She Was a Clueless Intern, and She Had to Go
How I stopped treating AI like an assistant and made it my operations partner.
In this week’s letter
The Monday I realized my “helpful” robot was wrecking my week
How I stopped treating AI like an intern and trained it to think with me
A copy-paste AI prompt to help you build one calm, repeatable system
A 1-minute poll to improve this Substack
The Monday I Fired My Robot
A perfect plan built by AI. A perfect disaster by 11 a.m.
It was a Monday morning, and I was already behind.
When I feel overwhelmed, I like to do what I call a brain dump. I grab my journal and my favourite roller pen, set a timer for 10 minutes, and make headings—home, business #1, business #2, personal. Then I list everything on my mind.
Once it’s all out, I analyze and schedule each task into my week.
This Monday’s brain dump started the usual way—paper, pen, journal, timer—but with one new, spicy ingredient: AI.
After listing the 10,735 things I wanted to get done that week, I opened ChatGPT, dumped in my chaotic list, and asked it to organize my week.
Seconds later, it handed me a pristinely formatted plan with perfect headings. I copied it straight into my calendar.
Then I tried to live it.
By 11 a.m., the plan had collapsed.
The robot took what I told it and spat out what I asked—but not what I needed.
The list didn’t align with my creative flow, energy levels, or my desire to sleep, eat, and move my body.
It was efficient. It was AI-built. But it wasn’t me.
The Real Problem Wasn’t the List
I wasn’t failing at productivity—I was delegating without direction.
Like many founders I know, I was using AI the wrong way—treating this powerful tool like a clueless intern with a clipboard.
And the clueless intern always obliges.
We all start there. We open our first chatbot and treat AI like a faster search engine. And it obliges. It even says “you’re welcome.” It even suggests what else it could do.
We ask for quick fixes instead of building real systems.
We use it to get through the day instead of designing how we work.
I wasn’t alone. Every founder I speak to is using AI like Google: type a request, skim, copy, paste, move on. They never train it, refine their prompts, or connect tools. Each use is a one-off instead of part of a workflow.
Too many founders are staying on the surface of what AI can really do for their business.
The Clueless Intern in My Laptop
AI will mirror your thinking. The problem is, most of us haven’t taught it how we think.
The real problem is how we think about our little laptop robots.
We see AI as an eager intern, not our savviest COO.
We don’t teach it how we think, what our priorities are, or how we like to work.
But for business owners, that’s where its real power lives.
The Pivot: From Tasks to Systems
The day I stopped asking for answers and started building workflows that think with me.
Once I saw the gap, I became determined to harness the ROI of my $20/month subscription.
I stopped using AI for random tasks and started building small, reusable systems.
Here’s what that looks like:
I built custom GPTs for the work I do most often
I created reusable prompt templates
I taught it about me and my business values
I kept my workspace organized so each project has its own knowledge bank
I trained it on my writing voice
I built my own creative department
I trained it to work without me
The New Brain Dump
Same pen, same journal—completely different outcome.
This Monday, I sat down again—pen, journal, timer.
But this time, instead of asking ChatGPT for a to-do list, I asked it to analyze my 15,957 wanna do tasks based on what it knows about me.
I wanted my week built around:
my business priorities
my routines and boundaries
my energy and values
Then it created a calendar I could upload straight into Google—complete with redone time blocks and realistic workflow.
It even eliminated tasks that didn’t match my capacity or goals.
In under 15 minutes, when I treated my chatbot not as my intern but as my operations partner, I got a realistic schedule I can actually stick to.
Your Turn
Stop using AI for quick fixes. Start using it to build the calmest business you’ve ever run.
If you’re only using an AI chatbot for basic outputs, you’re missing its real power.
AI isn’t for quick fixes. For business owners, it’s the most powerful tool we have for building structure and systems—without expensive software or full-time staff.
Start small. Try this:
“Help me turn this messy task into a repeatable system I can use every week.
Ask me questions to learn how I work before you create it.”
Let it interview you. Let it learn your rhythms. Let it build with you.
One small workflow today can become the foundation of a calmer business tomorrow.
Sonya
P.S. This is part of my ongoing series on using AI with intention for small to medium business owners. In the coming weeks, I’ll break down each way I use AI—and end with a piece on how I don’t use it (including what it means to use AI ethically).
P.P.S. I’m curious—how are you currently using AI?
Thanks for voting! I’m using your answers to shape next week’s letter (and maybe a new AI prompt or two).
Want to share more? Tell me how you’re using AI in the comments.