5 ways ChatGPT keeps me on track (instead of online shopping)
Because twill pants won’t help you hit your goals (I checked)
It’s Monday morning, and I’ve already walked the dogs, danced for 30 minutes, and written this Substack.
A week ago? I was spending hours scrolling through the New York Times opinion page, watching TikTok hot takes, and Instagram style guides — convincing myself it was “productive.”
A few days ago in my endless scrolling, I ordered this summer dress, found these strappy flat sandals in black, and decided to try out these olive twill barrel pants. I may or may not have spent too much time analyzing
’s style formula and trying to emulate it.
These little dopamine-fueled shopping and scrolling binges filled the time… but left me no real satisfaction.
So this morning, I turned to my trusting friend, ChatGPT, to get back on track to achieve what I want this summer.
Here are the steps that I have taken that you can follow:
Step 1: Create a Goals Project in ChatGPT
If you’re a paid user, create a new Project in ChatGPT and name it “Goals.”
(Not a paid user? No problem, just use a regular chat.)
Step 2: Give it clear instructions
Here’s what I wrote (feel free to copy and paste):
This project is dedicated to helping me define, track, and reflect on my personal and professional goals at the daily, weekly, monthly, and annual levels — and to help me grow into the best version of myself.
Please:
Help me clarify my goals into actionable, measurable steps.
Break goals down into timeframes: daily habits, weekly focuses, monthly milestones, and annual aspirations.
When I provide a goal or area of focus, suggest ways to track progress and adjust when necessary.
Encourage realistic and sustainable pacing rather than perfectionism.
If I ask for help prioritizing, help me identify what’s most impactful or aligned with my values.
At regular intervals (if I ask), prompt me with reflective questions about what’s working and what needs adjustment.
Help me uncover potential blind spots — patterns, assumptions, or limiting beliefs that may be holding me back — and gently bring them to my attention with possible ways to reframe them.
Suggest opportunities or possibilities for growth based on what you know about me, especially where I may not yet see my full potential.
The tone should be supportive, insightful, and solution-oriented. Avoid guilt-based language if I fall behind — instead, help me reset and get back on track. Inspire me to see what’s possible and help me stay aligned with my best, most authentic self.
Step 3: Upload your annual goals
I uploaded my 2025 goals (which I usually keep in my Notes app) and asked ChatGPT to save them to memory.
Don’t have 2025 goals? Tell ChatGPT and ask it to help you set some!
Step 4: Share your weekly to-dos
I gave it my weekly to-do list and asked it to design a daily plan that moves me toward both my weekly and annual goals. It beautifully gave me a day by day plan including all of my daily to-dos and goals.
Step 5: Execute!
Then I printed out the plan and started checking things off.
And low and behold…here I am on a Monday morning actually writing a Substack (hello annual and monthly goal that I have not done in about a month!)
Your summer doesn’t have to get lost in the scroll.
Open ChatGPT. Start a “Goals” project. See what happens when you put your time back in your hands.
I promise it feels better than olive twill pants.
If this resonated, tap the ❤️ and share it with a friend who’s stuck in the scroll right now.
But it's ok if I ordered the black sandals, too, right?
If anyone can pull off the barrel pants it’s you!