Hi Reader,
I got back from a 10-day road trip to Canada over the weekend, which means I'm currently in that familiar post-vacation phase of catching up on everything that happened while I was gone.
Yesterday was only my second day back at work. I had plenty to catch up on, so this was definitely not the week I would normally decide to add build a new resource page to my list.
And yet, by the end of the day, I had one.
THE OPENING SIGNAL
I've wanted a more organized resource page for a while.
I recommend books, business tools and other resources to clients and colleagues all the time. I have some of those links on my Beacons page, but I've wanted a more organized place for the things I actually use and recommend.
The problem wasn't deciding whether it would be useful. It was everything that came with creating it. I'd have to figure out where to build it, how to organize and design it, write the descriptions, and then actually build the thing.
In my mind, it was hours upon hours upon hours of work. And let's be real, I wasn't going to do it. Especially not this week.
But with Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days happening, the idea came back to mind. Instead of putting it back on the someday list, I wondered if AI could help me get it done without turning it into a whole project.
I told AI what I wanted and gave it the basic information it needed. It asked me a few questions, and then I went back to writing another email.
Less than 10 minutes later, I had a working page.
WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERS
What surprised me wasn't just how quickly the page came together.
We talk a lot about AI saving us time on things we're already doing. And that's certainly valuable.
But sometimes AI doesn't just make something faster. It makes something possible that probably wouldn't have happened otherwise.
That's what happened here.
I didn't know how to build and host this page. Instead, I could focus on the part I did know.
I knew why I wanted the page, who it was for, what I wanted to include and what I wanted it to accomplish. I gave AI that direction, along with information about my business and brand.
AI handled much of the execution.
For a small business owner, sometimes what's standing between a good idea and actually doing it is the time, technical know-how or effort required to make it happen.
Last week, I wrote that the question isn't where we can use AI, it's where AI belongs. This is the other side of that.
I already knew this page was worth doing. AI didn't change that. It changed what it took to get it done.
ONE SMALL MOVE
Take a look at your someday list and choose one thing you've already decided would be useful, but haven't gotten to because it feels too time-consuming, technical or complicated.
Then ask yourself:
What part of getting this done could I hand over to AI?
You don't have to hand over the whole thing. Maybe AI can help with the part you don't know how to do, the part you'd have to spend hours figuring out, or simply the part that's been keeping you from starting.
If you're not sure what AI could help with, tell it what you're trying to get done and what's been stopping you. Then let it ask you a few questions and suggest where it could help.
The idea itself may not be the problem. It may be everything required to turn that idea into something real.
WORTH PAYING ATTENTION TO
A recent study from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and Ipsos caught my attention because it looked beyond the usual conversation about AI and productivity.
Among small businesses already using AI, 54% said it had a positive impact on how quickly employees complete tasks. But the finding that interested me more was that 50% said AI was positively affecting their employees' ability to take on more challenging work.
That's a different kind of return on AI, and one I think is worth paying more attention to.
Saving time matters. But if all we measure is how many minutes AI saves us on things we're already doing, we may be missing part of the value.
What can you do with the time you get back? What can you take on because AI can handle part of the execution?
For a small business owner with limited time and resources, that added capacity can matter just as much as efficiency.
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And since I've spent this whole email telling you about the resource page I wouldn't have built, you should probably get to see it. 😊
Take a look at Lucy's Picks
The timing happens to be good, too. Prime Big Deal Days wrap up today, so a few of the things I've recommended may be on sale.
And I'd love to know if AI has helped you get something done that probably wouldn't have happened otherwise. Hit reply and tell me about it.
Talk soon,
Lucy
P.S. Ten days on the road, lots of family time, beautiful British Columbia...and then I came home to my inbox. Vacation Lucy would like to go back to Canada. 😂