My GenAI Sidekicks : Work Smarter, Not Harder

You know that moment when your to-do list is growing faster than you can blink, and every tab on your browser feels like it’s judging you? Yeah, that’s where I was a few months back.

So I started experimenting with GenAI tools. Just to “see what the fuss was about.”

Fast forward: I’m borderline obsessed. These tools didn’t just save me time, they gave me a bit of breathing room in my workdays. And for anyone juggling products, teams, or just a ton of mental tabs, that’s gold.

Here’s what’s been working for me lately.

When I need to get ideas out of my head

→ ChatGPT + Notion AI

Sometimes I just need to think out loud without worrying about sounding smart or structured. That’s where ChatGPT comes in. Whether it’s drafting a user story or helping me frame a tricky problem, it’s like having a non-judgy writing buddy.

And Notion AI? It’s like magic when I need meeting notes cleaned up or a rough idea turned into something presentable. Fast and fuss-free.

When planning needs to feel less... overwhelming

→Whimsical + Taskade + Notion

Whimsical helps me untangle messy thoughts with mind maps and user flows. Taskade is great when I’m collaborating with others and need to build a task list on the fly. And Notion is home base — docs, roadmaps, thoughts, it all lives there.

Bonus: the AI suggestions in Notion now speed up my writing more than coffee ever did.

When I want my tools to talk to each other

→ Zapier AI + Make + Relay

Ever forget to update a board or send that end-of-day summary? Same. I’ve set up small automations like “send me a Slack ping when the status of a task changes” — and it just… works. With AI triggers, I don’t have to babysit my processes anymore.

When I need to present, but design isn’t my strong suit

→ Canva AI + Tome + Gamma

There are days when I have a whole idea in my head but zero time to design it. These tools turn simple prompts or text into clean, on-brand visuals and slides. Canva’s AI design suggestions have saved me in more meetings than I’d like to admit.

When I want the data to talk to me

→ Power BI Copilot + Tableau GPT

Instead of clicking through filters for 20 minutes, I just ask things like “Which features performed best last quarter?” and get a neat answer with charts. It’s helped me make better calls — faster.

When I’m in back-to-back calls (aka every day)

→ Fireflies + Otter + Fathom

These are the quiet heroes. They record, transcribe, and summarize meetings so I can stay present and not scramble to write down every word. I just revisit the summary, tag my action items, and move on.

A few others I reach for often

• FigJam AI for team whiteboarding and product sketches

• GrammarlyGO to polish things up without losing my voice

• Jasper for those quick content blurbs or taglines

So… is it overkill?

Honestly, no.

I don’t use every tool every day. But together, they’ve helped me feel less stretched, more in control, and surprisingly creative again. They don’t do the work for me; they help me do it better, faster, and without drowning in the details.

If you’re even a little curious, try plugging one or two into your workflow. See what happens.

You might just fall a little in love too.