The ChatGPT tricks that actually save me hours every week

I'll be honest – I used to fight with ChatGPT more than I collaborated with it.

You know the drill. You craft what feels like the perfect prompt, hit enter with confidence, and then... get something that's maybe 60% of what you actually wanted. So you try again. And again. Before you know it, you've spent 20 minutes going in circles with an AI that seemed so promising in the demos.

But here's the thing – it's not ChatGPT's fault. It's how we're approaching it.

After months of trial and error (and way too much frustration), I've landed on four techniques that completely changed my relationship with AI. These aren't just productivity tips – they're workflow transformers that genuinely cut my daily workload in half.

The prompt reversal technique that fixes everything

Let me start with the game-changer: prompt reversal. This one technique alone probably saves me an hour every day.

Here's how most of us use ChatGPT: We write a prompt, get an okay-ish result, then spend forever trying to explain what we actually wanted through follow-up messages. It's like playing charades with a really smart but literal-minded friend.

Prompt reversal flips this entirely. Instead of iterating forward, you iterate backward.

Let's say ChatGPT gives you something that's 80% right. Instead of saying "make it more professional" or "add more details," you ask: "What prompt would have generated this exact response?"

ChatGPT will then reverse-engineer the prompt it thinks it was following. And here's the beautiful part – that reverse-engineered prompt is almost always better than your original one. It's more specific, uses better language, and captures nuances you didn't even know you wanted.

I use this constantly for email drafts. I'll give ChatGPT a rough idea of what I want to say, let it write something decent, then ask for the prompt that would have created it. That reverse-engineered prompt becomes my template for similar emails going forward.

The key is asking ChatGPT to put that reverse-engineered prompt in a code block. Makes it super easy to copy and paste into fresh conversations.

Turn any presentation into a content goldmine

This one's specifically for anyone who attends a lot of presentations, webinars, or training sessions – basically anyone in the corporate world.

I used to sit through hour-long presentations, take scattered notes, and then... do nothing with them. The information would just disappear into the void of my notebook.

Now? I turn every presentation into multiple pieces of useful content.

Here's my process: As soon as I get my hands on the slide deck (or even just good notes), I feed it to ChatGPT with specific requests. Not just "summarize this," but tactical asks like:

"Create a 10-question quiz based on these slides, with multiple choice answers and explanations for each correct answer."

"Turn this into a step-by-step action plan I can actually follow."

"Extract the 5 most actionable insights and format them as LinkedIn posts."

The quiz one is particularly powerful if you're trying to retain information or teach it to others. There's something about seeing content reformatted as questions that makes the key points stick way better.

I've used this approach to turn boring compliance training into actually useful reference materials, and to transform client presentations into content I can share with my team.

The hiring manager flip that perfects your resume

This technique is gold if you're job hunting or helping someone else with their career stuff.

Most people ask ChatGPT to "improve my resume for this job description" and call it a day. That's fine, but it's only half the equation.

The magic happens when you flip the script. After ChatGPT helps optimize your resume, you follow up with: "Now act as a hiring manager for this role. You're incredibly busy and only have 60 seconds to scan this resume. What are your immediate red flags or concerns?"

This is where things get real. ChatGPT will suddenly point out stuff like:

"Your experience seems scattered across too many different industries" "There's a gap in employment from 2022-2023 that isn't explained" "Your achievements are listed but not quantified – I can't tell if you were actually successful"

These insights are brutal but incredibly valuable. They're the exact things a real hiring manager would notice but never tell you about.

I've used this technique to help friends catch resume issues they never would have spotted otherwise. One friend discovered that their "diverse background" actually looked like job-hopping to hiring managers. Another realized they were underselling their biggest achievements.

Blueprint scaffolding for complex projects

The last technique is what I call "blueprint scaffolding," and it's perfect for those overwhelming projects where you don't even know where to start.

Instead of asking ChatGPT to help you plan your entire online course, marketing campaign, or whatever big project you're tackling, you first ask it to create a blueprint of what information it would need to give you a really good plan.

So rather than: "Help me create a marketing strategy for my business"

You ask: "What information would you need from me to create an effective marketing strategy? Give me a structured template I can fill out."

ChatGPT will come back with something like:

• Target audience demographics and pain points
• Current marketing channels and performance
• Budget and timeline constraints
• Competitive landscape
• Business goals and success metrics

You fill out that template, feed it back to ChatGPT, and then ask for the strategy. The difference in quality is night and day.

I use this for everything from project planning to content creation. The extra step of getting the blueprint first means ChatGPT has all the context it needs to give you something actually useful instead of generic advice.

Why these techniques actually work

The common thread in all these approaches is that they work with ChatGPT's strengths instead of against them.

ChatGPT is incredible at structure, analysis, and generating content when it has clear parameters. It's less good at reading your mind or inferring what you really want from vague instructions.

These techniques give ChatGPT the structure and context it craves while saving you from the endless back-and-forth of trying to course-correct a mediocre first attempt.

The prompt reversal technique leverages ChatGPT's ability to analyze its own outputs. The presentation content technique uses its strength in reformatting and restructuring information. The hiring manager flip takes advantage of its ability to role-play and shift perspectives. And blueprint scaffolding ensures you're giving it all the information it needs upfront.

Start with one and build from there

Don't try to implement all four techniques at once. Pick the one that addresses your biggest current frustration with ChatGPT and master that first.

If you're constantly rewriting prompts, start with prompt reversal. If you're drowning in meeting notes and presentations, try the content amplification approach. Job hunting? The hiring manager flip will save you from embarrassing resume mistakes.

The goal isn't to become a prompt engineering expert overnight. It's to stop fighting with AI and start having it actually help you get stuff done.

Because at the end of the day, the best AI technique is the one you'll actually use consistently. And these four? They're simple enough to become habits, powerful enough to transform your workday.