Automation. It’s a kind of buzzwords that both fills you with pleasure or dread, relying in your perspective. For me, the concept of handing off routine duties to AI felt thrilling.
However once I really took the leap and automatic about 80% of my workload utilizing ChatGPT, I wasn’t certain what would occur subsequent. Would I immediately turn out to be redundant? Would my boss catch on instantly and accuse me of dishonest my approach via my job?
The reality was shocking.
How did I begin this experiment?
A number of months in the past, I discovered myself buried below repetitive duties: drafting emails, scheduling social media posts, conducting preliminary analysis for articles, and responding to generic reader questions. It wasn’t intellectually difficult, and I felt like I used to be spending far an excessive amount of time on actions that didn’t make the most effective use of my expertise.
That’s once I got here throughout ChatGPT. I had already heard loads about how AI might tackle mundane duties, however might it actually deal with my work successfully?
I began small, cautiously testing the waters by automating e-mail responses and fundamental article analysis. Shortly, I turned hooked. Duties that when consumed hours every week had been immediately accomplished in minutes.
What did my boss first discover?
You may assume my boss would discover instantly, proper? Not precisely.
Initially, what stood out wasn’t the automation itself however relatively my elevated productiveness. “Claire, you’re on a roll these days,” she commented throughout our weekly catch-up. She attributed this to elevated motivation or maybe simpler time administration. There wasn’t even a touch of suspicion about AI involvement.
As a substitute of scrutinizing my strategies, she merely seen I used to be turning round assignments quicker and with fewer errors. If something, my improved accuracy and productiveness led her to assign me higher-profile initiatives.
Did the standard of my work change?
One among my considerations was whether or not automating duties would have an effect on the standard of my work. Would counting on an AI diminish the depth of my analysis or creativity in my writing?
Surprisingly, the alternative occurred. With routine duties offloaded, I discovered extra vitality and time for deeper, extra significant evaluation. My items turned richer, extra insightful, and extra participating—precisely what readers valued most.
A current research helps this. Researchers discovered that employees who automate repetitive duties usually expertise important beneficial properties in creativity and significant considering. I can completely verify this was true in my expertise.
Did my boss finally catch on?
Sure and no. Whereas she didn’t particularly determine that I used to be utilizing ChatGPT, she did discover a definite shift in how I managed my workflow.
About two months in, she lastly requested, “Claire, you’ve been constantly forward of deadlines and your work is great—what’s your secret?”
At that second, I made a decision to be clear. “I’ve automated some routine elements of my workflow,” I confessed, bracing for her response. As a substitute of alarm, she was intrigued. She requested me to reveal how I used to be utilizing the expertise, genuinely impressed by the chances.
How did my colleagues reply?
Apparently, colleagues had been extra curious than cautious. Phrase unfold rapidly, and shortly sufficient, I used to be working casual workshops displaying others how ChatGPT might streamline their workflow.
Nonetheless, just a few colleagues remained skeptical, fearful automation may result in job losses. This response is comprehensible; a 2023 McKinsey report highlighted that about 30% of duties throughout industries could possibly be automated by present expertise. However what my colleagues and I found was much less about job substitute and extra about job enhancement.
Quite than AI taking our roles, it freed us to concentrate on duties that genuinely required human perception, creativity, and empathy—expertise that ChatGPT merely couldn’t replicate absolutely.
What about my job satisfaction?
My experiment didn’t simply alter my productiveness—it positively impacted my total job satisfaction. With mundane duties minimized, I felt extra obsessed with my work and skilled much less burnout.
It seems automation isn’t merely a approach to save time; it’s additionally about preserving psychological vitality. With fewer repetitive duties, I had the area to have interaction extra deeply and meaningfully with my work.
Last ideas
Earlier than I’m going, right here’s what I’ve realized from automating nearly all of my job: transparency and adaptableness matter. Automation isn’t about hiding behind AI to get work carried out quietly—it’s about embracing instruments that allow us excel on the elements of our jobs that actually matter.
My boss didn’t penalize me for my automation experiment. As a substitute, she acknowledged it as innovation, praising the improved outcomes. As workplaces proceed evolving, embracing instruments like ChatGPT doesn’t imply changing folks—it means permitting them to thrive.
