss told me to do that, I would do that to an extent. Like, I would give just enough, but the those things that only you know, I wouldn't share that information. Yeah. Like, I wouldn't Mhmm. I think it's okay if you wanna, like, use AI to come up with, like, a a a base format of, like, a communication strategy for your client.

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:11:26

But though the way that you connect the dots, the way that you come up with, okay. Here's the strategy and here's the tactic and how you really get, you know, into that, I wouldn't give that information.

Brett Johnson [: 00:11:38

Yeah.

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:11:39

Because that's that's for you. That that's information that you have learned.

Brett Johnson [: 00:11:43

Right.

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:11:44

And, you know, we were talking about this earlier about, you know, the future of AI and marketing, and will that completely eliminate marketers. And I think at this point, no. Could it potentially happen? Maybe. But with any system, you you still need a human to make sure that the system is working properly. I mean, there's there's no system or tech out there that completely runs on its own a % of the time. If something gets broken, it takes a human to go in there and figure out, okay. What happened? Why is this off sync? Oh, this plug came unplugged. Great.

Brett Johnson [: 00:12:20

Yeah.

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:12:20

Like, you're you're still gonna need that, but I think there are ways to, at least be able to foundationally start using it to help you kind of enhance what you're already doing.

Brett Johnson [: 00:12:34

Yeah. Have you been using the the free level of the AI then to to accomplish what you've been doing?

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:12:40

So I've been using the paid Okay. Level. I think it's, like, 20 something I think maybe, like, $20 a month. So I have been using the paid one. Yeah. But I I still believe that you could accomplish a lot with the free version as well. Even just the the task of, like, here's my calendar. Here's everything I have going on.

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:13:00

Like, help me kinda put this in order.

Brett Johnson [: 00:13:02

I

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:13:02

think that's something that that we can all do, especially for podcasters. You know, if you have a laundry list of things that you gotta do to prepare for I mean, for me, it's like preparing for the the season launch or an episode launch where you can just here's all the things. Like, how can I, like, be more efficient? Or what things should I consider, adding to this list that maybe I haven't thought about yet?

Brett Johnson [: 00:13:28

Yeah. I think some of that I I agree. I think, Mhmm. It's the it's the general laying out a formula sort of thing. Doesn't necessarily have to be, the the latest and greatest that's available on the Internet. It's it's just generating, here's a successful game plan to be able to get you through. Because like you said earlier too, you're probably gonna tweak it. You're gonna see it kinda going, yeah.

Brett Johnson [: 00:13:50

That makes sense. And I love these ideas, but here, that isn't gonna work. You know, that sort of thing. But at least if you're you're 75, 80 percent there, I Mhmm.

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:13:59

That

Brett Johnson [: 00:13:59

that's that's huge. And for me Yeah. I you know, for the production and staying productive and and saving time, I've I've used summarize. I summarize a lot of stuff. I see things, and I it's, you know, summarize this, summarize that. That helps tremendously or rewrite a press release. I understand it.

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:14:16

Even in Gmail Yeah. Gmail or Google has the Gemini

Brett Johnson [: 00:14:21

Mhmm.

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:14:21

Where it, like, summarizes an email. Yeah. Like, even just little things like that can Yeah.

Brett Johnson [: 00:14:26

Yeah.

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:14:27

Help us be more efficient.

Brett Johnson [: 00:14:29

I I think yes. Exactly. You know, and I've done the compare and contrast. Okay. After it's summarized, read both. Is it missing something key? And it really isn't. It's just reworking it and possibly rewriting it a little bit better versus a press release form that, you know, has to be wordy sort of thing. But it kinda gets down to the nuts and bolts.

Brett Johnson [: 00:14:48

But that's probably been the best use so far for me of just Mhmm. Summarizing and and knowing, okay. The these are the talking points from this that, like you said, it could be used for a podcast episode or a a blog that I I I, you know, have in mind. It's like, okay. I need to touch on these points. Those are really good here and that summarize there, then I just need to expand and bring my my brain power into it here and that's where I think. So I I think, there's some really good productivity tools with AI just to kinda go in and play without giving away your soul. Yes.

Brett Johnson [: 00:15:18

Like, you know?

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:15:19

Yes.

Brett Johnson [: 00:15:20

That that scariness, I understand too. Exactly. Yeah. If, if a listener wants to kinda pick your brain about other things that you've been doing or maybe they have an idea that they hear the the episode and kind of, oh, I need to tell her I've done this. How can they get a hold of you?

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:15:33

Yes, please. I would love to hear all of the ways that you are, but I don't want to. If you're being mean to your AI, we can't we can't digitally connect because then they'll know that we talk. But you can find me at my website, tjecommunications.com. Schedule a consultation, and, yeah, let's talk.

Brett Johnson [: 00:15:54

Yeah. Do the same with with with me as well too. I'd love to hear how you're utilizing AI with your podcast planning and overall as well too because I think there's some good tools as well as how you're using AI for, the support of it, whether it's marketing and or you have to use the transcript and putting in an AI AI, what you're using and how what the best prompts that you've been, you know, using. Because everybody's got their really cool I'm seeing a ton of great customized prompts that just I see them out going, oh, that's a great idea. Because they check and hang in the time to play. And and sometimes I just don't have the time for the rabbit hole play. So it's it's one of those yeah. It's borrow ideas.

Brett Johnson [: 00:16:31

There's nothing wrong with that idea. But if you've you've got some good prompts that you've worked with with your podcast, love to hear and talk to you about it too. Go to my website, my calendar website, mypodcastguy.com. Love to talk to you. Thanks for joining me again.

Tonnisha English-Amamoo [: 00:16:44

Appreciate it, TJ. Thank you so much for having me. See you next time.

Brett Johnson [: 00:16:47

Yes.