🏴‍☠️ Use AI Like a Coach

Turn Your AI Into a Productivity Coach

Author

Captain YAR
November 05, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

You are probably using your AI at only a fraction of its true power. I was just scrolling through my feed when I came across a post that completely reframed how I think about prompting.

The original poster brilliantly connected Stephen Covey’s classic 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to AI, creating a system that turns any large language model into a world-class effectiveness coach.

This isn’t just about getting quick answers; it’s about teaching your AI to think with profound strategic depth.

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The key idea here is that these prompts act as powerful mental models. When you use them, you’re not just asking a question. You’re instructing the AI to adopt the specific, time-tested mindset of a highly effective person.

The author of the post found that this simple shift in framing elevates the AI’s output from purely informational to genuinely transformational. Instead of a fact-checker, you get a thinking partner.

Here are the three major breakthroughs this method unlocks:

From Reactive Overwhelm to Proactive Control

This first insight combines the principles of being proactive, beginning with the end in mind, and putting first things first. We all get overwhelmed by a flood of responsibilities or anxieties about things we can’t change.

The contributor’s method tackles this head-on. By starting with the prompt, “What’s within my control here?”, you force the AI to filter out all the noise. If you’re stressed about a looming recession, the AI won’t give you a lecture on macroeconomics. Instead, it will help you brainstorm actionable steps you can personally take, like updating your resume, learning a high-demand skill, or creating a new budget. It immediately shifts your focus from a circle of concern to a circle of influence.

From there, you can use the second prompt: “Help me begin with the end in mind.” This is perfect for big life decisions, like a career change. The AI will guide you through a visualization process, asking questions about your ideal lifestyle, values, and long-term legacy before you even think about specific job titles. It ensures your actions are aligned with your deepest goals.

Finally, when you have a million tasks, the prompt “What should I put first?” leverages the AI’s analytical power to prioritize based on urgency and importance, using frameworks like the Eisenhower Matrix to give you a clear, logical starting point.

Unlocking Collaborative and Empathetic Solutions

This next area is where I think this method is truly special, as it focuses on interpersonal effectiveness. It’s built around the habits of thinking win-win and seeking to understand. When faced with a negotiation or conflict, our default mode is often adversarial.

The author suggests using the prompt “How can we both win here?” to break that pattern. Take the example of a disagreement with a roommate over noise. Instead of just suggesting a compromise, the AI becomes a creative problem-solver. It might propose creating a shared schedule, investing in noise-canceling headphones for one person, or re-arranging the living space to create designated quiet and social zones. It actively searches for a third alternative that satisfies both parties’ underlying needs.

The second prompt here is incredibly powerful: “What am I missing by not really listening?” This innovator suggests pasting in an email or describing a conversation and then asking this question. The AI can analyze the text for subtext, tone, and emotional cues you might have missed. Imagine using this on a tense email from a client.

The AI might point out that the client’s terse language isn’t anger, but anxiety about a deadline, allowing you to respond with empathy and reassurance instead of defensiveness. It’s like having an emotional intelligence co-pilot.

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Fueling Synergy and Sustainable Growth

The final set of prompts is all about innovation and self-renewal. It taps into the principles of synergy and “sharpening the saw.”

When you feel stuck on a creative or strategic problem, this industry pro recommends listing your available resources, skills, or assets and asking, “How can I combine these strengths?” This prompt turns the AI into an engine for synergy. For an individual, it could mean finding a unique career niche by combining a talent for writing and an interest in data science. For a business, it could mean listing company assets (like a strong brand, a loyal customer base, and an expert R&D team) and asking the AI to generate novel business models or product lines that leverage all three. It helps you see connections you’d otherwise overlook.

Then, for continuous improvement, there’s the prompt: “Help me sharpen the saw on this.” This is far more than asking “how to get better at X.” The author explains that the AI designs a comprehensive, sustainable growth plan. If you ask for help with public speaking, it might create a 30-day challenge that includes specific YouTube videos to watch, daily vocal exercises, prompts for short practice speeches, and even suggestions for low-stakes opportunities to speak in public. It provides a structured path to mastery.

I was blown away by the simple genius of this. It’s an amazing framework for making AI a true partner in personal and professional development.

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