You don’t need to turn your life into a tech stack. But there are a handful of areas where tools that already exist can meaningfully reduce the friction and cognitive load of daily life. The goal is to get your life back, not to accumulate a collection of apps.

Use AI for first drafts of everything

  • Emails you’re dreading writing? Give AI the context and let it draft something you can edit.
  • Cover letters, follow-up emails, difficult texts — anything where the thinking is mostly ‘how do I phrase this?’
  • Meeting summaries, notes from recordings, research starting points.
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Pro-tip

The best AI prompt isn’t vague. Give it context, your goal, your tone, and any constraints: ‘Write a professional but warm email to my landlord asking him to fix the heating. I’ve already asked twice. I want to be firm but not aggressive.’ That gets you something usable.

Automate recurring tasks with simple tools

Tools like Zapier, Make, and IFTTT let you connect apps and automate workflows without writing code. Useful automations: save email attachments automatically, get a daily digest of news from specific sources, receive a weekly spending report from your bank. Most take 15 minutes to set up.

Use a second brain tool for information management

A good productivity system moves mental overhead out of your head and into a trusted external system. Tools to explore: Notion, Obsidian, Roam Research. A simple structure: inbox for anything that comes in, weekly review to process and organise, project spaces for active work.

Batch and automate your finances

  • Automatic bill payment so nothing goes late.
  • Automatic savings transfers on payday.
  • A budgeting app (YNAB, Copilot, Monarch) that categorises spending without manual entry.

Protect yourself from the tool trap

More tools are not always better. Adopt a new tool only if it solves a real problem you currently have. Give it two to four weeks before deciding. Regularly audit what you’re actually using. Delete the rest.