AI Productivity Tips - Trilo Documentation

AI coworkers can significantly boost your productivity when used effectively. This guide shares strategies and tips for getting maximum value from AI assistance in Trilo.

Getting Started with AI

Your First AI Interactions

Start with simple, common tasks:

Ask questions: “What’s the best way to…”
Get explanations: “Explain [concept] simply”
Summarize content: “Summarize this document”
Draft content: “Write a brief email about…”

Building Comfort

As you get comfortable, try more complex tasks:

Multi-step requests
Creative brainstorming
Analysis and recommendations
Content editing and improvement

High-Impact Use Cases

Daily Productivity

Morning planning:

"Help me prioritize these tasks for today:
[list your tasks]
Consider deadlines and importance."

Email drafting:

"Write a professional email to [recipient] about [topic].
Include: [key points].
Tone: [professional/friendly/formal]"

Meeting prep:

"I have a meeting about [topic] in an hour.
Create an agenda with key discussion points and
questions I should ask."

Writing and Content

Document drafting:

"Create an outline for a document about [topic].
Audience: [who will read it]
Purpose: [what it should accomplish]"

Editing and improving:

"Review this text and suggest improvements for:
1. Clarity
2. Conciseness
3. Professional tone
[paste your text]"

Creative content:

"Brainstorm 10 headlines for our blog post about [topic].
Target audience: [audience description]
Tone: [desired tone]"

Analysis and Research

Data interpretation:

"I have this data: [paste data]
What patterns or insights do you see?
What recommendations would you make?"

Competitive analysis:

"Compare these two approaches: [A] vs [B]
List pros and cons of each.
Make a recommendation based on [criteria]."

Problem solving:

"We're facing this challenge: [describe problem]
What are possible solutions?
What are the tradeoffs of each?"

Technical Tasks

Code help:

"Explain how to implement [feature] in [language].
Include a basic code example."

Documentation:

"Write documentation for this function:
[paste code]
Include: purpose, parameters, return value, example usage."

Debugging:

"I'm getting this error: [error message]
Here's my code: [paste code]
What's causing this and how do I fix it?"

Effective Prompting

The CONTEXT Framework

Structure your requests for better results:

Context: Background information
Objective: What you want to achieve
Nuances: Specific requirements
Tone: Desired style
Examples: What good looks like
Xtra: Any constraints

Example:

Context: I'm a product manager preparing a quarterly review.
Objective: Create a presentation outline.
Nuances: Focus on metrics and achievements, not excuses.
Tone: Confident but honest.
Example: Previous quarters used 5 sections with 3-4 slides each.
Extra: Keep it under 20 slides total.

Specificity Matters

Vague (less helpful):

"Write something about our product."

Specific (more helpful):

"Write a 150-word product description for our project management app.
Target audience: Small business owners
Key features to highlight: Task tracking, team collaboration, mobile app
Tone: Professional but friendly
Call to action: Start free trial"

Iterate and Refine

Don’t expect perfection on the first try:

You: Write a tagline for our productivity app.
AI: "Work smarter, not harder."

You: That's too generic. Focus on our AI features.
AI: "Your AI-powered productivity partner."

You: Better! Can you make it more action-oriented?
AI: "Supercharge your workflow with AI assistance."

You: Perfect!

Workflow Integration

Daily Workflows

Morning routine:

Check tasks, ask AI to help prioritize
Draft any emails needed
Prepare for meetings

During work:

Use AI for quick research
Get drafts for content
Brainstorm solutions to problems

End of day:

Summarize accomplishments
Plan for tomorrow
Draft status updates

Project Workflows

Starting a project:

Generate project plan outline
Create initial task list
Draft project brief

During a project:

Get help with content creation
Analyze progress and blockers
Prepare status updates

Completing a project:

Summarize outcomes
Document lessons learned
Draft announcements

Advanced Techniques

Chain of Thought

For complex problems, ask AI to think step-by-step:

"I need to decide between two vendors.
Walk me through this step by step:
1. What criteria should I consider?
2. How should I weight each criterion?
3. Apply this to: Vendor A [details] vs Vendor B [details]
4. Make a recommendation"

Role Assignment

Give the AI a specific role:

"Act as an experienced marketing strategist.
Review our current approach and suggest improvements.
[details]"

Multiple Perspectives

Get different viewpoints:

"For this decision, give me:
1. The optimistic perspective
2. The pessimistic perspective
3. The pragmatic recommendation
[describe the decision]"

Feedback Loops

Build on previous responses:

Conversation 1: Get initial draft
Conversation 2: Refine specific sections
Conversation 3: Polish and finalize

When to Use AI (and When Not To)

Great for AI

Task	Why It Works
First drafts	AI gets you started, you refine
Brainstorming	AI generates options quickly
Summarizing	AI extracts key points efficiently
Explaining	AI can simplify complex topics
Formatting	AI restructures content well

Better for Humans

Task	Why
Final decisions	Judgment and accountability
Sensitive communication	Nuance and relationships
Original strategy	Business context and creativity
Confidential matters	Privacy considerations
Critical accuracy	Verification needed

Always Review

AI outputs should always be reviewed:

Check facts and accuracy
Verify tone is appropriate
Ensure content fits your context
Add personal touches

Productivity Multipliers

Templates with AI

Create templates, then use AI to fill them:

"Fill in this template with information about [project]:

## Overview
[Brief description]

## Goals
[3-5 goals]

## Timeline
[Key milestones]

## Risks
[Potential challenges]"

Batch Processing

Group similar tasks:

"I need to write thank-you notes to these people.
Create a personalized paragraph for each:
1. Sarah - helped with the presentation
2. Mike - covered my meetings last week
3. Lisa - gave great feedback on the proposal"

Learning and Growth

Use AI to learn faster:

"I'm trying to improve at [skill].
What are the key concepts I should understand?
What's a good practice exercise?
What common mistakes should I avoid?"

Common Pitfalls

Over-relying on AI

AI is a tool, not a replacement. Use it to enhance your work, not do all your thinking.

Not reviewing outputs

Always review AI outputs before using them. Errors and inaccuracies happen.

Vague prompts

Specific requests get better results. Include context, constraints, and examples.

Forgetting to iterate

First responses are rarely perfect. Build on them through conversation.

Asking for private/sensitive info

Don’t share confidential information with AI unnecessarily.

Building AI Habits

Start Small

Pick one daily task to enhance with AI:

Email drafting
Meeting prep
Content summarization

Track What Works

Note when AI helps most:

What types of requests work well
Which prompts get best results
Where AI saves the most time

Help others learn:

Share effective prompts
Document useful workflows
Create team AI guidelines

Next Steps

AI Coworkers Overview

Learn more about AI coworker capabilities.

Chatting with AI

Master AI conversation techniques.

​Getting Started with AI

​Your First AI Interactions

​Building Comfort

​High-Impact Use Cases

​Daily Productivity

​Writing and Content

​Analysis and Research

​Technical Tasks

​Effective Prompting

​The CONTEXT Framework

​Specificity Matters

​Iterate and Refine

​Workflow Integration

​Daily Workflows

​Project Workflows

​Advanced Techniques

​Chain of Thought

​Role Assignment

​Multiple Perspectives

​Feedback Loops

​When to Use AI (and When Not To)

​Great for AI

​Better for Humans

​Always Review

​Productivity Multipliers

​Templates with AI

​Batch Processing

​Learning and Growth

​Common Pitfalls

​Building AI Habits

​Start Small

​Track What Works

​Share with Team

​Next Steps