From Hesitant to Efficient: How AI Transformed My Creative Process

Let’s talk about AI—specifically, how you can get the most out of AI as a creative.

It’s no secret that I use AI daily. From debugging code and writing UI components for an application to creating copy for my company website, AI has boosted my productivity.

But it wasn’t always this way.

When I first started using ChatGPT, I was hesitant. I was so used to googling problems and reading through documentation that it felt awkward to integrate a new tool into my workflow. Plus, the code that GPT-3 was generating at the time was just okay—sometimes it even wasted more time than it saved. This was frustrating.

Over time, ChatGPT improved, and more AI tools came onto the scene, but I still wasn’t getting great results. Why?

My prompts sucked.

There’s a quote from a Netflix documentary about Spotify that stuck with me:

When I understood this, I realized what I was doing wrong. AI thrives on context—the better the context you provide, the better it can assist you.

Take this code block, for example:

There are errors here, but let’s say I don’t know that. I could just ask the AI to “fix this,” and it would correct it for me. However, if I want to do more—like pass the data to a component to display it in a card—I need to provide more context. Here’s how that might look:

“I have a fetch call that I’d like to run. Once that runs within my component named SomeComponent, I want to pass this data via props to a child component where it will be displayed in a card. Here’s the fetch call.”

When I do that, the AI returns a more refined solution, along with an explanation.

Sure, it’s up to me as the developer to implement the changes, but just by giving ChatGPT a little more context, I’ve saved time and effort.

This principle applies to many other creative fields too. The more specific you are with your AI prompts, the better the results.

AI isn’t scary—it doesn’t bite, and it’s not here to take your job. But it can make you more efficient. It’s a tool that allows us to spend less time on the mundane tasks and more time on higher-level, creative work.

Do you use AI in your profession? How has it improved your work? Let me know by replying to this email! 

Paps

PS — Ready to harness the power of AI in your business? I help entrepreneurs and creatives scale with custom websites and AI-driven solutions. Reply to this email to learn more!