The AI Tools I Actually Use (And What I Use Them For)

I want to be upfront about something: I was skeptical of AI for a long time.

It felt like another thing to learn, another app to figure out, another promise that something was going to change my life if I just downloaded it. I didn't have time for that. I barely had time to eat my lunch standing up.

But then I tried it. Really tried it. And something shifted.

I'm not going to tell you AI is magic. It's not. It's a tool — like a really fast, really patient assistant who never judges you for asking the same question twice. And once I stopped being intimidated by it and started treating it that way, it genuinely gave me back time I didn't know I could reclaim.

Here's what I actually use, and what I actually use it for.

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ChatGPT — My everyday thinking partner

ChatGPT is where I go when my brain is full and I need to think out loud. It's good at taking a messy idea and helping me shape it into something usable.

What I use it for: - Meal planning for the week — I tell it what's in my fridge and it gives me a plan - Drafting emails I don't want to write - Brainstorming content ideas when I'm staring at a blank page - Summarising long articles or documents when I don't have time to read the whole thing

The key is treating it like a conversation, not a search engine. The more context you give it, the better it gets.

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Claude — My writing and business brain

Claude is where I go when I need something more thoughtful — longer writing, more nuanced answers, things that need to actually sound like me.

What I use it for: - Writing and editing blog posts (yes, including this one — I write the ideas and the personal stories, Claude helps me shape and structure them) - Building out content for my website - Thinking through business decisions when I need a sounding board - Organising my thoughts when I have too many of them

Claude tends to ask good follow-up questions and pushes back when something doesn't make sense. I like that. I don't want a tool that just agrees with everything I say.

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The honest truth about using AI as a mom and creator

AI didn't replace anything I do. It handles the parts that were draining my energy so I can save that energy for the parts that actually matter — showing up for Nico, moving my body, building something I'm proud of.

AI doesn't do the work. It clears the path so you can.

You still bring the ideas. The voice. The personal stories. The real life. AI just helps you move faster once you know where you're going.

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Where to start if you haven't yet

If you're AI-curious but not sure where to begin, here's my honest advice:

Start with one thing. Just one. Pick the task that costs you the most time or the most mental energy every week and try letting AI help with it. Meal planning, writing captions, drafting a message you've been putting off — whatever it is.

Give it a week. See what happens.

You don't need to become a tech person. You don't need to understand how it works. You just need to be willing to ask for help — which, as moms, is something we should all be a lot better at anyway.

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I have a whole guide on using AI specifically for busy moms and home management — [it's in the shop](/shop/printables) if you want to go deeper. Practical, no-jargon, and designed for people who have real lives and real things to do.