Stop looking for the “perfect” AI workflow
Spoiler: it doesn’t exist. But YOUR version does.
There is no one-size-fits-all for AI.
I get asked some variant of this question multiple times a week: “So what are the 10 ways I should be using AI right now as an EA?”
The truth is this is an impossible question to answer
Because there is no single “blueprint” for how you should be using AI. Or precisely what tasks you should be automating.
Even within the same company, two EAs can have completely different roles — based on their exec’s role, their exec’s style and the level of trust the pair have.
Maybe even more significant is your unique skillset, and this for sure will be different than the next EA’s. What you love, where you thrive, what feels hard.. all those feed into what you actually want to hand off to AI.
Your best contenders for AI + automation are going to look different than anyone else’s.
So what do you do with that? I’ve got 3 top pointers for you:
1️⃣ Outsource what you don’t love
Here’s the trap I see a lot of people fall into: outsourcing everything.
But the point of AI isn’t to replace the parts of your job you actually enjoy. It’s to offload the stuff that drags you down — the tasks you’re slower at, don’t enjoy, or simply find draining.
For some EAs, that might be writing. For others, it’s spreadsheets (🙋🏼♀️ me!)… and for almost everyone? Expenses 😭
The sweet spot for AI is the work that takes you too much time and doesn’t bring you joy. That’s where you’ll see the biggest payoff.
And even for the work you do love? Think of using AI as a thought partner rather than a task executor. Have it help you brainstorm ideas, polish drafts, or pressure-test your thinking without ever taking away the joy of doing it yourself longhand.
If you want to go deeper into this, check out this 3-step framework I shared earlier this year to uncover the best contenders to outsource to AI.
2️⃣ Build confidence to experiment
The only way you’ll discover what really saves you time and feels good to automate is by experimenting.
Start small:
Pick 1-2 tasks to trial using AI for this week
Try 2-3 AI tools for the same task and see how each performs (make sure you’re operating within your company’s AI policy, this is important ⚠️)
Reflect on how much time you saved, and how much you could save the next time around
Reflect on how you feel: did it feel like magic? Or like you missed the process of crafting the piece of work yourself? 💭
This experimentation isn’t wasted time. It’s how you’ll build confidence and figure out what’s worth automating for you specifically.
3️⃣ Don't do it alone
This all gets easier (and way more fun) when you’re learning along with others.
Hearing someone else’s win or seeing the prompt they used to get a staggering good output might spark an idea in you.
That’s why I always suggest building an AI knowledge-sharing community or channel internally to swap ideas and share what’s working (and what’s not).
Ready to carve your own AI path?
If you want a guided way to do this, I’d love to invite you into the autumn cohort of Carve AI.
This isn’t a cookie-cutter course, it’s choose your own adventure style. You’ll experiment with AI tools, learn automation, and get inspired by a community of ambitious assistants on the same journey.
(Side note: in the summer cohort of Carve AI we had 359 messages in our WhatsApp in the first few weeks of the course alone.. all sharing ideas for AI use cases, prompts and results of experiments inside AI chatbots. Astonishing! 🤯)
So here’s what you get:
- 7 weeks of interactive sessions + hands-on projects
- A supportive community to share experiments and wins
- Just 2-3 hours per week to transform how you work
Bottom line? You’ll walk away more confident, more efficient, with a deep understanding of how to use AI + automation in your daily work.
Early bird pricing is on through Tues, Sept 2nd (btw this is the lowest price you'll ever be able to pay for Carve AI as I'm afraid I need to raise prices for 2026.. first time in 2 years).