Below is the summary of the lessons learnt from all of the weeks posts on building and learning from Thrive-AI. Note this about the use of Thrive-AI as a product, rather than the lessons I have personally learnt about the way I work.

1. Initial Setup is fast - less than 5 minutes!

• The initial setup of Thrive-AI took less than 5 minutes. [week 1]

2. Clear Instructions are key to useful AI insights

• The first version of the AI’s prompt was too vague, leading to broad and sometimes irrelevant feedback.
• Improved instructions now focus on:
  • Efficiency improvements in personal productivity.
  • Prioritisation of tasks and areas.
  • Goal alignment with a five-year vision.
  • Innovation suggestions that align with skills and long-term vision.
• Explicitly stating out-of-scope topics (e.g., work-related successes) helps focus AI responses on personal projects. [week 2]

3. Documenting processes is valuable but time-consuming

• Writing down personal productivity processes before feeding them into the AI is beneficial but requires a lot of upfront effort - worth it though! [week 1]
• Remember you don’t have to do it all at once.
• Even without AI, documenting end-to-end processes provides clarity on inefficiencies and areas for improvement.

4. AI can help identify process gaps

• The AI flagged that some processes (e.g., weekly review) were too detailed and time-consuming, suggesting ways to streamline them. [week 2]
• Suggested improvements:
  • Timeboxing reviews (e.g., 15 minutes max).
  • Automating task tracking in Notion.
  • Focusing on high-impact tasks rather than exhaustive checklists.

5. Goal setting and milestones need more exposure

• The AI identified that while goals were set, their visibility and tracking needed improvement.
• Suggested improvements:
  • Adding reflective questions to each week’s update (e.g., What worked? What didn’t?).
  • Breaking down long-term goals into smaller, actionable steps.
  • Using a progress visualisation tool (e.g., Notion dashboard with a traffic light system).
• This is key as its a differentiator input for Thrive-AI.