Using AI to learn faster, smarter, and more efficiently

- In the past, when I would write a book, article, or even develop a course, I would spend weeks reading the business and academic literature to find the latest statistics, case studies, and thought leadership. Today, I can put my query into AI and get a list of all the resources. Of course, I still need to read them and analyze them, but AI can curate that information for me, saving me hundreds of hours of research. I can then upload my notes on each article and ask AI to summarize them by theme, again, saving me hundreds of hours. I'm not alone in looking to save time on time-sucking tasks. A McKinsey study determined that AI could increase productivity by up to 40% by 2035. The automation will be everywhere. Have you heard of the 10,000-hour rule? Malcolm Gladwell coined the concept in his book, "Outliers." It states that if you dedicate 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to a field, it can lead to mastery. I want you to forget the 10,000-hour rule. You no longer have the benefit of time. You can no longer spend years mastering a topic before attempting to apply it. You need to, metaphorically speaking, build the plane as you're flying it. AI can help you find, absorb, process, and apply the knowledge faster and more efficiently than ever before. Have you ever read books, articles, or taken courses which were not aligned with what you wanted to learn? Did you feel that you just wasted your time and wish you could get it back? AI can help. Prompt AI by explaining what you want to learn, and it can find the resources for you, all within seconds. It can create worksheets, study sheets, and quizzes to test your knowledge. Here's an example. Imagine you need to give a presentation to the board. It is high stakes, so you want to get it right. Prompt AI with the following description. "I am giving a high-stakes presentation to the board on topic X. I want to be prepared, practice my keynote speaking skills, make sure the presentation drives the points home while encouraging the board, and I want to practice handling the high-pressure Q&A." Within seconds, AI returns a personalized learning toolkit. It may include book recommendations on crafting a story, a TED Talk on your body language, a podcast episode on how to talk to executives, a customized learning plan outlining what you should focus on each day to prepare for your presentation, scripts, ability to record and analyze your talk for unnecessary ums and ahs, a simulated question-and-answer session with questions generated by AI, a one-page message clarity worksheet, a checklist to assess vocal variety, and eye contact. Whew, that's a lot. Instead of spending hours sifting and Googling through irrelevant material, you can now get something that is specific to you and your exact needs. AI is making learning faster, smarter, and more efficient, but only if you use it strategically. The best way to get started is to simply start. Start small. Pick one AI tool, and test how it optimizes your learning this week.